New 280 Marlin Owner Questions

[chillintime]

We purchased our first GW this summer - a 280 Marlin. Its been at the house mostly (trailered) for some maintenance & fix-ups, but we did have it out on the water locally for a shake-down and renaming party. So far, we love the boat and are looking forward to the next time out.

Thanks to many good posts on this and other sites like it as well as being generally handy already, I've been able to figure out most everything as I go along. But, there are a couple questions I can't find answers to, so I thought I'd post them here to see if anyone else could help me out.

1. How do I remove the microwave oven without taking the whole cabinet apart?

2. I'm replacing the original 40 Amp/4 Channel Guest charger. What new chargers are you folks using that you like?

3. If I install a large inverter such as the Xantrex Freedom series, where is a good place to put it that it won't get wet or be a potential hazard?

Thanks in advance for the replies.

 

[Walkers Edge]

Congratulations and nice boat! Feel free to post some pictures of the new ride.

1. Good question, wish my boat was big enough to have one.
2. I installed a new ProMariner charger last year for my dual battery setup. One of the best upgrades yet and it has worked flawlessly.
3. I believe under the v-berth should have plenty of room and stay very dry, others with the exact boat will know for sure.

 

[LI Grady]

Are you going to try and run the microwave off the inverter?

If so let me know how it works out. I miss not being able to heat up a cup of coffee, etc. but adding a genny to the boat is way too much money and aggravation for a few minutes of microwave time.

Thanks

 

[Capt Bill]

Congrats on your new boat purschase. For the inverter, xantrex makes one that is also a munti-battery charger, so since you are replacing the original charger, I would consider going that route. As as as where to install it, I believe there is room behind the refrigerator. It should be pretty easy to remove the fridge, and find out. You will have to run good sized battery cables to the battery switch, to power the inverter, as the one I'm thinking of is a 2000 watt unit which will easily run your microwave. It will even run a hairdryer, for the ladies who have to primp up for dockside cocktails, after having an afternoon of swimming.

Good luck on the projects and post up some pics for us to drool over

 

[ocnslr]

Rarely do I take any issue with Capt Bill, but might have to here.

I installed a ProWatt 1000 inverter inside the transom four years ago. I put it there because every installation guidance I read indicated that the cables between the inverter and the batteries should be as short as possible. Mine are under four feet, and I still had to use BIG cable. I can not imagine a run from the battery area aft to the galley area behind the reefer.

And I do run the microwave on the inverter - frequently - with no problems.

Brian

 

[Lainie J]

Inverter

I also have a 1,000 watt inverter mounted in aft bilge just forward and port of batteries. Mounted a flat piece of marine plywood then inverter on top. Runs the microwave and outlets fine.

 

[BobP]

When I mounted the prowatt inverted on the transom wall, it was rusting in one year, almost a total lost just got it out in time.

I get condensation back there, moved it into the rear of the lower berth service access compartment.

Having it near the batteries makes for a less costly DC cable run, I upped the cable size to compensate for the distance so voltage drop is not an issue, with a breaker at the battery. But the cable cost was considerable, also had to reduce the cable size near the inverter to fit the cable into connectors.

1000 W inverter runs the 600W microwave no sweat. I used the remote on/off panel and hardwired a duplex GFCI outlet.

Just realize it's 10x more current drain on the batteries than the AC rating on microwave nameplate. I can also use an electric drill as long as it's variable speed and come up slow on the trigger.

The inverter is heat sink and forced fan cooled, on high loads needs to vent the heat.

I've seen where Marlin owners mounted it on the lower berth inner walls. Be carefull around children

 

[Capt Bill]

snip

Rarely do I take any issue with Capt Bill, but might have to here...

Brian

I know that you are right about keeping cables as short as possible, but my suggestion was based on 2 thoughts:

1. The OP was looking for a clean and dry space to mount the inverter, and behind the fridge seems to be a possibility, and

2. If the cables are sized appropriately for the length and load, there shouldn't be a problem.

Case in point:

I have a 36' diesel pusher motorhome which has the 2 chassis batteries and 3 house batteries installed all the way in the right-rear compartment, near the engine, as one would expect.

But the inverter is factory-installed all the way in the front of the coach. Also mounted in the front service bay under the windshield, is the emergency start solenoid. When activated by a button on the dashboard, the solenoid bridges the house batteries and engine-starting batteries. This allows the engine to be started from house batteries if chassis batteries are dead, or the diesel generator (mounted in the front), from the engine batteries, if the house batteries are dead.

The starter of a 330 hp diesel engine draws considerable current, and this current is being pulled through a 36' cable that goes from the battery compartment to the solenoid up front, and back through another 36' of heavy cable to the other battery bank alongside the others. Thats about 72' of heavy gauge cable, when starting engine from house batterys. This same cable feeds the inverter.

Since Winnebago has been doing it this way, literally for decades, it seemed reasonable to suggest installing the inverter at the end of what might be a 18 or 20' run. But I do not dispute your advice. It is always better to keep high-current cabling as short as reasonably possible.