Shore Power Winter

[Jfrano]

So I have a few AC appliances plugged in heater and dehumidifier . If shore power gets cut do these appliances drain the battery ? Which I don’t want, any way to prevent it if it does?

Thanks
Joe

 

[Admiral S]

Make sure your Inverter is off and you should not have an issue.

 

[Wee Venture]

I have the same issue on our 2018 R-31. On our boat, the inverter was programmed by default to turn on automatically when the power goes off. This is fine if you’re onboard but not so good if you’re away for an extended period with dehumidifier and heaters going. I looked up the inverter manual online and found how to reprogram it to stay off.

 

[fishheadbarandgrill]

It depends on what brand inverter/charger you have. I have the PROMARINER and it defaults to inverter mode when I lose shore power. There is no way to turn that feature off. Other manufacturers may have a way to turn off that feature.

 

[Wee Venture]

Ours is the Kisae Abso 2000. It was not exactly intuitive, but with the help of the manual I was able to tell it not to turn on.

 

[Jfrano]

I have the Kisae, will take a spin to the marina to change the setting, tomorrow.

Thanks

 

[Wee Venture]

Here is the link to the manual:
https://www.donrowe.com/v/vspfiles/pdf/ ... _guide.pdf

Look under “Unit Operation” beginning at the bottom of page 7. The setting you want is “In0” (the default setting as supplied by the factory is “In1”).

 

[Chimo]

Just so some of us (like me) don't get confused and start looking for what is not there, this issue is with the combined unit. On our 2017 R25SC there are two separate Kisae units for charging and inverter. Obviously we don't have the issue since the inverter is not active unless I have actively turned from shore power to inverter setting at the helm. Don't know why a combined unit would be a better choice but I'm sure there's a reason.

 

[SJI Sailor]

I set ours to In0 and confirmed that AC stayed off (switch off the shore power to test).

But a question: the manual documents In0, 1, and 2 ... and our 2019 unit also shows In3 and In4 on the display, which are not documented. Any ideas what those might do? (I would love something like 'switch off after 10 minutes' or 'below 11.5 volts' etc). Not urgent, I'm just curious and might call the manufacturer.

 

[Jfrano]

Just finished setting. Yes ln0 will shutoff converter when shorepower is disconnected. Additionally when shore power is restored converter comes back on and any AC appliances that had been running! Very nice.

 

[Chimo]

Just finished setting. Yes ln0 will shutoff converter when shorepower is disconnected. Additionally when shore power is restored converter comes back on and any AC appliances that had been running! Very nice.

Okay, I'm still looking for education in case there is a better solution out there that I could implement. Obviously in my set up with a separate charger and inverter the AC appliances are simply running on the AC circuit. When I lose shore power they stop working [and the battery charger stops charging the batteries] and when shore power is reconnected everything starts working again. The inverter is simply not involved in the process. In the system you have installed are all the AC circuits routed through the inverter all the time?

 

[Wee Venture]

Just finished setting. Yes ln0 will shutoff converter when shorepower is disconnected. Additionally when shore power is restored converter comes back on and any AC appliances that had been running! Very nice.

Okay, I'm still looking for education in case there is a better solution out there that I could implement. Obviously in my set up with a separate charger and inverter the AC appliances are simply running on the AC circuit. When I lose shore power they stop working [and the battery charger stops charging the batteries] and when shore power is reconnected everything starts working again. The inverter is simply not involved in the process. In the system you have installed are all the AC circuits routed through the inverter all the time?

Here’s my understanding of how it works (someone please correct me if I get something wrong):
The inverter is connected only to the microwave and to the AC receptacles (not the water heater or electric cooktop/oven, ice maker or other permanently wired AC appliances if installed). So shore power goes directly to the AC panel and also to the inverter. The charger is on and the inverter is off when shore power is connected, but the default setting is for the inverter to act like an Uninterruptible Power Source, switching on in a fraction of a second if shore power is interrupted, and supplying power only to the circuits to which it is wired. When shore power comes back on, the inverter switches off automatically and the charger resumes charging the batteries. (If you happen to have a factory installed genset then you also have a switch at the AC panel to switch between shore power and generator.)

This automatic operation is nice if you don’t want power interrupted but a problem if you don’t want to drain the batteries. With the Kisae inverter/charger, by choosing setting “In0” the inverter is simply turned off. Shore power will then supply all the AC circuits (including those that are wired to the inverter) as well as the charger. But when shore power is interrupted, the inverter will not come on and there will be no AC anywhere. If you then decide you want to use the inverter, you have to set it back to “In1”.

As an aside, I wish there was a setting where the inverter did not come on automatically at all, but you could choose to turn it on or off with the simple push of a button. Maybe having a separate dedicated charger and inverter is a better deal in this respect.

 

[Chimo]

As an aside, I wish there was a setting where the inverter did not come on automatically at all, but you could choose to turn it on or off with the simple push of a button. Maybe having a separate dedicated charger and inverter is a better deal in this respect.

Many thanks, that makes everything clear. I'm now happy with the separate setup. I almost have the "wish" you describe. I choose to turn on the inverter when off shore power by turning a dial from Shore Power to Inverter and pressing a button. Just two steps instead of one. 🙂

 

[Wee Venture]

I almost have the "wish" you describe. I choose to turn on the inverter when off shore power by turning a dial from Shore Power to Inverter and pressing a button. Just two steps instead of one. 🙂

Yes, that is almost one step, and very intuitive. I wish mine were that straightforward and easy. And I have no need for the “instant on” feature. It’s not like I’m running a critical computer operation onboard.

But a question: the manual documents In0, 1, and 2 ... and our 2019 unit also shows In3 and In4 on the display, which are not documented. Any ideas what those might do? (I would love something like 'switch off after 10 minutes' or 'below 11.5 volts' etc). Not urgent, I'm just curious and might call the manufacturer.

I noticed those settings also but don’t know if they do anything useful. In setting “In3” it appeared to work like normal when shore power is on, except that the charging phase didn’t seem to be displayed on the pad, though the battery voltage jumped to indicate the charger was working. I would be afraid to use those settings without knowing more. If you call the manufacturer and find out anything, please post it for the rest of us.