Archive for the ‘Shorepower’ Category

Bot Buddies

April 1st, 2012 by Kevin Hannula

Dear Kevin,

Last summer, I purchased a new aluminum fishing boat. It’s great, but I screwed up by “cheaping out” at the last minute. I passed on the trolling motor package and – as you’ve probably guessed – now want to add a trolling motor.

As a long time reader, I know that you are a big fan of Motorguide trolling motors and I’ll be buying one in the next couple weeks. My question concerns the boat wiring.

The Motorguide will be bow mounted, but since I didn’t get the trolling package, the only wire at the bow is a 16 gauge pair for the Attwood LED navigation light. But, according to your boat wiring size calculator, the trolling motor should be wired with 6 gauge.

Is there any way to make the smaller wire work? I hate to start rewiring a brand new boat if I can avoid it.

Thanks.

Sean

Hi Sean,

Since your boat is new, you may be in luck. A lot of boat builders now use Ancor’s new Nanotech Wire. As you’d guess from the name, it uses nanotechnology to solve problems just like yours.

Simply put, Nanotech Wire matches wire size to power demand by moving copper to where it is most needed – sort of a Viagra for marine electrical.

In the past, running a trolling motor on undersized wire caused voltage drops, heat buildup and embarrassing insurance claims. But now, that same temperature increase signals Nanotech Wire to deploy an army of nanobots who quickly rebuild the harness to match the power demand. While at work, these little guys make the wire looks like a python that swallowed a large rat.

Once your harness is properly sized, the same bots then go to work on its insulation so that it correctly corresponds to standard boat wiring colors.

The patented process is called Nanotech Overload Sensing Heat Induced Tranference and it works great. The only time I’ve seen it fail is when there are so many accessories turned on that there is no extra copper available. If this happens a lot, I usually recommend the addition of a copper reservoir to supply additional material as needed.

Have an excellent day.

Kevin

Posted in AC Wiring, Accessory Harness, Batteries, Battery Management, Bilge Pump, Blowers, Boat Battery Switches, Boat Battery Wiring, Boat Lighting, Boat Wire, Boat Wiring, Circuit Protection, Corrosion, Cruisers, Engine Harness, Galley, Galvanic Corrosion, Galvanic Isolator, Gauge Panels, Horns, Jon Boats, LEDs, Livewell Pump, Marine Electric, Marine Electrical, Marine Engines, Marine Wire, Marine Wiring, Multimeter, Navigation Lights, New Products, Ohmmeter, Panel Rewire, Pontoons, Power Boats, Pumps, Radio, Refrigerator, Sailboats, Shore Power, Shorepower, Signaling Devices, Switch Panels, Testing, Trolling Motors, Wire Size | Comments Off

Nautical equivalent of “Old Sparky”

February 27th, 2012 by Kevin Hannula

Hi Kevin,

I found your boat wiring website and would be grateful if you might comment on the following for installation of marine electrical systems in an aluminium hull boat. Its a complicated issue I know!

  • AC system includes generator, inverter and marine electrical shore power. The AC system is entirely floating,  i.e., no negative grounding and is interfaced with shore connections via an isolation transformer.
  • DC system includes house battery, engine alternator (isolated negative) and engine battery. All are grounded to one common negative pole on the hull. No other equipment is negative grounded.

I have been told that it would be better to float the DC system entirely as well (same as AC) so that there is no negative ground at all. Is this correct?Shock hazard

Thanks

Al

Hi Al,

Unless somebody went through and removed the AC/DC ground connection, it should still be intact and must remain. A boat without this connection is an extreme hazard. With an AC fault to the hull, there is no low resistance path back to ground to trip the breaker and the boat will turn into a very large electric chair.

On your boat generator, the AC ground and AC neutral are connected together on the metal engine block of the generator. The generator negative battery cable is also connected to the engine block and your DC negative system. An inventer will have the same AC neutral to AC ground connection. Your AC distribution panel should have a link between the AC ground (Green) and the DC negative on your boat.

Hull ground isolation is nearly impossible on an aluminum boat with an engine and unsafe on an aluminum boat with AC power. The engine and its underwater gear are inevitably electrically connected to the engine block and the DC negative. A positive hull connection to the DC negative gives a low resistance path back to AC ground and DC ground in the event of a fault. A DC fault to an un-grounded hull can create accelerated galvanic corrosion. The area with the positive cable connected to it will corrode to protect your engine and drive.

Hope this helps,

Kevin

Posted in AC Wiring, Batteries, Battery Management, Boat Battery Switches, Boat Battery Wiring, Boat Wiring, Cruisers, Galvanic Corrosion, Galvanic Isolator, Generators, Ground issues, Invertors, Isolation Transformers, Marine Electrical, Marine Engines, Power Boats, Sailboats, Shore Power, Shorepower | Comments Off

GI Install

November 28th, 2011 by Kevin Hannula

Hi Kevin,

I recently received one of the Easy Add AC Shore Power systems from your Boat Wiring Store.

The system looks great…perfect for my Whaler Outrage. But, prior to installation I have a couple of questions. I have a 30 amp Yandina galvanic isolator that I plan to install along with the shore power kit.

