220v or 110v

[1aquaholic]

I know very little in this area and have search this forum and haven't found a good answer. I plan on being outside of the US 80/90% of the life of my truck, seems to make more sense to wire for 220 and adapt to 110 when I need to?

 

[Haf-E]

That is always a tricky question - you would probably find more answers on a marine website since this issue occurs more frequently with cruising boats.

One option I like is to just have the AC system wired for just one voltage (either 110 or 220 VAC) and always power the loads from an inverter via the battery and then use a different shore connected battery charger depending on the voltage you are connecting to. The downside of this is that the inverter and battery needs to be big enough to power whatever you want to operate. A benefit f this approach is that your loads are effectively powered by a giant rolling UPS and are protected from grid fluctuations and surges.

A more common option is using a transformer to step down or up the voltage so you can more directly power the loads from the shore cord. The only issue with this is that a transformer doesn't change the frequency - so all of the loads need to tolerate both 50 and 60 Hz. This is usually not much of a problem except for some printers, battery chargers and microwave ovens.

If you go with an all 110/120 VAC system and power it from a inverter or through a transformer - then you might be stuck when an appliance breaks and needs to be replaced in an area that only offers 220/240 VAC appliances. So, because of that issue, the decision depends mostly on where you will be traveling - of course, Canada and Mexico as well as nearly all of central america is 120 vac 60 hz - south america is all over the place. Asia, Europe and Africa is nearly all 230 VAC 50 Hz.

 

[Haf-E]

Should have mentioned that there is a company which offers nice battery chargers that are fairly light and small - and they offer them in both 120 and 240 vac versions:

http://www.iotaengineering.com/220vac.htm

They are located in Tuscon AZ also. I would consider having a pair of each 120 and 240 voltage chargers in a larger camper both for redundancy and for flexibility. If you only had a low powered extension cord connection - then run just one charger. If you had a higher power connection to a campground pedestal - then run two chargers.

These units are only about 5 lbs each - so having multiples is an option and is better in a lot of ways then having one larger charger and/or a heavy transformer.

 

[Joe917]

With sufficient solar and engine back up it does not matter. In 18 months in North America with a 230 volt truck we have never needed to plug in to charge.

 

[Alastair D(Aus)]

Independence

If you really plan to spend a large proportion of your time in more out of the way places then design your system to be independent of mains input. The quality of 'shore power' is highly variable and if you have to look for camping sites that have it you will be limited to more settled areas.

Put as many solar panels on the roof as can sensibly fit with a mppt controller to charge a big battery bank. Install a quality 240v inverter but use 12/24v appliances where possible eg compressor fridge etc. Make sure your lighting is led as it uses far less power. If you start from scratch then use 24v as the currents are then lower and the inverter slightly more efficient.

As a backup for when the sunlight is poor have a good charging link to your engine alternator.

Make sure whoever does the installation really knows their job and do not use cheap equipment. Use something like the Victron brand which has a wide range of gear that works together and is reliable.

You want a reliable system that just works and not have to worry about finding power sources. The best places to visit are well away from power plugs.

enjoy your trip.

 

[dwh]

All other things being equal...

230v uses copper wire half the size of 115v for the same loads. 50hz is more efficient in terms of line loss (but not really enough to take note of unless you are a utility company).

120v/240v 60hz is the original antique system, 230v/50hz is the more modern system. I wish the U.S. would finally catch up to the rest of the world and finally upgrade to 230v 50hz.

 

[Haf-E]

I agree - don't think it will ever happen - heck, we can't even agree upon the size of a sheet of paper (Letter vs. A4) or what side of the road to drive on (LHD s. RHD)... At least we aren't like Japan which is the odd ball country with 100/200 Volts AC and part of their island is 50 Hz and part 60 Hz...

Fortunately, more and more products are "universal" and accept 100 to 240 vac 50 or 60 hz - not surprisingly, it is Japan that leads this development.

 

[Haf-E]

duplicate

 

[pugslyyy]

I have an inverter that I hardly ever turn on. I think if you plan your system right you really don't need to bother with AC at all these days.


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[Joe917]

I have an inverter that I hardly ever turn on. I think if you plan your system right you really don't need to bother with AC at all these days.


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Sure is nice to be able to run the microwave and washing machine without a generator though.

 

[1aquaholic]

Great info here!!! Thank you thank you! I really like the idea of going DC and no shore power with plenty of solar but it seems like it would be nice to build it that way and still have the option of plugging in. I want to have a small AC unit and don't think any of the DC units are what I'm after. Here is the direction I'm leaning and please give me input. I've found a charger that switches between 110/220v and 50/60hz and I'm thinking a stand alone 220 inverter for house out lets. Am I over doing/thinking this? Thanks again.

 

[LeishaShannon]

I'd go with 230v if only because of spare parts availability. If a 110v appliance craps itself and you're spending 80-90% of your time away from the US then replacing it will suck.

 

[Haf-E]

As long as you aren't trying to run the AC unit from the inverter your plan sounds good. Who makes the charger you found?

I prefer to only power my AC loads from the inverter as there are less problems with its power quality than what you often get at the end of a cord in a campground.

 

[1aquaholic]

Only the 40 and 80 amp units auto switch. Newmar marine

http://dcpoweronboard.com/phase-three-series-12-volt-battery-chargers/

 

[Alastair D(Aus)]

KISS

Keep it as simple as possible. As Shannon suggested just go with 230v. No point in having dual voltage. Sourcing replacement appliances is easier for 230v when travelling in most of the world. In reality if you buy good units and mount them well you should have little problem.

Apart from the a/c you should try and size your system and appliances so you do not need to connect to shore power for daily needs. This will free you to travel in more interesting places and where power is available it is often poor quality and a high risk for appliances so being able to run appliances from the inverter is a must. Where available you can then use the shore power to charge your system as the risks are far less for simple battery charging.

For the a/c if you really need it then shore power or a generator is going to be the way. With a big inverter and good battery bank, preferably LFP, you can run and a/c especially if you go with a domestic inverter unit which are far more energy efficient. Shannon can give you info on this. The RV type a/c units are old technology and use far more power.


cheers