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         hi everyone welcome to            boatingtechtalk.com we've got a question            from a fellow boater this boater william            asks jeff my      trawler has a separate            full-size ac fridge and ac freezer they            are in good condition and i really don't            want to replace them with      volt            models okay makes sense does that mean            that when i leave the boat the inverter            has to stay on            what happens if i lose shore power will            it drain my house battery            and lastly i don't want to take the food            out every time i leave the boat            well            yeah that's a tough question            and by the way you're not the only one            who's hesitant to change a working a            good working a refrigerator to swap it            from        to      volt to solve this            problem            but the reality is if you've got an            inverter            on your boat            it's going to be really the only way to            power those devices            now you could have them powered directly            from shore power and not the inverter            when you're connected to shore that's            definitely a possibility many inverters            offer what's called a pass-through            feature and it's not uncommon            uh for your ac panel to be either            powered by shore power by generator or            by inverter so you could disable your            inverter            and have your shore power be the only            source powering            the fridge and freezer            now            the good news is if you lose shore power            if you lose your power your inverter            won't be on and your fridge and freezer            will stop working but your house battery            won't drain            now the flip side is if you lose shore            power and you don't have the inverter on            you're going to lose the contents of            that fridge as boaters we're stuck            between a hard place right a rock and a            hard place what are we going to do            you either can choose to protect your            batteries            and i not have the inverter on when            you're connected to shore power            or            you can have your inverter on standby            mind you the loads are powered by shore            power while they're there but the moment            that your power disappears then you have            a window of opportunity to go to your            boat and resolve the issue the challenge            is not all of us have an ability to go            to a boat every day            every other day or even every week so if            you lose shore power and you're not and            you're not there and you may be on            travels or there's a storm or something            happen and you're not aware that you            lost your power            then yes            you're just dealing the inevitable your            fridge is going to run off your            batteries for a day two days three days            maybe it's going to run for a week            but if you missed that window            and now the batteries are drained            the inverter did it what it could off            the batteries to power that fridge and            freezer but eventually            they're completely drained so now you've            two problems            you've got rotting food in your fridge            and freezer            because the batteries are not going to            be able to sustain that fridge and            freezer forever not like shower power            and you have a battery bank that's            completely drained            so most of us            are going to run an ac fridge and            freezer only on shore power at the dock            and make sure that whatever perishables            are in that fridge            whatever they are            if ever you lose that fridge or freezer            then nothing will leak you'll lose the            food it's going to be pretty nasty            but you're not going to have lost also            your battery bank in the process            and for some of you that have the            opportunity of being on your boat every            day then this is probably a mute point            then maybe having an inverter enabled on            standby when you're unconnected on shore            power is a good way to make sure that if            you ever lose your power for a      hour            period you'll be back at the boat the            next day you'll deal with the issue run            the generator empty the fridge empty the            freezer and just get away with it but            for many of us we don't have that option            and so hence            i would caution anyone on enabling an            inverter to keep your fridge and freezer            powered when you're disconnected from            shore power because sometimes that            disconnect isn't just the grid going            down or a storm causing power to go off            it could be inadvertently someone            disconnecting your shore power cord            and that's something that            there's really no remedy until someone            reconnects your boat            and so that's a great question from            william it's it's totally a pickle            there's no perfect answer here but it's            really about understanding the pros and            cons of our choices so thanks for asking            the question and thanks for all of you            for listening i appreciate the            opportunity to share if you're curious            we've written whole articles about this            go on our website search it out            and we've got a lot of other tech talks   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