Hi! 240v mains onto boats 12vDC??

As no one has commented, I will jump in.
I don't see any advantage of a transformer over a battery charger. The transformer illustrated doesn't appear to have any detail about capacity so there would not be much confidence in using it with more than one circuit at a time. You would also have the safety net of the ship's own fuse/circuit breaker systems.
 
You ned a proper shorepower circuit with a battery charger to the ships battery. Big installation and not normal on a 19 footer. Dangerous stuff 240v and water without the proper system.
 
Taken from the link:-

Product Features
Convert 230 Vac to 12 Vdc
Output power: 13Vdc x 5A = 65W

So of very limited use.
 
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woozy-UK said:
Hi all, sort of a newbie here. I own a small 19ft seawych.

I would like to know what to use for when i am in marina's and have access to 240v supplies so i can use that on the boats 12v circuits (for cooler, lighting, radio, depth sounder, tv. thanks
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I would suggest a deck socket (could be in a locker) for the shore power lead, straight into a small 2 way consumer unit RCD protected. From there you could have one switched output to a battery charger and one to a power socket for any 240V tools/TV/computer etc.
 
I have what LLP suggested on my 20' Harrier.
I charge the battery every 4th day or so with a Lidl £15 charger which is quite small.
The extra couple of sockets on the 3 outlet one mean I can charge up the moby and camera batteries at the same time.
I don't bother with an electric kettle or toaster on the 20'er but I probably will with a bigger boat.
 
Just a thought. If using a battery cargrer to provide power that you are using a non automatic one might be a better choice.

My automatic one has a reconditioning stage and if much load is put on the system it tends to go into recondition mode.

It may not apply to all but it is something to check/be aware of

There are of course battery charger / power supply units designed for the purpose but expensive and OTT for the needs of a very small boat.
 
The Portable Shore Power Lead is certainly better than the four outlet extension lead that I used to use :eek:
If you want to go the luxury route, you should also get a CLIP ON MAINS LIGHT.
Stacks of light and with a 60W bulb, a bit of warmth on a wet evening.
Plus a LOW WATTAGE 1.0L KETTLE for washing up water and a brew.
Saves on gas and helps cut down condensation.
When not in use, store the light in the kettle ;)
 
12V Transformer

The device proposed is clearly designed for the Coleman cooler. It will provide enough voltage at the required current to make the cooler work bu that does not mean it will be good for charging batteries.
A battery charger needs more like 14v to charge the battery. It is OK if this falls to around 13v when you start loading the 12v system with fridge lights etc. But at that voltage it will not charge the battery much.
So the bottom line is that the device might be useful but might also leave your battery not well charged.
As said better a battery charger that can cope with a circuit load as well as charging.
Or just a 13.75 volt regulated transformer. Sorry it is all a bit tricky. You would need an amp meter and volt meter to be sure the system is working as you want. good luck olewill
 
I understand that any load on the system is going to be detrimental to charging the battery but in my experience it's not relevant.

When I was charging my battery there was no load on the 12V system because it was done over night and everything was off.
 
There seems to be some discussion going on in this thread, when there is clearly only one solution: a purpose-built battery charger with enough output to fully top-up the batteries ready for the next day.

How this is connected and powered is a separate issue; on a small boat with no 230V AC requirements I would suggest hard wiring it to the battery, perhaps via a suitable plug and socket, and using a 230V extension lead with a suitable plug.
 
nigelmercier said:
There seems to be some discussion going on in this thread, when there is clearly only one solution: a purpose-built battery charger with enough output to fully top-up the batteries ready for the next day.

How this is connected and powered is a separate issue; on a small boat with no 230V AC requirements I would suggest hard wiring it to the battery, perhaps via a suitable plug and socket, and using a 230V extension lead with a suitable plug.
Click to expand...

Problem with some of the made up extension leads is that they're only using 1.0 or 1.5mm cable which isn't suitable for long lengths or heavy loads. On a long shore lead, I wouldn't go below 2.5mm.
 
GrahamM376 said:
Problem with some of the made up extension leads is that they're only using 1.0 or 1.5mm cable which isn't suitable for long lengths or heavy loads. On a long shore lead, I wouldn't go below 2.5mm.
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I fully agree, for a shore power lead that is used for immersion heater, kettle, toaster ...

But for a small charger that is likely to have a 3A or 5A fuse in it, I think 1.5mm² flex would be more than adequate. The OP just needs to find one that has a 10A or 13A capacity, and is the right length, then fit an appropriate plug.
 
nigelmercier said:
I fully agree, for a shore power lead that is used for immersion heater, kettle, toaster ...

But for a small charger that is likely to have a 3A or 5A fuse in it, I think 1.5mm² flex would be more than adequate. The OP just needs to find one that has a 10A or 13A capacity, and is the right length, then fit an appropriate plug.
Click to expand...

Yes but, human nature being what it is - let's use an electric kettle and, as it's getting colder at night, how about a fan heater? For a few quid more get a cable rated for 13A over a fairly long distance. Our standard cable is around 20m and stretched to limit in some marinas.
 
nigelmercier said:
There seems to be some discussion going on in this thread, when there is clearly only one solution: a purpose-built battery charger with enough output to fully top-up the batteries ready for the next day.

.
Click to expand...

Problem with this solution is the fact that a decent hard wired system could cost nearly as much as the boat !
 
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