# Convert yacht to 240 Volts



## 83XT4 (Oct 18, 2009)

Has any1 converted a 110v system to 240v

My dilemma is I am about to purchase a PSC 37 recently imported to Australia. Nice set up withHeart inverter/charger, has portable step down tranny on board, lacking Aust. style plugs (no prob there though,I am an electrician)
Now should i just leave as be, and just source on board appliance which chief petty officer (wife) requires from US, (blender, microwave) or put a step up tranny between inverter and outlets, then changing outlets to Aust.

or

are there small, plug in transformers available.

I am going to have to check out some of my apliance more closely to see if they have 110 volt function.

No plans to go too far from Australia.

Appreciate any sugestions


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## scottyt (Jul 19, 2008)

here is a thought, how about upgrade everything on the boat to 240, including the chargers, then use a US inverter for the 110 volt loads off the batteries, which will charge of the 240 volt power. best of both worlds and i would bet it would be cheaper to install.

i am an electrician too, and we know transformers put out heat and take up space

edit i would bet you can sell off the parts you dont need like the transformers and chargers to people sailing to the US or who have bought other US boats


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## St Anna (Mar 15, 2003)

83XT4 said:


> Has any1 converted a 110v system to 240v
> 
> My dilemma is I am about to purchase a PSC 37 recently imported to Australia. Nice set up withHeart inverter/charger, has portable step down tranny on board, lacking Aust. style plugs (no prob there though,I am an electrician)
> Now should i just leave as be, and just source on board appliance which chief petty officer (wife) requires from US, (blender, microwave) or put a step up tranny between inverter and outlets, then changing outlets to Aust.
> ...


As a sparky, you will have no dramas with this. There is an AUS standard for mains-ships 240V power. I'll see if I can source the document for you. The wiring probably will need replacing anyway - insulation requirements and standards.

Safer changing the lot fully. Many/most yachts have piecemeal upgrades.
cheers
David


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## deniseO30 (Nov 27, 2006)

240 really, is just 2 - 120 lines side by side. the neutral is what completes the circuit. what would you really have to change? Light bulbs? Don't most shore power boxes have 30 amp 120 and 50 amp 240? I was actually thinking of going to 50amp for when I do put ac in my boat.


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## scottyt (Jul 19, 2008)

denise yes 240 is just two legs of 110 ( 120 ) with a neutral, at least here in the US. in europe i dont think it works like that, because they dont have neutrals. i also dont think the 50 amp shore powers are 240 volt, i could be wrong.

as for your boat its cheaper to add a second 30 amp shore power plug and either use a splitter on a 50 amp or use 2 30 amp cords. just install a second 30 amp jack, and a small panel for the air conditioner. that keeps them separate and when you dont need ac you run a smaller cord.


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## Omatako (Sep 14, 2003)

FWIW I had exactly the same dilemma you have - I bought my boat in the US and brought it to New Zealand. My thinking was/is:

I started off thinking that 110v appliances were going to be hard to source so let's change to 220v. Then I saw the cost of a new Heart Freedom25 inverter in 220v to replace my existing 110v unit and that slowed me down considerably.

Here's what I had in 110v on the boat and what I did/intend doing with them

Fridges - will change to 12v unit next year meantime they run on the inverter
Hot water heater element - left as is, runs off inverter
Television - ditched the old one and bought new dual voltage 220v/110v unit. That packed up after 10 months I have just last week replaced it with a 12v unit.
Microwave - most overrated appliance on my boat, converted to breadbox
Fan - ditched it - never used it
Coffee machine - ditched it - use a percolater on the stove
What I added was a computer which is also dual voltage and runs on 110v with no problem. A lot of other accessories like printers, cellphone chargers etc are dual voltage. The only issue for me is the recharging of portable hand tools that in NZ need a 220v charger and my wife says she needs a hair dryer. My advice was - if you REALLY think you need one, import one from the US.

In addition to this I installed a Xantrex 220v mains battery charger for when I'm lucky enough to be on shorepower. Otherwise I have two alternators (Balmar 180A) and an uprated Hitachi (80A) and I am busy rebuilding a Fischer Panda genset and then I have all my charging bases covered.

