2005 Bayliner 245 Shorepower vs Battery/Engine Power-gctid803744

[souljunkie]

Hey Everyone -

Just upgraded from a 18ft sportboat to the Bayliner 245. I dont get any power to the circuit board/appliances, etc unless plugged into shorepower.

Is this just how it is, or should I be able to use the fridge, microwave, etc while out and about?

Thanks,

k.bowers

[Ruffryder]

all normal...your fridge will work if you have a dual voltage 120AC/12DC one.

[Pcpete]

You are seeing the difference between 12v and 120v appliances. Your fridge probably operates on both automatically. To be able to have 120v without being plugged in requires an inverter, some switches and more batteries depending on what you already have. If you have some basic electric knowledge, you can install it yourself. We went for many years without one and it was just fine however, we didn't anchor out much.

There are folks here to guide you through buying and installing one if you decide to go that way. A proper installation is going to be at least $900 IMO.

[Ruffryder]

If you have a closed cooling or raw looped to you water heater, you will have hot water on the way.

Portable butane burner is a good alternative for cooking...

Congrats on your new boat!

[MonteVista]

You can bring 120v power to some of those appliances if you install an inverter and have sufficient battery power for the inverter to generate 120v power and feed those appliances using the batteries. Doing so requires careful planning, installation and adequate number/capacity of batteries depending upon what appliances and for how long you want to power them while away from the dock. It sounds as if you would need professional advice/assistance doing that.

Get to use and gain experience with your present set up before you contemplate doing anything else.

Enjoy boating!

[Jeffw]

You can also buy a portable generator (such as Honda or Yamaha) then you have 120 volt power anywhere. And welcome to the BOC!

[Old_Man_With_A_Boat]

Welcome to BOC!! All the info you have received so far is spot on. Your fridge should work when you are away from shore power. If this is a used boat just make sure the fridge has not been replaced with 120v only unit. If you find that it was then you will need the inverter setup described above. If you do have to have the inverter set up make sure you have plenty of battery power in your house bank. The suggestion about the butane burner is a good one. I use a propane burner and a propane grill both use the small one pound bottles. I use both of these even when we are at the dock and have shore power.

[souljunkie]

Thanks for the responses everyone.

I will probably try it out the way it is for a while and see how it goes. If I do decide to buy

a generator, how many watts would be enough? I would only be running one thing at at time probably - either the heat/air or the microwave/stove.

I have no idea how much draw those things have.

Thanks,

k.b.

[Ruffryder]

All depends on how many amps the unit draws, what BTU's your marine AC unit is...

EU 2000 should be enough on yours.