Available Electrical Components
This page describes available electrical components of types that were used or will be needed to complete planned electrical work. Since products and even manufacturers change over time this page is a snapshot in time. Some sections may include a year last updated and if relatively old some components may no longer be available and some links may be dead. Where components have already been purchased the year of purchase, the components considered at the time and the choice made will be documented.
The selection of batteries is described in the Batteries web page. Selection of refrigeration components is covered in the Electric Refrigeration web page.
Available breakers
Inverters require high amperage breakers since they must be sized to the largest load they could reasonably encounter. The circuit panels can in principle take a replacement Blue Sea A-Series Circuit Breaker up to 50A. This would require passing additional large amperage wires to the breaker panel. The 50A limit severly limits inverter size.
If an inverter is to be connected to a 50A breaker in the breaker panel, then a 12V inverter is limited to 500W (or less). By the same reasoning, a 24V inverter connected to a 50A breaker is limited to 1000W. High amperage thermal breakers can accomodate up to 150A for some product series and up to 300A for others. Thermal breakers are not suitable for use as a switch. Using a 150A breaker outside the panel 1500W could be supported at 12V, or 3000W at 24V, or 6000W at 48V.
| Breaker approximate dimensions | |||
| Breaker Series | Height | Width | Depth |
| Blue Sea 285-Series | 3¼" | 1⅞" | 1½" |
| Blue Sea 187-Series | 3½" | 2⅜" | 1⅞" |
| Hiitio | 3¾" | 2¼" | 2 |
The Blue Sea 285-Series and Blue Sea 187-Series are thermal circuit breakers. The Series 285 are available in 25A to 150A and use a M6 stud (which can accomodate a ¼" ring terminal). The Series 187 are available in 25A to 200A and use a 5/16"-18 stud. The Series 187 are slightly larger and can accomodate larger wire, up to AWG #1/0 lugs.
Hiitio and GlosoTech are both Chinese manufacturers who offer alternates to the Series 187 thermal breakers with higher amperage and lower cost. Both offer up to 300A breakers. Both are available on Amazon and other sites, though the Hiitio website doesn't show these breakers. These are larger than the Series 187.
Where a thermal breaker is used, a solenoid should be used if the load might be shut off while power is flowing. A breaker can be placed in the low amperage breaker panel serving only as a switch to actuate the very low power solenoid coil.
Available solenoids
Three solenoid manufacturers have been considered. Note that relay, solenoid, and contactor are used interchangeably among manufacturers when referring to high amperage products. The terms solenoid and contactor are most common. The products described here are all non-latching SPST-NO (single pole single throw, normally open) with nominal 12V-24V rated coils.
Cole Hersee (now part of Littlefuse) used to be a favorite for marine use with under 100A requirements. Unfortunately product specifications are in some cases inconsistent between the datasheet and other web sources and missing in some sources. For this reason Cole Hersee will no longer be considered.
Blue Sea Systems makes a few high amperage solenoids. The L-series has two of interest, the L-Series - 150A 12/24V (7765) and the L-Series - 250A 12/24V (9012) with high contact voltage and current limits. These are 320VDC 150A (7765) and 800VDC (9012). Current rating for the 9012 depends on wire size and ranges from 250A for AWG #1/0 to 400A for AWG #4/0. Both are IP67 rated. Both are very expensive.
Hiitio makes a set of high power DC contactors that range from 100A to 600A. The 400A to 600A contactors have 1500V rated contacts and are less expensive than the Blue Sea solenoids. The 100A to 300A contactors have 1000V rated contacts and are very inexpensive, about ¼ of the Blue Sea prices. The HCZ02-100F-24 and HCZ02-150F-24 are particularly inexpensive with coils rated for 24V. All others have coils rated for 9-36V (nominal 12v or 24V).
The Hiitio will be used due to their low cost and outstanding specifications. The HCZ02-150F-24 (1000V 150A contacts, 24V coil) will be used for most loads with the HCZ01-300F-A (1000V 300A contacts, 9-36V coil) used for a few uses where over 150A is needed. No contactor over 300A is needed.
Available inverters
Xantrex used to provide a handy "Power Inverter Comparison Chart" with all of their marine inverters listed with key specification. This chart is no longer available. Many retailers, such as Defender, only carry a selection of the 12V versions but the 24V versions can be special ordered. The Xantrex product line is continuously changing. Inverters in the 1800-2000W range are available in 24V. A 100-120A circuit breaker would be appropriate.
Another source of inverters is ProMariner. The ProMariner inverters come in 12V only in 400W to 2000W versions. The ProMariner modified sine inverter/charger models come in 12V and 24V versions, with 24V versions of 1500W and 2500W. The ProMariner Pure Sine Inverter/Charger models come 12V or 24V in 2000W only. The charger in the inverter/charger models add cost for a feature that won't be used.
Renogy makes a very inexpensive 2000W 24V 120V inverter. The Renogy line of inverters is limited. All Renogy inverters are 120V. Nearly all are 12V. There is a 24V 2000W inverter and a 48V 3500W inverter. None of the Renogy inverters are stackable.
