www.iFourWinns.com

Hello all,


Just picked up my 248v tonight (pictures to come in the morning). Have a question about running the microwave while not connected to shorepower. I turned all of the breakers on including the shore power and microwave. The microwave would not show the time or kick on. I know it works as it ran fine while plugged into shore power.

Is shorepower a requirment for the microwave? Does anyone know of a store that would sell the household to shore power adapter? I don't have a marine store nearby but have plenty of lowes, home depot etc.


Thanks in advance! I am sure I will have plenty more questions over the next few days.


Thanks,

It will not work without an inverter or a genny. Any 110 appliance will need that.

By an adapter, do you mean an adapter to allow you to plug a standard extension cord into the 30-amp shore-power plug on the boat .... or .... to plug the shore-power cord into a standard household 120-v outlet?

Either way, there are adapters for this, but you won't find them at the local home centers. I purchased some on ebay.

Here's some ebay examples:
http://shop.ebay.com/items/_W0QQ_nkwZ30Q20ampQ20adapterQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZR40QQ_mdoZ

I purchased two of these, for $40, on ebay. One for on the boat and one to keep in the house. They allow me to use a standard extension cord to power the boat when it's on the trailer. Just be sure that you use the appropriate gauge extension cord for the amount of amperage that you intend to be using on the boat. They will also be usefull if we end up at a marina or dock that only has 20-amp service .... and uses the standard household style 20-amp outlets.



Now, If you mean to convert the boat's on-board 12-volt system to run the microwave (or any 120-volt A/C accessory), you would need an inverter. The inverter hooks to the batteries and converts the 12-volt DC to 120-volt AC. However, a microwave pulls anywhere from 800 watts up to 1500 watts (or so). This requires a LARGE inverter and will also drain the batteries very quickly. If you intended to use the microwave in this manner, you would need a 1200 watt (or larger) inverter that is a pure sine wave type (the most expensive, of course), AND at least a couple extra "house" batteries all wired in parallel. In other words, this can get expensive.

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Gordon Arnold
New Hampshire

2003 268 Vista ..................................................................Prior: 97 245 Sundowner

The plug M3 shows can be made from parts that you can find at any HD, or local hardware store. I made 2 cords with plugs for less than $20, with parts from HD. One cord we plug into 30 amp and run 110 appliances on our dock (skillet, toaster,blender, TV etc.) The other one we made to plug from the boat 30 amp direct into a 110v, so we can charge the boat in storage before we launch each spring.

West Marine sells them both, but they are $50 to $75 a piece.

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

It's not the cheapest way but it's the best way.

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Brett DiMichele

It's a little disappointing to wake up "on the hook" and realize you can make a pot of coffee. We are probably going to pick up a Honda EU2000 this winter. We borrowed a friends for a long weekend out on the water and it was nice to plug the genny in and...

1. make coffee
2. have hot water
3. recharge the batteries
4. warm up breakfast in the microwave.

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__________________________________________

2004 268 Vista "Satisfy My Sol"

The EU2000 is awesome. I never leave port without it!

Make sure to read the numerous threads on the subject on this board regarding the genny. You need to understand how to use it safely as it can kill you if you don't know what you are doing.

_________________
Walter

2003 248 Vista - VP 5.0 GXi
2009 Toyota Tundra SR5 5.7L 4x4