Posted on 09/12/2025 4:36:17 PM PDT by eastforker
Trying to figure out how much battery storage, inverter size, type of charger and what have you to power my houseboat. My plan is to have enough battery storage to run everything using an inverter for AC power using batteries and by charging those batteries daily using a generator for a few hours. The biggest draw would be an occasional few minutes of a microwave to heat food, and also run a tv/monitor along with computer. everything else runs on DC current for short periods of time like fresh water pump. I do have a small a/c air conditioner that pulls maybe 8 amps. Pretty simple setup but also need to know if lead acid batteries are sufficient or do I need special batteris. Any help would be great.
Good luck on your project. It’s good to keep in mind that all of devices you need to use have major efficiency losses, particularly the generator, charger, inverter and air conditioner. Each could easily be lower than 60% efficient, depending on the conditions of their use (warmup, percent of power capacity, etc. It would be wise to use a generator, charger, battery, and inverter that have double the expected power capacity in order to make up for efficiency losses. You should make sure that the batteries that you use can be charged in the amount of time that you plan.
Sure. But remember all I did was post your question to AI. Then I gave you the AI answer.
I would think something like a Bluetti 200L or Jackery 2000 Explorer could do the job. While the engine is running it can be recharging and it will have enough power to run a microwave or small AC unit.
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