Inverter output question?
 

On 2 Sep 2003 18:45:04 -0700, (Curtis CCR)
wrote:

Do inverters put out 120VAC with a hot and neutral (the way most
expect to see 120), or is there voltage on both sides? I ask because
a got a "reversed polarity" indication when I plugged my boat into a
friend's boat over the weekend.

It's isolated from ground and might give you this indication.

What battery did he have in his diesel submarine?....(c;

He has an inverter but no gen set. I have a gen set but no inverter.
He doesn't run much on his boat except a 120V fridge, so when we raft
up together I usually let him plug in to my boat to get a charge when
my generator is on. My generator quit the other night so I plugged
into him to run my 120V fridge for the night (we were heading back in
to next morning).



I am thinking he has an "upsidedown" outlet, but I wasn't about to
tear his boat apart at 10PM to figure it out. But then I thought
maybe the inverter output was causing it.

Thanks

It's probably the inverter. It isn't "dock power". The digital
remnants in the synthesized sinewave could have also triggered your
alarm.


Larry

Extremely intelligent life must exist in the universe.
You can tell because they never tried to contact us.

Inverter output question?
 

I respectfully disagree.

A reverse polarity indicator is usually just a light wired from the
neutral (white) to the ground (green). Most of them are not
sophisticated enough to be set off by a messy waveform.

I would bet on Curtis's guess -- an upside down outlet.

Generalizing about inverters is a little dangerous -- some of the
imports are strange -- but at the low end, they usually have ordinary
outlets, and at the high end, terminals for connections, and, yes, the
neutral and the hot are marked as such.

Jim Woodward
www.mvfintry.com

(Larry W4CSC) wrote in message ...
On 2 Sep 2003 18:45:04 -0700, (Curtis CCR)
wrote:

Do inverters put out 120VAC with a hot and neutral (the way most
expect to see 120), or is there voltage on both sides? I ask because
a got a "reversed polarity" indication when I plugged my boat into a
friend's boat over the weekend.

It's isolated from ground and might give you this indication.

What battery did he have in his diesel submarine?....(c;

He has an inverter but no gen set. I have a gen set but no inverter.
He doesn't run much on his boat except a 120V fridge, so when we raft
up together I usually let him plug in to my boat to get a charge when
my generator is on. My generator quit the other night so I plugged
into him to run my 120V fridge for the night (we were heading back in
to next morning).



I am thinking he has an "upsidedown" outlet, but I wasn't about to
tear his boat apart at 10PM to figure it out. But then I thought
maybe the inverter output was causing it.

Thanks

It's probably the inverter. It isn't "dock power". The digital
remnants in the synthesized sinewave could have also triggered your
alarm.


Larry

Extremely intelligent life must exist in the universe.
You can tell because they never tried to contact us.

Inverter output question?
 

Curtis: An inveter produces 120VAC hot to common and hot to ground.
Larry: If this is a name brand marine inverter mfgd and installed IAW ABYC
Standards, then the safety ground and the neutral wire are tied together
when the inverter is producing 120VAC. Assuming that Curtis' receptacle is
wired correctly, I suspect that Curtis is right, he plugged into an outlet
on his friend's boat that had reversed polarity.

73-
Charlie

Inverter output question?
 

There's a catch:

Charlie says, "then the safety ground and the neutral wire are tied
together
when the inverter is producing 120VAC."

This is exactly right, but they must not be tied together when the
boat is plugged into shore power unless the boat has an isolation
transformer. This is a source of confusion and problems on boats of
all sizes.

The rule is that the neutral/safety tie (white to green) in any system
should be at one and only one place. When plugged into shore power,
it's at the service entrance for the marina power. When generating
power on board (genset or inverter), it's on board. This requires
switching, which the better inverters provide automatically, but is
ignored in many installations.

Jim Woodward
www.mvfintry.com

"Charlie J" wrote in message .. .
Curtis: An inveter produces 120VAC hot to common and hot to ground.
Larry: If this is a name brand marine inverter mfgd and installed IAW ABYC
Standards, then the safety ground and the neutral wire are tied together
when the inverter is producing 120VAC. Assuming that Curtis' receptacle is
wired correctly, I suspect that Curtis is right, he plugged into an outlet
on his friend's boat that had reversed polarity.

73-
Charlie

Inverter output question?
 

So in short, there seems to be two likely candidates:

1) inverter or plug is wired 'Upside Down'.
2)Inverter is not connecting Neutral to Ground while in 'invert'
mode. I know the ProSine units have a relay that does this function,
and also know it can be defeated.

So, a couple of areas to check out.
-al-


On 2 Sep 2003 18:45:04 -0700, (Curtis CCR)
wrote:

Do inverters put out 120VAC with a hot and neutral (the way most
expect to see 120), or is there voltage on both sides? I ask because
a got a "reversed polarity" indication when I plugged my boat into a
friend's boat over the weekend.

He has an inverter but no gen set. I have a gen set but no inverter.
He doesn't run much on his boat except a 120V fridge, so when we raft
up together I usually let him plug in to my boat to get a charge when
my generator is on. My generator quit the other night so I plugged
into him to run my 120V fridge for the night (we were heading back in
to next morning).

I am thinking he has an "upsidedown" outlet, but I wasn't about to
tear his boat apart at 10PM to figure it out. But then I thought
maybe the inverter output was causing it.

Thanks

Inverter output question?