BDofMSP
Guru
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2013
- Messages
- 965
- Location
- USA
- Vessel Name
- Gopher Broke
- Vessel Make
- Silverton 410 Sport Bridge
My boat does not have an inverter, nor a separate house bank. The port start bank also runs half the house, and the starboard runs the other half. We have an icemaker on the flybridge that runs only on 120v, and as such the ice melts by the next morning every time we leave the dock. Not the end of the world, but not ideal.
In a couple years we're moving to new system with a separate house bank, inverter chargers, etc. But for now I've chosen to install an EcoFlow portable power station up there to power the icemaker. It will be plugged into the 120 for charging and that AC will flow directly through to the icemaker while on shore or gen. When we disconnect from shore, it will invert 120 to keep our ice frosty.
Of course, it also recharges off of 12 volt. I have a 12 volt fused distribution panel right next to it, but my current house usage at anchor is enough that I don't want to add that load to it as well. I would never want to not be able to start the engines just because I wanted ice, right? Instead I've been thinking I should run a separate charging circuit for it, and separate it with an ACR (automatic charging relay). Then it will recharge while I'm underway to my next anchorage rather than relying solely on the gen for that.
Which leads to my question. The EcoFlow max charging capacity is 15 amps at 12v. The ACR lists cabling requirements of 10 AWG (with 40-50 amp fuse) for <30 amps, which is perfect because I have a length of 10/2 duplex cable on hand. Is that draw what the ACR rating is referring to? Or is it the input current that the start bank is receiving when it's being charged by my alternator? Because that's much higher (160 amp rated alternator but I doubt I ever see that output). I'm hoping that since the EcoFlow won't "pull" more than 15 amps, I'm fine with the 10 AWG.
Thanks,
BD
In a couple years we're moving to new system with a separate house bank, inverter chargers, etc. But for now I've chosen to install an EcoFlow portable power station up there to power the icemaker. It will be plugged into the 120 for charging and that AC will flow directly through to the icemaker while on shore or gen. When we disconnect from shore, it will invert 120 to keep our ice frosty.
Of course, it also recharges off of 12 volt. I have a 12 volt fused distribution panel right next to it, but my current house usage at anchor is enough that I don't want to add that load to it as well. I would never want to not be able to start the engines just because I wanted ice, right? Instead I've been thinking I should run a separate charging circuit for it, and separate it with an ACR (automatic charging relay). Then it will recharge while I'm underway to my next anchorage rather than relying solely on the gen for that.
Which leads to my question. The EcoFlow max charging capacity is 15 amps at 12v. The ACR lists cabling requirements of 10 AWG (with 40-50 amp fuse) for <30 amps, which is perfect because I have a length of 10/2 duplex cable on hand. Is that draw what the ACR rating is referring to? Or is it the input current that the start bank is receiving when it's being charged by my alternator? Because that's much higher (160 amp rated alternator but I doubt I ever see that output). I'm hoping that since the EcoFlow won't "pull" more than 15 amps, I'm fine with the 10 AWG.
Thanks,
BD