Guys, Preparing for my first long term ( 1year) cruise through the
Caribbean.  Although I have a generator and  solar panels I am
wondering how you all cope with the 230v/50Hz  electricity???  I have a
feeling that my wife is going to prefer tying up rather than being on
the hook and running the genset is not going to be a good option.

Anyone bought a  230/50 inverter/charger or a unit for both 50/60 Hz
????  Other advice??  Thanks Russ Davignon ASCENSION

" Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special attention to
those who, by accidents of time, or place, or circumstance are brought
into closer connection with you." St. Augstine

Russ,

you do not say what you have for shore power and loads but I can tell
you from personal experience that 110/60 Hz machines for the most
part will not have a problem with 110/50 Hz power.

Microwaves may. Some do. Some do not.

A 240 V/ 60 Hz machine (dryer, washer) may have a problem with the 50
Hz.

The simplest thing to buy is a transformer. An Isolation transformer
with multiple taps os probably the best, more marine approved, and
elegant solution.

Or, a large (6 Kw?) transformer rain protected sitting on the dock or
your cockpit can also work.

Need more info though to really help out.

Lee
Ankara Turkey.
Using transformers here in Turkey....

On 5 Mar 2007, at 14:08, Davignon, Russell wrote:

Guys, Preparing for my first long term ( 1year) cruise through the
Caribbean.  Although I have a generator and  solar panels I am
wondering how you all cope with the 230v/50Hz  electricity???  I have a
feeling that my wife is going to prefer tying up rather than being on
the hook and running the genset is not going to be a good option.

Anyone bought a  230/50 inverter/charger or a unit for both 50/60 Hz
????  Other advice??  Thanks Russ Davignon ASCENSION

T&T: Foreign Country Voltage, 4-11-2005.

The most extensive coverage of this was about 2 years ago under the
topic above.

There is no easy solution and 50hz can burn out expensive equipment.

Mike

Capt. Mike Maurice
Beaverton Oregon(Near Portland)

T&T: Cruisair Air Conditioners & 50/60 hz. 2-1-2006

There are a couple more posts under the topic above.

Mike

Capt. Mike Maurice
Beaverton Oregon(Near Portland)

My two cents worth here:

There are a bunch of solutions which are both costly & expensive.

However, if your onboard power requirements are modest (e.g. no air
conditioning, no dryer, no water heater) and can be handled entirely by your
existing inverter, there is also a very simple, inexpensive solution: get a
"universal input" battery charger such as the Xantrex XC5012 or XC2524. This
puppy will take pretty well any power in the world with no user setup
required. You can then use this to keep the house bank topped up, while
supplying all of the onboard loads through the inverter.

Not perfect if you want to run really heavy loads, but can't be beat from a
price/performance perspective.

Scott Welch
Product Manager, FirstClass Group

"If we continue to take an eye for an eye, then surely the whole world will
go blind." - Gandhi

Scott Welch
Product Manager, FirstClass Group

"If we continue to take an eye for an eye, then surely the whole world will
go blind." - Gandhi

Right,  In my case, the 2nd inverter is installed in such a way that this will
not happen.  There is a dedicated line in to the 2nd inverter when it is used
as a '50hz battery charger'.  The normal ship shore power hence does not get
energized and hence the primary inverter will not switch into pass through
mode, only invert mode.

-al-

----- Original Message -----
From: Scott H.E. Welch
To: trawlers-and-trawlering@lists.samurai.com
Cc: Al Thomason
Sent: Monday, March 05, 2007 1:38 PM
Subject: Re: T&T: 230v/50Hz
You need to be very careful about this. Many inverter/chargers are also
automatic 110V switches as well. When they see good AC power, they switch the
load over to the incoming power instead of running the inverter.