Inverter vs Genset

Here’s an interesting occurrence of relying on Invertors in a charging system:

https://n62infinity.com/listing/leg-1-vancouver-canada-to-san-francisco-usa/

Be sure to have a way to bypass the Invertor circuit if they fail.

This concept is very compelling. I know some guys will say coal fired steam is the only way to go, but... https://integrelsolutions.com/

IDK ; I’m a simple stupid boater, with more emphasis on the stupid part.

all this talk about inverters and what not that you’re trying to accomplish requires too much thought and Maintenance in my opinion.

The inverter would be nice just for the TV computers and lights that’s about it.
The generator would be great for everything else and also would increase the lifespan of all your compressors pumps and motors because those things don’t like sudden on and off surges of electric when switching over from inverter to generator , to shore power it kills the lifespans of those things.

It's one of the age old problems today - no one can fix anything. In the old days my Dad would make the part and give to me to install it. Can't be done now. The industry is so afraid of COPD and related illnesses it can't afford to hire welders or tool/die makers anymore. The world is dependent on replacement parts. Learn to weld and do it yourself.

My 44 catamaran has two gensets - 7kw ea that operate my electrics motors and recharge my batteries. I only need a 1kw inverter.

No air con in South Florida is about equivalent to dieing…….Camping would be more comfortable.

When I built it I was living in Iceland - no need for air con~

Thanks for that link. My friend had a similar problem which made me shy away from the charger/inverter on the entire system.

The article you linked to is from 2013, has the technology improved much since then ?

+ 1 on the Phasor. I replaced my Onan with one.
Although I only have a couple hundred hrs on it, it is more quiet and has been reliable so far.

Pascal

I agree with your comment about inconvenience of pass through relay failure.
I solved that issue but installing a manual bypass circuit. If the inverter fails I just rotate the switch. It allows the best of both.

Hah, relays , they seem to be the nemesis of all things electrical, but they are everywhere, can’t live with them and can’t live without them.

As far as inverters go, I like the idea of a bypass switch or the simplicity of a stand alone item, it is a sure bet that at one time you will experience a unit failure as stated above.

On the Hampton I managed, they put all of the inverter powered items on one section of the AC panel and they had 2 breakers with a lock out bar, so you could only choose inverter, or inverter bypass. It was a nice way to do it. Similar to the transfer breaker setup of shorepower or generator on a lot of boats and right on the main panel.

We all do this but still going to point it out. We have a problem. A six year old would tell you immediately what to do. Yet, the more we learn, the more we try to figure out alternatives to the simple, straight forward answer. Genset has a problem, either repair or replace. Inverters aren't involved, batteries aren't involved, your main engines aren't involved, the genset is broken. Fix or replace. You can come up with a thousand alternatives but none will work as well.

This is the truth.

No one suggested that the original poster operate without a generator, and no one suggested he should operate the boat's solely on an inverter. I don't believe anyone suggested that there should not be ample bypass and manual backups built in. Even so, at least from my view, we have been discussing generators/inverters in the context of convenience, not safety - then chesapeake46 linked us to the Nordhavn blog entry.

Along with what Capt J pointed out, are the bridge electronics on Nordhavns 115V powered? Seems crazy to me. Seems like if Nordhavn put 2 alternators on the main engine (or one each on the main and the get-home) they would have kept the nav/electronics/AP on the 12 V system. Also seems like some design issues (like incorrect overload protection on inverters and builder equipment choices) were present that should not have added to the operator's load in the rough sea conditions.