Fitting out your boat
suitable for use on the move. ese types are simple, with little to go wrong. e more complex types use an electronic box which correctly sets the voltage and frequency, irrespective of how fast the engine is spinning. ese can therefore be used whilst underway, but are many times more expensive than the former, and costly to repair if they go faulty. Anything over 3kW is likely to power all domestic appliances. It is vitally important to have properly engineered drive systems. Many engine builders now offer these as optional pre-installed fi tments.
INVERTERS
Inverters draw power from a 12v battery, and ‘invert’ it into 240v mains electricity. Older units produced a square wave, giving a crude approximation of the mains current – adequate for powering the simplest devices. e next generation machine produced a better waveform,
often called a ‘modifi ed sine wave’: though much better, these can produce unwanted results such as lines on a TV screen. e latest units generate a virtually pure sine wave, and these are now the most popular. e digital controls on many modern appliances simply will not work without a pure sine wave supply. You can use an inverter day or night, without disturbing anyone else. But they do of course drain the batteries, at a rate proportional to the size of load. Small loads such as a TV or a hi-fi are not a problem, but hairdryers, microwaves and so on draw a lot of power. Be sure not to leave TVs on stand by as this will continue to drain the batteries. is is usually only for a few minutes, but a washing machine has a heavy power draw for a long time. If run off a large inverter, it could deplete the battery. So do the washing whilst underway, and the engine alternator will provide much of the power needed by the inverter, reducing the
Photo: Narrowboat Surveys 18
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