Re-Wiring
Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 5:11 pmI have a wiring system that resembles a 'rats nest', including a dangerous 240 volt/shorepower section, with exposed wires!
Has anybody re-wired their boat? Are there any tips and tricks to it?
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
We had to do the same thing - parts of it were really nicely done but they had been added to and made a mess over the years as additional items had been hooked in to existing wires etc. Nothing an eventual electrical fire didn't fix as two wires touched melted and smoked the boat out.
Shorepower scares me too, think about whether you really need it, is it that hard to run an extension lead down the hatch way if you are in a marina -- that was the conclusion I came to. Very different if you are living on board however. Exposed wires aaargh.
The only real advise I can give is use Tinned Wire - get it from a marine chandlery, rather than supercheap auto, if you are not comfortable with basic wiring - get one of the good boat specific 12v books out there or a qualified person. It is a great skill to learn and an even better way of getting to know your boat.
Oh, yeah and one of the best purchases you can ever make is a multimeter. Followed closely by labels for marking switchs and wires... so you remember next time.
Cheers
Karl
Andrew,
Finished doing a complete rewire on my Mk 1 last year. As well as Karl's remarks ensure you use the correct size wire. I found that my 30 year light fittings etc were well past their use by date, some fell apart as I tried to reconnect them, so also factor in new fittings all round. Don't try to put too many fittings on one cable. I ended up using two switchboards, that's 12 fuses (one is a spare). Electric toilet had its own cable direct to battery switch and I used the toilet switch fuse instead of my main fuse board. Only thing I didn't plan for was including the regulators to my solar panel inside the switch board case. Another thing, do not solder the ends of any wires that are joined using small juncton connectors or in your fuse box. The reason is the solder will flow under pressure and the wires will come loose. With those little joining blocks the wires go right through so that both screws clamp down on both wires! I did a lot of planning and still found that I missed some things so you have to be flexible as you lay out your wires.
Good luck and if you have any questions, just ask.
Phillip
SEAKA
Hi Karl and Phillip,
Thanks for you responses. I didn't think there would be any magic bullets!
Most of the electronic gear is fairly new and in reasonable condition, which is good. How it's connected is just a mess. I am in the process of pulling out the 240v shore power which is dangerous and unnecessary. Having small childern around has made this a priority!
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
Yes did a complete rewire of Papillon Mk3 a few months back. Pic of the back of the board attached before installation. Another pic of front of board on vennoO under attachments form a previous notice from me. I used the white twin core tinned wire to run eparately from each appliance. I also wrote with a black indelible pen on each wire feed the name of the appliance so each wire could be easily identified at any point where it passed from bulkhead to bulkhead. As you can see I opted for 3x6 fuse panels with a negative and positive bus to take the various feeds. It is amazing how quickly you fill all the various terminals and I only just have enough. I run 2x100 AH batteries to drive everything and I never seem to run out of amps (at this stage) including depth,GPS,wind,radio,TVmonitor,marine radio,navigation lights, house lights, bilge,pilot. About to add 12v toilet/holding tank and eutectic fridge/freezer system by OzFridge on a refurbishment of the starboard side of the boat. Batteries are charged with 80W solar panel which passes through a PV charge controller from JayCar Electrics. These charge controllers are a super idea and give you a digital readout of your electrics including a three day history of amp draw down. I sat down initially and designed what I wanted to achieve and have an on board laminated sheet of the boat electrics for reference in case I need to be reminded of how I went about building my system. Without this written record I think I would soon forget what went where. I tried to build it in such a way that someone else could easily find their way around the system without my help if need be.
Hope this is helpful. Regards Brian Venten Nth Qld 'Papillon'
Hi again, Not sure what happened to my pic but will try again to send it.
Regards Brian
Has anybody re-wired their boat? Are there any tips and tricks to it?
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
We had to do the same thing - parts of it were really nicely done but they had been added to and made a mess over the years as additional items had been hooked in to existing wires etc. Nothing an eventual electrical fire didn't fix as two wires touched melted and smoked the boat out.
Shorepower scares me too, think about whether you really need it, is it that hard to run an extension lead down the hatch way if you are in a marina -- that was the conclusion I came to. Very different if you are living on board however. Exposed wires aaargh.
The only real advise I can give is use Tinned Wire - get it from a marine chandlery, rather than supercheap auto, if you are not comfortable with basic wiring - get one of the good boat specific 12v books out there or a qualified person. It is a great skill to learn and an even better way of getting to know your boat.
Oh, yeah and one of the best purchases you can ever make is a multimeter. Followed closely by labels for marking switchs and wires... so you remember next time.
Cheers
Karl
Andrew,
Finished doing a complete rewire on my Mk 1 last year. As well as Karl's remarks ensure you use the correct size wire. I found that my 30 year light fittings etc were well past their use by date, some fell apart as I tried to reconnect them, so also factor in new fittings all round. Don't try to put too many fittings on one cable. I ended up using two switchboards, that's 12 fuses (one is a spare). Electric toilet had its own cable direct to battery switch and I used the toilet switch fuse instead of my main fuse board. Only thing I didn't plan for was including the regulators to my solar panel inside the switch board case. Another thing, do not solder the ends of any wires that are joined using small juncton connectors or in your fuse box. The reason is the solder will flow under pressure and the wires will come loose. With those little joining blocks the wires go right through so that both screws clamp down on both wires! I did a lot of planning and still found that I missed some things so you have to be flexible as you lay out your wires.
Good luck and if you have any questions, just ask.
Phillip
SEAKA
Hi Karl and Phillip,
Thanks for you responses. I didn't think there would be any magic bullets!
Most of the electronic gear is fairly new and in reasonable condition, which is good. How it's connected is just a mess. I am in the process of pulling out the 240v shore power which is dangerous and unnecessary. Having small childern around has made this a priority!
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
Yes did a complete rewire of Papillon Mk3 a few months back. Pic of the back of the board attached before installation. Another pic of front of board on vennoO under attachments form a previous notice from me. I used the white twin core tinned wire to run eparately from each appliance. I also wrote with a black indelible pen on each wire feed the name of the appliance so each wire could be easily identified at any point where it passed from bulkhead to bulkhead. As you can see I opted for 3x6 fuse panels with a negative and positive bus to take the various feeds. It is amazing how quickly you fill all the various terminals and I only just have enough. I run 2x100 AH batteries to drive everything and I never seem to run out of amps (at this stage) including depth,GPS,wind,radio,TVmonitor,marine radio,navigation lights, house lights, bilge,pilot. About to add 12v toilet/holding tank and eutectic fridge/freezer system by OzFridge on a refurbishment of the starboard side of the boat. Batteries are charged with 80W solar panel which passes through a PV charge controller from JayCar Electrics. These charge controllers are a super idea and give you a digital readout of your electrics including a three day history of amp draw down. I sat down initially and designed what I wanted to achieve and have an on board laminated sheet of the boat electrics for reference in case I need to be reminded of how I went about building my system. Without this written record I think I would soon forget what went where. I tried to build it in such a way that someone else could easily find their way around the system without my help if need be.
Hope this is helpful. Regards Brian Venten Nth Qld 'Papillon'
Hi again, Not sure what happened to my pic but will try again to send it.
Regards Brian