@ttmott
Woof! Hadn't known you were working on all that! Impressive!
My intentions are more modest: inverter for 120VAC loads, so that's just fridge, freezer, TV/stereo, microwave, AC outlets (which includes coffee maker).
A different direction: I just compared sizes of Odyssey PC1800-FT batteries versus typical 8Ds. Looks like 4x PC1800-FTs will perhaps fit in the footprint of an 8D box, although they're taller. Replacing our 2x thruster batteries with 4x PC1800-FTs would increase nominal capacity from ~245-ish to 428 Ah @ 24V, would add ~216 lbs to that side of the boat, and would cost approx. $2700-ish. And then the thruster bank could service the inverter function.
(Does depend on whether Odyssey still makes these!)
OTOH, half of that cost could be thought of as the cost of a thruster bank anyway, so not all of the cost would necessarily be charged to an inverter project.
It'd likely be better to replace the current 25A charger for faster re-charging at anchor (within the limits of what AGMs handle), and in that case a combined inverter/charger might be better... than a separate charger and inverter.
I have some experience with this approach. In the previous boat, I first increased bank capacity for our two main banks from ~270 Ah to 300 Ah, and they shared a charger. Later, I increased one bank to 440 Ah, and then dedicated an inverter/charger to that bank to service light AC loads. (Everything above except for fridge/freezer, which were already AC/DC.) The batteries were still in the engine room, but the inverter/charger was (above) nearby, in storage behind living spaces. Worked pretty well, didn't cost an arm and a leg.
Obvious cons, in our current situation: 1) The batteries are in a hot engine room. (Although that's where they are already, anyway.) 2) Locating an inverter in a hot engine room, close enough to the batteries, ain't great. (Don't know of an alternative, so far.)
-Chris
Woof! Hadn't known you were working on all that! Impressive!
My intentions are more modest: inverter for 120VAC loads, so that's just fridge, freezer, TV/stereo, microwave, AC outlets (which includes coffee maker).
A different direction: I just compared sizes of Odyssey PC1800-FT batteries versus typical 8Ds. Looks like 4x PC1800-FTs will perhaps fit in the footprint of an 8D box, although they're taller. Replacing our 2x thruster batteries with 4x PC1800-FTs would increase nominal capacity from ~245-ish to 428 Ah @ 24V, would add ~216 lbs to that side of the boat, and would cost approx. $2700-ish. And then the thruster bank could service the inverter function.
(Does depend on whether Odyssey still makes these!)
OTOH, half of that cost could be thought of as the cost of a thruster bank anyway, so not all of the cost would necessarily be charged to an inverter project.
It'd likely be better to replace the current 25A charger for faster re-charging at anchor (within the limits of what AGMs handle), and in that case a combined inverter/charger might be better... than a separate charger and inverter.
I have some experience with this approach. In the previous boat, I first increased bank capacity for our two main banks from ~270 Ah to 300 Ah, and they shared a charger. Later, I increased one bank to 440 Ah, and then dedicated an inverter/charger to that bank to service light AC loads. (Everything above except for fridge/freezer, which were already AC/DC.) The batteries were still in the engine room, but the inverter/charger was (above) nearby, in storage behind living spaces. Worked pretty well, didn't cost an arm and a leg.
Obvious cons, in our current situation: 1) The batteries are in a hot engine room. (Although that's where they are already, anyway.) 2) Locating an inverter in a hot engine room, close enough to the batteries, ain't great. (Don't know of an alternative, so far.)
-Chris