I now have no worries about power - everything works to our satisfaction and with minimal effort.

So given the above, my advice is don't stress about changing anything immediately - live with it and look at the solutions that exist in your back yard - you'll find them a whole lot simpler than you expected.


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## 83XT4 (Oct 18, 2009)

Thanks for the quick responses.
Ummm..... denise and scotty, please dont do any electrical work your self on your boat as 240V is NOT 2 x 110V.
And yes we do have neutral.
I think the do nothing approach appeals most

Thanx Omatako


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## scottyt (Jul 19, 2008)

83XT4 said:


> Thanks for the quick responses.
> Ummm..... denise and scotty, please dont do any electrical work your self on your boat as 240V is NOT 2 x 110V.
> And yes we do have neutral.
> I think the do nothing approach appeals most
> ...


in the US 240 is two legs of 110/120. the 2 phases are 180 degrees out of rotation to each other. if you open my electric panel or any house panel in the US you will find 2 hot legs. if you read between the legs its 240, if you go from either leg to neutral or ground its 110/120.

as i said i did not think you had a neutral like we do, ie neutral and ground are bonded or connected in the panel. it looks like i am wrong from what you said, if you measure from the hot to the ground do you get 240v? i kind of thought europe used 2 legs, with neither being a ground/neutral like we have. i could be wrong i have never worked on electric in europe or even been there.

the reason the US has set up our power like this, is one we have had it this way for a long time. the other reason is for normal things like lights, tv's, microwaves etc using 110v is safer from the shock point of view ie less likely to get killed. now running higher amperage to get the same wattage is more likely to burn a house down. we started with 110 v, then as things like electric dryers that needed more juice came around it was easier to install the 120/240 v system like we have with out throwing everything 110 volt away. it was easy to install a transformer out on the pole that had a second tap 180 degrees out in the freq to get the 240 and then run another hot leg inside.

the funny one is commercial electric is 3 phase 277/480 where the are 3 phases at 277 to ground. then we use a transformer to step it down to 120/208 with 3 hot legs in the panel. now not all places have the 277/480 coming in some go straight for the 120/208

btw i am a master electrician here

edit 83xt4 here is a wiki answer web site you might get a kick out of
wiki answer


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## St Anna (Mar 15, 2003)

AS/NZS 3004:2002
is the Aus standards for electrical installations - Marinas etc
There probably is a more _current_ one - excuse the pun


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## mintcakekeith (Nov 5, 2009)

In UK domestic electricity supply is 240V line to neutral . neutral is normaly bonded to earth at the supply company transformer. Industrial supply is usualy 3 phase 440 volt. all at 50 cycles. the US frequency is 60 cycles . this can create problems when motors are imported /exported as thespeed changes . also inverters etc dont like it (anyone want a heart inverter 110 V )
the rest of europe uses similar voltages and frequencies but the earth bonding system varies .I do not know re austrailia etc .K


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## deniseO30 (Nov 27, 2006)

Ummm ... thanks! Scotty! I think we've just been insulted! lol


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## scottyt (Jul 19, 2008)

mintcakekeith said:


> anyone want a heart inverter 110 V


yes i do should i pm my addy? 

and keith thanks for the clarification on the UK 240 volt. i just assumed they used 2 hot legs and no neutral aka american 240.

and denise we where not insulted, like us 83tx4 just did not know the other country's power systems. now we all do


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

I'd point out that the wiring for 110 VAC should be more than sufficient for 220 VAC, since the amperage will generally be halved.


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## mintcakekeith (Nov 5, 2009)

110 wiring will ok re current but check insulation and most important earth continuity.lots of boat wiring gets modified by owners and it is often better and cheaper to pull it out and replace .K

Denise do you mean insulted or insulated?


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## St Anna (Mar 15, 2003)

mintcakekeith said:


> 110 wiring will ok re current but check insulation and most important earth continuity.lots of boat wiring gets modified by owners and it is often better and cheaper to pull it out and replace .K
> 
> Denise do you mean insulted or insulated?


