Ice Maker Wiring

[ethanbarnett]

Just listened to the electrical management presentation. Very good. During the presentation an ice maker question was raised. To follow through with that question why wouldn't you wire that to operate under the inverter while underway? Presuming you remember to turn it off when anchoring. Please also when discussing what may be common knowledge like a battery discharge percentage, or other things do not presume folks know what you mean. If you say don't discharge below 50% what does that actually mean relative to what the voltage meter reads.

 

[Kevin Lamont]

Just listened to the electrical management presentation. Very good. During the presentation an ice maker question was raised. To follow through with that question why wouldn't you wire that to operate under the inverter while underway? Presuming you remember to turn it off when anchoring. Please also when discussing what may be common knowledge like a battery discharge percentage, or other things do not presume folks know what you mean. If you say don't discharge below 50% what does that actually mean relative to what the voltage meter reads.

Hello,

We like to keep things that would be a big constant draw off the inverter especially with the RG-29, R31, C30, C302 and the new C32 cause when disconnecting from shore power the inverter/charger combo goes from charger to inverter and will continue to stay on till it is turned off manually. However if you have an onboard generator you can run the ice maker while underway, the only boats would be our northwest edition boats that are not equipped with a generator.

Here is a good quote I found about discharge state:

When a battery is discharged, the amount of energy taken out will determine the depth at which it was discharged. For example if you have a 100 amp hour battery and use 50 amp hours you have discharged the battery 50% which means the depth of discharge is 50%.

Getting familiar with how many amps you are using per hour will help with not going below 50%. Hope this helps answer your questions.

Thank you,
Kevin Lamont

 

[Jfrano]

I have an ice maker and really don’t want to run the generator just to make ice. Have been thinking of moving the ice maker to the inverter panel. So while underway cruising say 10 knots on an R29, the alternator would not supply enough charge to the battery to compensate for the draw?

 

[ethanbarnett]

Kevin so Fluid Motion's opinion is that a constant charge through an inverter is imprudent use of the inverter? What is the downside of that set up provided the ice maker/freezer is turned off when not underway?

As for my statement regarding battery state of charge as a percentage of 100 may be unclear thus useless to some boaters. What may be more helpful in my opinion is a simple easily known number such as the number being displayed on our screens or analog gauges such as 12.4 volts or 12.3 volts or whatever means what? I understand the numbers but presenters should not presume the audience understands common boating language and processes.

You guys are the best and all of us in the tugnuts universe appreciate all that you do to improve our boating experiences.

Thank you, and enjoy the upcoming draft.

 

[bill46]

We run the ice maker through inverter when cruising. If you want to run overnight on batteries place arm up so it will not make ice. Compressor does not take a lot, but heater used to harvest was a lot of power. We also use microwave, coffee maker and other stuff on inverter with engine running. Only use generator for air conditioning when not on shore power.

 

[ethanbarnett]

Bill we do too. Had it rewired. Just wanting to better understand the factory's logic. Works well underway. We actually turn it off when anchored. Ice stays good. Also us it for extra freezer space. Thanks for sharing.