Magnum Energy offers a selection of 24V inverters. They no longer support 48V inverters. The CSW Series 2000W 24V Pure Sine Inverter is their smallest 24V marine inverter. The N Series Pure Sine inverters come in a variety of sizes from 400W to 4800W but only offer the 4800W version in 24V. These are ventless (cabinet vents only reach heat sinks, electronics are not vented) and suitable for marine use. The MS Series Inverter Charger have a 4000W 48V inverter/charger. The 60Hz inverters are available in 120V only. The MS-PE Series Inverter Charger offers a 4300W 48V inverter/charger which is stackable with up to four in parallel. Two in parallel would be 8.6kW. The MS-PE Series 4300W 48V inverter recommends a 175A fuse, just beyond the limit of the Blue Sea S285 series breakers (150A). The 4300W 48V inverter is available in 230V 50Hz only which would be fine for a GN Espace cooktop/oven.
Outback Power product line is available through many solar distrubutors. Many of their products are suitable for marine use. The Outback FXR/FXVR Series includes the VFXR3648A which is rated at 3600W continuous, 4000W for 30 minutes but must be installed in a dry environment. The sealed FXR3048A is rated at 3000W continuous and 3200W for 30 minutes. The Outback M Series VFX3648M and FX3048MT are the marine versions and are harder to come by but very well suited for this use. The Outback FX3048MT are stackable. Two could produce 6kW of power.
Victron Energy offers numerous inverters and inverter/chargers. A problem with the Victron web site is older models are not identified. A search for product availability sometimes yields a lot of "out of stock and unavailable" usually indicating a product is discontinued. A second problem is that only a subset of the Victron products are available in the US. A minor problem with the website is that specifications are not given on the website itself requiring a download of the PDF datasheets and making comparisons cumbersome.
The Victron inverters are mostly 12V and 24V but a 48V 3kW and 48V 5 kW version exist. The newer Smart Inverters are parallel stackable. Inverters come in 120V 60Hz and 230V 50Hz. Since they are not series stackable 240V 60Hz single phase or split phase is not possible.
The Victron inverter/chargers are targeted at solar or residential ESS use but good choices for marine use. The MultiPlus line has one AC input and two AC outputs to shed load if load exceeds capacity. The Quattro line has two AC inputs and two AC outputs. If an inverter/charger is used only as a large inverter all of this added complexity just adds to the cost. A few inverter/chargers are available in 12V and 24V only. Most are available in 12V, 24V, and 48V. Larger models, generally over 5kW, are only available in 48V.
One Victron product is being considered. If 120V 60Hz is used for the galley cooktop and oven, then the MultiPlus-II 120V 5000VA 48V inverter/charger will likely be used. If 230V 50Hz is used for the galley cooktop and oven, then it is not certain which Victron 230V 50Hz inverters are available in the US. The MultiPlus-II 230V 5000VA 48V inverter/charger would work if available. It may be necessary to contact Victron and try to buy direct.
A stacked pair of inverters could deliver 6kW to 8kW continuous to the stove but require two breakers and solenoids to insure that if one circuit breaker flips both inverters are powered off. This is a very high cost solution due to the high cost of the stackable inverters (about $2,000 each). It may be difficult to install a pair of inverters due to the space requirements and ventilation needs. Only Outback has series stackable inverters if 240V is needed.
Available galley cooktops and ovens
The best product available is the GN Espace Levante 2 Induction Cooker, a gimballed marine cooker (aka range) with induction cooktop and electric oven. The price and availability in the US is not known but GN Espace claims to ship anywhere in the world. This unit can accept only 230V 50-60Hz and requires 3800W.
The best alternate to this cooker is use of a home induction cooktop and small oven or toaster oven in a custom mounting. The Equator - 20" Built-In/Freestanding 2 Burner Induction Cooktop is a good and inexpensive choice. This cooktop requires 120V 60Hz and 16A (just under 2000W). There are no kitchen ovens small enough for the 20¾" space. The Cuisinart 0.6 Cu. Ft. Air Fryer Toaster Oven will fit. It is not clear what the power draw is. The Cuisinart - Large 0.95 cu.ft. Air Fryer Toaster Oven states a power draw of 1800W. A safe choice for the cooktop and toaster over would be two 48V 2000W 120V inverters or a 48V 4000W (or more) inverter or inverter/charger.
Available heat pumps for AC/heat
The two AC/heat units being considered are Mabru MPS SC4.2K BTU 115V 60Hz with copper fins and the Webasto FCF Platinum 6000 BTU 115V 60Hz. Both consume under 5A at 120V (575W) when running, though starting current can be very high, up to 22A (2.5kW) for 142 msec with the Webasto and unstated for the Mabru.
Last update
This entire page was updated in October 2025. The AC/heat section was updated somewhere in 2020-2023. It needs to have availability of products confirmed and a search redone to see if new products have become available.