What an intelligent common sense comment. Did you think of it yourself?


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## 83XT4 (Oct 18, 2009)

I am sorry if I caused any offence and appologise wholeheartly.

It would appear that even though we are both english speaking countries, somethings still get lost in translation. eg; legs
I think power generation is the same the world over, where it's generated at 3 phase. It is only the voltage at supply that varies, and the pin layout.
Australia does have 240/415v supply but it,s rare to have more than 1 phase in any house. Every supply has an earth bonded nuetral, M.E.N.(mains earth nuetral) 
The wiring is first class aboard this boat (pacific seacraft 37) and cable size looks like 4mm with the GFI (we have RCD) Removing it is pointless. No mods here,except couple of add ons.The inverter is also the charger (heart) 
Think i will trawl e-bay for 110V goodies, and leave be for now.

Sorry again for any offence, now if you guys can just convert to the metric system, and start driving on the left hand side of the road please.


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## scottyt (Jul 19, 2008)

now why would we drive on the left side. its just wrong, i mean heck when you sail you stay right, same with a car. 

if you down unders would just start drinking beer cold, and realize that you all are on the wrong side of the equator, and your toilets even flush backwards


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## St Anna (Mar 15, 2003)

83XT4
If the internal wiring is sufficient, just add the rcd trip, check internal fuses and change outlet to 3 pin.

I have a 240V board next to the 12V. 
http://i665.photobucket.com/albums/vv14/saintanna/P2090095.jpg

Just my view, but possibly you may be creating probs for yourself if you dont do it right and also if you wish to add on later. Whatever you do - as long as you are comfortable with it, its right for you.

Keep us posted as to your progress over the pacific.
regards
David


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## St Anna (Mar 15, 2003)

*a little off topic, but*



scottyt said:


> , and your toilets even flush backwards


As long as they dont _flow_ backwards due to all the stuff raining down from the northern hemishere..


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## tdw (Oct 2, 2006)

Hey StAnna,

You think maybe Scotty has us mixed up with the Poms ? Beer other than cold ? Here ? Bloody seppos...wouldn't know their arse from a hole in the ground, pack a drongos the lot of 'em. Warm beer indeed. 



In General....

Now I know its been mentioned before but ref insulation. SD is quite correct in asserting that 110wiring should be more than sufficient for 240v but its likely to be the insulation that is the problem. I've not had any experience with building cable in the US but we have imported lighting from the US and converted it to 240v. From experience there is no way that the US cable would pass muster in Australia. Indeed , even European mains voltage (220v) cable has less insulation than the Australian standard requires, albeit only marginally.


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## St Anna (Mar 15, 2003)

TDW,
Absolutely correct! 

There could be some SN placements around the world as they might be found as wizzened, blacked, smoking remnants of SN posters, still fried to their newly parallel 110V, unearthed powerboards. A glass of warm beer lying untouched.

 Sorry guys, please forgive my warped sense of humour


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## wookie (Mar 16, 2008)

Sorry im a bit late coming in on this, I am bringing a boat from US to UK. I intend to keep the 110v system on board as i find the small plugs and sockets are less obtrusive than UK 3 pin, and i can buy electrical items from the US. I wish to install a transformer 240v - 110v for the shore power I am aware of the 50/60hertz issue does anyone have a recommeded make?


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## Johnny christo (Mar 16, 2018)

Wouldn’t the simple answer be use everything as 12v maybe the AIr Con be the exception and for the one item just use an inverter.


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## Jeff_H (Feb 26, 2000)

Johnny christo said:


> Wouldn't the simple answer be use everything as 12v maybe the AIr Con be the exception and for the one item just use an inverter.


The problem with using a 110 air conditioner on an inverter is that air conditioning is a huge energy user compared to most items on a boat. Converting to 110 using an inverter is a lot less efficient than simply using 12 volt directly. That normally does not matter with small draw items, but it with Air Conditioning it would be a make the system much less feasible, especially on a smaller boat.

Jeff


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