32
|
HELE MAI OPERATING MANUAL
NW Explorations
If generator does not start:
Before repeated starting attempts, shut off sea water supply to avoid water- locking the engine by closing the
seawater supply to its sea strainer! Then, remember to turn it back on when the generator starts.
This is so that you do not seriously damage the generator by having it ingest cooling sea water that it is unable to
evacuate from its exhaust since there is no exhaust pressure!
4F7: AC Source Alternatives: Inverter System
The Inverter Makes AC from DC...
The Inverter is used to provide AC to the boat when there is no shore
power. It is wonderful, for example, to use the inverter to make a pot
of coffee when the engine is running and you are underway, or to
watch TV in a quiet anchorage, or use a hair dryer for a few minutes
in the morning. But for long-period use of AC by large appliances, the
engine or generator must be running or you must have shore power
available.
For instance the microwave, typically, will draw about 50 amps of DC
when using the inverter to run it, so in six minutes y
ou use one-tenth
of an hour at 50 amps, or five ampere-hours
. That’s okay. But what
if you want to cook a roast for 30 minutes? You would use up a lot
of energy on that one job alone! That’s too much; use the propane
stove or oven instead.
For a short task, the inverter is great: no starting the generator, no noise, no fuss, the power is there. If the main engine
is running, use it all you wish, as long as you don’t try to do two huge jobs at once: The inverter produces a maximum of
3,100 watts of pure sine wave energy at a time. So the inverter should only be used with the outlets and the microwave.
It will not run the water heater, battery charger or refrigeration.
...and also is a Battery Charger, Making DC from AC!
The Inverter can also do the reverse: If there is AC power available from a shore-side source or the generator, it can
recharge the house batteries. The battery charger function receives that power through the “Inverter In” breaker on the
AC panel. Since this breaker must be “On” for the batteries to charge using AC power, and you will want to charge the
batteries at every opportunity, we suggest that you leave it “On” for the duration of your cruise.
As noted above under the “Connecting Shore Power” section, be mindful that the Inverter can draw a lot of current
when charging the batteries, especially when first activated upon connection to shore power. Thus, you need to be
careful not to overload a shore power circuit by running other high-draw AC appliances at the same time. Monitor the AC
Ammeter to make sure the load remains below the available current as determined by the shore power service from the
marina, normally 30 amps.
Leave the Inverter set to its automatic settings. It will automatically change modes from “Shore” to “House” to
“Invert” and “Charge”!
Inverter Control LED Status Lights
Note: If LCD backlight is off you will need to wake up the remote by pressing any button before the sta-
tus lights will be active.
“PWR”
is lit if there is AC available for battery charging (from shore power or the generator).
“FAULT” Lit: The system detects a problem (this is rare): See the manual.
“CHG”
Rapid blink: The unit is getting power but is not yet charging;
Steady on: The Inverter is charging the batteries;
Off: The charger is not on nor is it charging;
Slow Blink: The charger has insufficient AC power to charge the batteries, you need to reduce the AC load or
start the generator.
The Inverter itself is in the Engine Room.