power invertor 79 Sundancer 260

[bmurphy]

Does anyone know if the 1979 Sundancer 260 came with an invertor? I tried my outlets on the water for the first time this weekend and no power. I checked everywhere for a breaker/fuse with no luck. I found the battery charger but no invertor. Everything works when hooked to shore power. How can I install an invertor so that it works properly. I have a 2500 watt invertor already in my truck that I can use.

 

[GoofyLeo3]

They don't have 'em onboard. Inverters are woefully inefficient and will really kill the batteries quick unless you have the engine running. I just go with only 12V accessories. Truck stops are a great source, and a helluva lot cheaper than boat mags. TV's run on 12V, but screw the microwave. Our galley is too small for that, imo.

 

[Danny Troy]

Re: power inverter 79 Sundancer 260

I was a little confused with my boat also. The onboard converter converts shore power to 12v, for battery charging and to operate 12v appliances. Unfortunately, it doesn't convert 12v to 110v. I bought this Xantrex 1800 watt inverter, and although it has a transfer switch feature, I elected to operate it completely isolated from the onboard power. I added a receptacle next to the shore power receptacle for inverter use. I also have a receptacle at the inverter itself. So if I want to run my TV or microwave while away from the dock, I have to unplug from one receptacle and plug it in the other. A minor inconvenience, and all it all I'm very happy with it. One thing, I bought a 700 watt Sunbeam microwave, and it wouldn't power it. I had to switch to a 600 watt Haier unit, and although it struggles, it does work.

http://www.xantrex.com/web/id/198/p/1/pt/7/product.asp

 

[Alibuma]

What are you looking to power while away from the dock? I was thinking about adding an inverter also but dont want to do all the hard wiring in a boat I might not be keeping that long (upgrade in the future hopefully). The only thing I want to power is an LCD TV/DVD player and maybe recharge a laptop.

Last night I was stuck in the house so I grabbed my 4 yr old 400 watt Target jump pack from the garage and my 350 watt Walmart special $35 inverter and powered my 27" Sony tube TV for 1.5 hours. I was pretty impressed with this. I am going to try this out on the boat nextweekend with the 15" LCD tv which I expect to draw less power than my big one. If it runs for two hours, I will be pretty happy.

In my research, I came across a Xantrex 600w power pack w/ three outlets built right in to it. They also make a 1500 watt rolling jump pack that has 90 amp/hours and should power a microwave (but the pack is bulky) I would be willing to try the 600 watt pack ($150 online) if I cannot get a full movie out of my current equipment.

Besides powering the TV, I like the idea of having a jump pack onboard incase I need it, or someone else does. I also like the fact that you can charge it from the cigarette lighter, you dont have to drain your onboard batteries, it's portable, and requires no major modifications/wiring in the boat.

The cons are bulkiness, less capacity than a couple of deep cycles, and it probably wont run a microwave.

 

[jcoyrochny]

Here is what I have for an inverter, it works rather well off the hook and it it hooked up strait from the house batteries, if the batteries go down below 11.5 v, it shuts down automatically. I got this one at Sam's Club for $487.00, every where else is about $600.00 +