Bliss36 wrote:
Have you tested your run time for the A/C when running on the inverter yet?
Batteries won't come in til tomorrow. I ran runtime tests on shore power. At night @ 70 degrees it runs around 8-10 minutes per hour. The A/C with inverter overhead draws 55 amps from the batteries. My battery bank is 225ah 6v's in series that are designed for deep discharge. So I figure I can get a solid 75% out of the system, or around 165 amps.
Non-stop runtime (if you want it in the 40's inside) = 3 hours
Night run time, 10 minutes per hour = 6 amps per hour = 27 hours of AC
Day run time? I've been watching it but never sat with a stopwatch yet. I'm waiting til it's in the 90s (only low 80s today). I figure double, or around 20 minutes per hour, or around 13 hours of AC. The Chaps are very thick white fiberglass and very thick carpet lining.
So in reality, a weekend excursion won't even require recharging BUT I am going to in the future install a 120 amp alternator with isolator so not only does the boat fast charge the battery bank, but still provides almost 15-20 amps of charging with the AC and engine
running. I can run an isolator now, but with the factory 70a alternator if I accidently turn on the AC while the engine is running it will burn out the alternator.
On something like a Vista the runtime will of course be shorter, but you could easily run four 225ah batteries for 450 amps of power. Still weighs less than a generator, and four 6v batteries cost $300. That would run the A/C on a Vista for days, and you can charge off engine and shore power.
I'll eventually install an automatic transfer switch, onboard charger, and shore power connector to finish it all up "professionally" this fall. For me it's not important, but if I ever sell the boat or anyone wants to check it out I want to show a "complete" install done right. I don't want to tell someone they gotta reach around and unplug the AC from the inverter to plug into shore power with a shore power adapter
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