{"id":25339,"date":"2019-08-19T16:06:48","date_gmt":"2019-08-19T14:06:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pricecheck.co.za\/blog\/?p=25339"},"modified":"2019-08-19T16:43:20","modified_gmt":"2019-08-19T14:43:20","slug":"buying-guide-how-to-choose-the-right-inverter-or-generator-for-your-boat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/blog\/buying-guide-how-to-choose-the-right-inverter-or-generator-for-your-boat\/","title":{"rendered":"Buying Guide: How to Choose the Right Inverter or Generator for Your Boat"},"content":{"rendered":"

While many might consider boating to be a very low-tech activity that hasn\u2019t changed over the years, avid boaters will know that just like with cars, technology has been developed to add a technological edge to almost everything about the activity. Having an inverter<\/a> or a generator<\/a> on your boat is effectively a necessity in today\u2019s tech-hungry world, but you\u2019ll need to do a bit of thinking before you invest in one to make sure it meets your needs. We\u2019re going to have a look at a few of the considerations to keep in mind before clicking \u2018add to cart\u2019.<\/p>\n

Inverter or Generator?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"boating\"<\/p>\n

Before you start shopping, you will need to figure out whether you need a generator or an inverter as they are very different. Lets take a look at the benefits of an inverter vs generator for a boat. Inverters convert current from DC to AC, so that current that would\u2019ve been ineffective for certain tasks, like using electronics or appliances, becomes possible. The main benefit to an inverter is that it\u2019s a silent, more discreet device while generators are quite a bit noisier and spout out fumes, although they can handle larger tasks.<\/p>\n

If you’re looking to operate things like refrigerators, large air conditioners, or heavy-duty heaters, you’re best off investing in a generator<\/a> because they can handle the power demand from those kinds of devices. If you’re looking to run smaller appliances or electronics, then an inverter is a more appropriate choice.<\/p>\n

What will the maximum power requirement be?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"boating\"<\/p>\n

When buying any piece of technology, it’s important to figure out what you’re going to use it for. Think about the type of tasks you\u2019re going to use it for, or you’ll end up spending a lot more than necessary. While you may think that when it comes tech, it’s best to get the\u00a0\u2018biggest and best\u2019 but nobody should be over-spending for technology. When choosing an inverter it\u2019s key to consider the maximum power load it will need to deal with. Inverters can have anywhere from as little as 100W capacity to 4000W \u2014 so add all the wattage of all the devices (laptop, phone, television, decoder, etc) you\u2019ll want to run at the same time and you\u2019ll get an idea of what capacity you\u2019ll need to look for in an inverter.<\/p>\n

Where will it be installed?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"boating\"<\/p>\n

An inverter should be located no more than about three meters from its battery bank to avoid voltage drops or hazardous\/unsightly wires having to be mounted and accommodated across the boat\u2019s surfaces. You’ll also need to consider the size of the inverter and the size of the available area to install it. Even if you can afford it and want to run 4000W worth of devices using an inverter, if there isn\u2019t a suitable place to install it a compromise will have to be made.<\/p>\n

Important to note, as well, is that inverters are not safe for installation in gasoline engine compartments, but they are for diesel engine compartments. First identify the most likely areas for installation, and then keep a close eye on the dimensions of the potential inverters to make sure it\u2019ll be possible to install in the available space.<\/p>\n

Of course, depending on what kind of tasks you want to do, and\u00a0the amount of space you have on-board the boat,\u00a0you could consider running both a generator and an inverter on-board your boat.<\/p>\n

Shop a range of\u00a0inverters and generators online via PriceCheck<\/a> now.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Choosing the right generator for your boat doesn’t have to be mystifying.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25348,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"amp_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2850],"tags":[5106,5104,5103,5101,5105,5102,2329,3275,1458,773],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/boating_main.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25339"}],"collection":[{"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25339"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25339\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25357,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25339\/revisions\/25357"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}