Wireing games

[BarryD]

The previous owner butchered the shore power on my American Rinker 250. I've got the glassed in a plug socket and a cut off wire at the distribution panel. 110v fittings are battery charger, hot water heater and fridge. 240v bits of kit are de-humiddfier (Sp), fan heater / radiator and maybe a TV/Playstation (short people)

What I'd like to do is to run 240 shore power to just before the distribution panel, split it and step one line down to 110 and run the other line via a fused link to a four way gang for my 240v kit.

Does this make sense? Being clueless and prefering to drive / drink (not at same time) than to lay in the bilges I will get a yard to do the work but is it feasible?

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by BarryD on Mon Dec 10 10:40:07 2001 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[oldsaltoz]

Hi BarryD.
Anything is possible (But you knew that) I think the yard will advise you run a supply to the main board and take the power from it to step down to the lower voltage. Consider installing circuit breakers rather than fuses and have the main supply fitted with an earth leak detector; it could save a life, perhaps yours.
Avanicechrissie Old Salt Oz......

 

[mica]

Why not just attach your four gang plug to the other end of your shore power cable and dangle in through a window or down the companion way. Save you a lot of trouble.

MICA

 

[BarryD]

Re: Wiring games

Hi MICA - that is currently what we are doing. Trouble is its hole in the boat and I've still got no fridge, battery charger or hot water heater on the pontoon. As it I've no fridge anyway as I think he's fixed that at some point in his life.

 

[boatone]

Hi Barry,
Wot you doing over here then? Frightened the MoBoChat mob might not treat MVII as a serious issue?!!!
Seriously old chap, is there no way you can rationalise everything down to just 12v and 240v and kick 110v into touch altogether?
Is the fridge only 110v working (hang on isnt it knackered anyway so that could be changed). Is the water heating only electric or is there calorifier as well in whcih case who needs immersion heater? Sure you can afford a new battery charger so thats that problem solved....
Now, about the beer in the bilges...........


TonyR
boatone@boatsontheweb.com

 

[BarryD]

Ho Tony,

Just wanted to get some questions answered before being flamed for buying petrol Americana. Fridge might be knackered not sure. OK battery charger not an issue I guess, immersion - I'd need to run the engine for an hour to get sufficient hot water but that's not major.

OK prehaps I can junk the 110 circuit. In which case it must be a simple re-wire / new panel that I'm looking at. The yard are calling back this week with an idea of costs - also getting the power steering and blower fixed/repaired/scrapped as needed.

As for beer in the bilges - anytime.

Barry

 

[Guest]

Have a look at John Paynes' The Marine electronics and Electrical Bible. It will give you all the information you need and is a good trouble shooting ref text.
My suggesstion would be to get a standard 240v supply and then plg in an industrial safety transformer as used on building sites for any 110v equipment. If you are looking at TV then it might also be worth thinking about using a combined inverter/charger that provides a very safe switching of the 240v.
You want douple pole issolating MCB's for people protection and a compleaty seperate, insulated 240v circuit as a minimum.
I looked into this for a refit I am doing for a livaboard but it was going to cost around £2k to do it properly so we decided on a small 240v inverter on a wonder lead made moor sense, but then I only want to run a sewing machine and power tools.
On my current baot I have fitted a double MCB socket, £30 B&Q, to a deck socket in order to plug in a battery charger which seems to be working well and will do this on the liveaboard but total wire between socket and plug will only be a few inches, it is literally a means of getting the lead through the hull.

Roly, Voya Con Dios, Glasson, Lancaster

 

[coliholic]

Think I'd be tempted to run the 240V into a B&Q type RCD protected fuse box, but not fuses, go for the circuit breakers instead. Take one spur off to Machine Mart supplied industrial 110V transformer, cut the plugs off and hard wire in. That'll give you your 110V but as boatone said if you can junk the 110 all the better. You say the fridge isn't working anyway, so maybe need to be change for 240V see LBS for good deals, there's some good low current drain fridges on the market; the immersion heater can also be upgraded to 240V from B&Q just leaving the battery charger on 110V and if you can't think of a solution for that well....

 

[peterg]

battery chargers

IMHO most so called chargers seem to fry a battery fairly quickly unless you monitor it very carefully or fit sometning like an Adverc smart thingy

I use a battery conditioner type charger called an 'Optimate' about £40 quid in car shops and use these for bikes, racing cars and boats and never had a problem with a battery since....

 

[bedouin]

Better to ditch the 110v althogether. It is probably not possible (or at least not cost effective) to power a 110v water heater from a converted 240v circuit.