Trojan Boat Forum

A 4d weights up to 150 lbs,,,,,,holly crap,,,,batman. i was going to tell Tony, i would certainly look into that battery, but,,,,,,

I'll have to check the actual dimensions of the battery, and see if it will fit under the dinette seat, may not fit under the stairs.

I'll still check it out of course, but this may take some planning.

Thanks ready,

Larry

foofer,

Great idea, I could freeze a couple of 1/2 gal milk containers and put them in the fridge to keep it from coming on to frequently, without taking up to much room.

Thanks,

Larry

And Larry those 12v cool boxes word great. And yes those 4d's are heavy but I've got 2 between my engines and love'em, we spend a lot of time on the hook. But our boats setup differently, but sounds like you want to spend weekends underway if so I'd look in to a Honda inverter and you'd have all the power you need. Well almost.

Larry, all the guys with big boats have room for big batteries. Us 25 and 26 footers have limited space. If your set up is similar to mine, you can put a MAXX 29 (as in Group 29) Wal Mart marine battery in the boat, under the stairs or even in the engine compartment (use a battery box for it) and you can lug it in and off the boat (use a hand cart). 4D is way too big for the boat and your use.

By the way, I agree with the others about using the inverter you have for a microwave. Too much draw for that inverter, and even if you could get it going it would suck your battery dry in less than an hour.

As for all the magic these guys perform on posting in the forum, I have no clue, and have decided the older I get the less I care about all that there fancy schmancy stuff!

Keep us posted on your electrical journey!

I have 2 Walmart group 27 batts in parallel for house batts. I run the refer (small bar size), lights, stereo and TV (not all at same time) through a Heart 2K inverter. This setup is good for an overnighter, maybe 2, on the hook with no problems. I still bring an ice chest for beverages, saves the refer from trying to keep up with beverage consumption............I also have a 120 amp alternator on the port engine if needed............just make sure your starting battery is isolated...........John

Larry, to give you a simple perspective on what you'll be drawing from your battery, if my memory on electrical theory serves me right, that 2 amp draw at 110 volt will increase about 10 fold when operating off 12 volts. The efficiency of the inverter will have an affect on this figure also. To run a microwave as mentioned earlier is iffy with the unit you have, and at 1100 watts will draw about 100 amps. Now you know why the heavy cable and all the cautions.

larglo heres a post from 2009 you started.
all of the same info from this previous post will apply now. you might review

http://www.trojanboats.net/wforum/viewt ... highlight=

if you will get an amp clamp/meter you will effectively measure how much you are pulling out of the batteries with each 12v thing you turn on including seeing what the invertor is using. you will see apx 10-12 amps dc when you are using the invertor to power your 110v refrig. i know this because i use a 12 vdc fridge and also sometimes i run another 110 volt fridge with my invertor i closely monitor my system. i have mine set up to handle this. as stated in other posts i have set my f32 up to be quite energy efficent on my 12v dc system

jddens, all

Is your fridge a 110 V or 12 V? I also just found out my microwave is 700 watt. The inverter has a 3000 watt surge ability. So if the MW starts even at 1400, I'm covered there, until it settles down to is normal watt range. Also, it will not run over 1 or 2 min. at a time, perhaps twice in a day. The way I see it, I can get 10 hours on a hook?

I may very well wind up getting a second house battery by mid summer, but I think I can get this done, rumming the fridge and MW for up to 10 hours on the hook, as you all put it.

Larry

if you care to understand the power issue here is an article that might help
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/miscellan ... ities.html

larglo did you re read the other link from your post in 2009?

the real answer to alot of this is being able to measure what you are using from the battery bank(ex amp meter ) you will then know what is left before draining the batteries and ruining them. if you discharge them heavily you will be replacing them alot. if you want to go cheap then try the one battery but you will be buying another pretty soon after that. a group 27 is only rated for 105 amp hours. one isnt going to be enough. your 110v refrig will draw 10 amps if not a bit more when running. i know this as stated in an earlier post. in the summer at 90-95 degrees or more the fridge will run quite a bit. just trying to impart some first hand info for you

g36

Read the article, good info, so thanks very much. Actually it helped confirm that I may get by even using my microwave for 1 or 2 min. at a time.

This is part of the article I mean.

Bottom Line Before you consider operating any AC appliance from an inverter, you should do the math. Let’s take a 700-watt microwave oven, for example. The PF of microwave ovens is typically around 0.6, so a 700-watt oven will draw around 10 amps (700÷ [120 x 0.6]). If your inverter does not deliver true sine wave power, an appliance inefficiency of around 30 percent comes into play, making the microwave draw around 13 amps (10 x 130 percent). Applying the times-10 rule, your battery bank has to deliver 130 amps at 12 volts, plus another 15 percent to operate the inverter. That makes the load on your battery around 150 amps while the microwave is running.

That might be OK for reheating the Dinty Moore, but try roasting a chicken for 15 minutes and the load on your batteries is similar to cranking your main engine starter motor for that long.

I only intend to reheat a can of Dinty Moore and not bake a chicken. I may have to buy that 2nd battery to use the microwave, but I think I'll be just fine with the fridg for a one day outing.

Thanks a bunch.

Larry