Could you give me some idea of how it should be wired? From what I have read on Yandina’s instructions the green wire (ground) on the panel should be connected to the isolator with the other lead from the isolator comnnected to the boat’s 12 volt ground….if so will any ground wire work or do you suggest a dedicated ground wire directly to the house battery?

Thanks beforehand for your assistance.Whaler 220 Outrage

Regards,

Greg

Hi Greg,

The best place to install a galvanic isolator is in the green wire between the ac shore power inlet and the ac panel. This will ensure that there are no alternate paths to dc ground thst can cause galvanic corrosion.

Cut the white jacking back on the shore power inlet where in the desired area. Cut the green wire and install the gi.

Hope this helps,

Kevin

Posted in AC Wiring, Boat Wiring, Corrosion, Cruisers, Galvanic Corrosion, Galvanic Isolator, Ground issues, Isolation Transformers, Marine Electrical, Shore Power, Shorepower | Comments Off

Two Into One

September 26th, 2011 by Kevin Hannula

Hi Kevin,

I have a Guest Model 2620A battery charger. It is built with outputs for two batteries.

On my boat wiring, can I hookup the charger leads in parallel to charge a single battery?Guest battery charger

Thank you,

Ernest

Hi Ernest,

The Guest battery chargers are well known for their approach to multiple bank charging. The innovation that they offer is that a single charger will have several charging boards, each independent of the others. It makes for a much more flexible and reliable charger.

But, if you want to use a multi-bank Guest to charge one battery, yes you can. It will work great.

Kevin

Posted in AC Wiring, Batteries, Battery Chargers, Battery Management, Boat Wiring, Cruisers, Marine Electrical, Pontoons, Power Boats, Shore Power, Shorepower | Comments Off

Easy to add AC?

September 13th, 2011 by Kevin Hannula

Hi Guys,

I have a 26’ walkaround fishing boat and am thinking of getting an Easy Add AC shore power kit from your partner site, EzAcDc. It looks really slick and appears to be a complete shore power system for a great price.

I have a couple of questions for you since I have no experience with this type of install.

  • Does the system come with a reverse polarity feature for dockside?
  • From what I can tell it has just one master breaker. Is this breaker for all inlets? I will only be using a portable carry on 5,000 btu air conditioner and 22” TV
  • I have been told that I would need a galvanic isolator and bonding to prevent damage to metal parts on the boat?  The boat is dry rack stored
  • I have a Honda EU2000 generator and would like to know if it can used to plug in the shore power inlet.

Thanks.EzAcDc offers a complete shore power system for your boat wiring.

Sincerely,

Gregory

Hi Gregory,

All of the AC shore power systems on our sister boat wiring site include a reverse polarity indicator. In the event of reverse polarity, the red light will turn on. Since the panel only has a single, dual pole breaker that switches both the AC hot and neutral, this indicator is not really necessary, but we still install it in the panel.

There is a single, 20 amp main breaker on our panel. It protects all of the outlets including the remotes and rear units.

Galvanic corrosion only occurs when the boat is in the water. If your boat spends most of its life in the water or your marina has know wiring issues, I recommend adding a galvanic isolator.

Connecting your generator is easy. Add a plug similar to this Marinco unit on the end of your Honda power cord. It will simply plug into the new shore power inlet on the side of your boat.

Please let me know if you have any other questions,

Kevin

Kevin,

Thanks for your prompt reply.

Do you think the 20 amp breaker will handle the Cruisair 5000 BTU Air Conditioner along with a TV?

As far as the galvanic isolator is this for protection only when shore power is used?

Thanks,

Gregory

Hi Gregory,

I am not familiar with the 5k Cruisair, but the 6k unit only draws 11 amps max. The remaining 9 would be plenty for a tv, battery charger, and coffee pot.

The GI only provides corrosion protection when the boat is in the water and plugged into shore power.

Let me know if you have any other questions,

Kevin

Posted in AC Wiring, Air Conditioner, Battery Chargers, Boat Wiring, Cruisers, Galvanic Corrosion, Galvanic Isolator, Marine Electrical, Power Boats, Shore Power, Shorepower | Comments Off

Add Galvanic Isolator to AC System?

February 14th, 2011 by Kevin Hannula

Hi Kevin,

I’m very interested in buying one of the EzAcDc shore power kits for my boat, a Wellcraft Coastal 252 that I would like to add shore power to.

My question is about galvanic corrosion.

Do I need to install a galvanic isolator? If yes, where does it go in my boat wiring?EzAcDc offers a complete, easy to add shore power system for your boat

Thanks

Luis

Hi Luis,

If your boat is in a marina where galvanic corrosion is an issue, you may want to seriously consider a galvanic isolator. The new, fail safe models like this one from Marinco are easy to install and very effective.

To add one of these to a shore power system from our partners at EzAcDc, you will need to cut the green grounding wire that runs between the shore power inlet and the shore power panel. It can go as close to the inlet or as close to the panel as you wish. Install 1/4″ ring terminals on the boat wiring ends that you created with the cut, and install the wires on the studs on the galvanic isolator.

Please let me know if you have any other questions,

Kevin

Posted in AC Wiring, Boat Wiring, Circuit Protection, Corrosion, Cruisers, Galvanic Corrosion, Galvanic Isolator, Isolators, Marine Electrical, Marine Engines, Pontoons, Power Boats, Shore Power, Shorepower | Comments Off