Transformers
As I type this post, I am once again listening to the droning of our diesel generator. With no solar panels or wind generator yet installed, each morning and evening we need to run the generator to top up our ship’s batteries. Being in a marina, you would think that we could plug in to the shore power outlets but alas, it is not quite that easy. One Love, like many of the boats here at Port Louis Marina, is a 110 volt boat. It is designed to run off the North American standard which is 110 volt, 60 Hz electricity. Unfortunately, all but one of the docks here are configured to offer only 220 volt, 50 Hz power and the one dock that can do otherwise is always full.
This kind of Transformer is much more cool than the ones that I am talking about.
What can we do about this? Well, we can run the generator, as we have been doing. We could also purchase, rent or borrow a step-down transformer which will bring the marina’s 220 volts down to a compatible 110 volts. Although a transformer won’t do anything about the frequency (changing 50 Hz — cycles per second — to 60 Hz), the conversion process for that being infinitely more complicated, it would allow us to charge our batteries and run most all of our 110 volt appliances.
For a brief period of a couple of days, we did borrow our friends’ transformer and it worked as advertised, saving us some diesel. Our friends have since returned to the marina though so we had to give their transformer back to them. Step-down transformers of various sizes are available for purchase here in Grenada and given the cost of the diesel, we may just end up having to go purchase one. I’m sure our neighbors would appreciate the lack of noise too.
Your guests will ultimately appreciate it as well! No solar or wind, yet!?? Ouch!! Are you considering them as well?
We will definitely install solar and perhaps wind as well. That will have to wait until we are back in St. Thomas.
Are the plugs supplying the electric the same design for both 110 and 220 into thd boat socket? Approx price of trnasformer? Thanks.
No, the plugs are not the same but that is easily remedied.
The transformers cost a few hundred US depending on their size and whether or not they are weather proof.
Mike…
One Love’s home page, last sentence…”The yacht is equipped with a powerful generator to power the air conditioning units and all of the vessels amenities.”
vessel’s — possessive ;:<)
Thank you. Fixed.
Mike..
Hope you don’t mind.
Figured that you’d want to put the best image forward on the new website, as you do everything top grade!
Definitely do not mind. I hate typos! If you see others please advise.
Would it be less expensive to buy a 220 volt charger for the batteries, then run boat stuff off the inverter? Maybe set up two charging options , 120/60 or 220/50
You figure that sounds less expensive than buying a transformer for a couple hundred bucks? I doubt it.
As for the inverter, check back next week. It has not yet been installed.
A charger should be between 200-300 dollars. Transformer capable of lasting a while may cost much more( been a while since I bought one, lots of electronics are now dual voltage). Most of my electronics (video gear) also did not like 50 hertz, it proved better where possible to use an inverter with genuine US specs.
Transformers here cost 200-300 US.
Glad to hear you plan on installing solar/wind! I chartered twice in the BVIs for two weeks each time, and my biggest pet peeve was that the captain would go to bed each night leaving the generator running, and then the first person to wake up each morning always flipped it on so they could use the coffeemaker/toaster/etc. It was so annoying to hear that constant drone of a generator when all you want to hear is water lapping against the hull, and the sound of the breeze coming in through your hatches.
We’ve decided that when we finally get our boat, solar is now high up on our list!
I hear you. If the guests want Air Conditioning then the price will be listening to the gen set running. The AC will not run off the batteries.
What about a splitter to take the power from 50 amp to two 30 amp connections? That should bring it down from 220v to two 110v legs. Works in the states not sure about down there.
If what you are describing was possible I suspect people here would be doing it.
“Transformers. More than meets the eye!”
I only remember this phrase from the original Transformers cartoon ‘cuz both of my sons were big time into them…Transformer figurines were the male equivalent of the Cabbage Patch doll in those days and just as hard to find for Christmas gifts.
http://transformers.wikia.com/wiki/Theme_song
Good on you for tackling these electrical challenges but you have the background training. When I look at the almost 150 pages on Electrical in Don Casey’s book it reinforces just how much I do not know about electrical issues. And I always have in the back of my mind the fact that you do not hear electricity coming at you.
I have that book too, back on ZTC.
Hi, usually 220 vac is 110 110 grnd
…………… 110 vac is 110 grnd ntrl
all you need do is use one side of the 220 vac and grnd for 110vac
so you end up with one wire from the 220 not connected..insulated..
110 110 gnd =220 110 xxx gnd =110 you are however stuck with 50 cyl
this is what volt meters are made for.
Not quite, Sparky.
North American residential service is 240/120 split phase. Three wires: one is neutral (0V), two are 120VAC. The two 120V wires are in phase, but opposite in sign; i.e. when black is at +120V, red will be at -120V. Either hot wire to neutral gives you 120V, hot to other hot gives you 240V.
Caribbean service is 220, 230 or 240 single phase, i.e. the hot is at 220V and the neutral is at 0V. The only way to get 120V from these circuits is with a 2:1 step down transformer.
Ground (earth) and neutral are not the same thing in these systems. Neutral carries the full current in normal operation and is connected, with the hot, back to the source / transformer. Ground only carries current if a device shorts out, and then only for long enough to trip a circuit breaker or GFCI.
Sorry, this won’t work and trying it might kill someone.
There are some fairly major differences in the setup of the North American and Rest of World power networks. If you open up a 220V RoW supply you will see 220VAC, neutral and ground just like the US 110VAC supply. There is no way to split this down further, the wiring of the supply and upstream transformer just won’t allow it.
Does this come with a translation? 😉 🙂
Mike
You have brought up something that I have had in my mind to find out for a couple of weeks now; is the power there 220 in hotels and homes as well? Just wondering if I should bother bringing my curling iron etc for the land based part of my trip. I have a converter but when I used it in England, my curling iron burnt out so it can’t work very well and don’t want that to happen again.
Let me ask Rebecca.
Wait… she doesn’t have a curling iron. 🙂
Sorry, I don’t know, Sandra. I’m sure The Oracle could tell you though.
I did as you suggested and apparently it is 220 in most places but some newer hotels have 110. So I have written to the hotel to ask.
Good job!
Are both the water and electric you use in the marina metered, you pay for what you use, or is it a daily flat rate for hook up? Thanks.
Metered, and not inexpensive.
I didn’t think you could use a 60hz charger with 50hz voltage.
You would need to check the manual for your specific unit. The truth is that our currently installed Victron battery charger will even take 220v, 50 hz. The problem is that that only charges the batteries. It would not run the 110v systems and if we turned anything on the 110v side on, we would have problems. That is why the transformer is needed, or the generator.
But don’t you have an inverter?
Yes. It’s sitting in a box on the starboard aft bunk. Ask me again in a week.
Just be very careful running generators in a slip…. They are design to exhaust fumes behind a vessel on the hook or underway. In a slip deadly fumes can find its way in the cabin with horrible results.
Well… yes, Carbon Monoxide is a danger in certain circumstances. I should point out that many generators are NOT meant to be run while underway though.
I just dont want to hear of a tragedy to the people I love following 🙂 We have had at least two incedents in recent years on the Chesapeake where the occupents for whatever reason ran the gennys in the slip (shorepower was available) and the results were multiple fatalities. Just be careful my friends.
Wilco!