(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best boat electrical equipment

I like Blue Sea switches. Used them on boats for years. Whatever you get, make sure it's rated for the amps you pass through it.

The fuse/CB size should be the lowest for whatever the max the circuit will draw and the wire will support. Say a fridge draws 4a at normal running but 12a starting, then the fuse should be 15a and the wire sized to the 15a.

I fused my 2 series panels at 15a since 10a would not be enough, so I have 2 fuses because of series 2 in parallel, both on positive side of the panels. You don't need to fuse both sides.

I fuse and switch positive.

Battery cutoff should be before the first load off the batteries and completely isolate them.

The victron BMV will work by itself, all it needs is the shunt and a positive lead.

I disagree that is the "best" MPPT, but use what you want. That one is cheap, but their support is direct from china and they have more than a few reviews of people having hard times with warranty and support, that plus it is very large.

I like Will's videos, but my experience with the victron is not anywhere like what he complained about. The connections are solid and it doesn't get hot at all. Initially I was concerned, so I put a temp monitor inside the compartment and a 12v computer fan on the vent, but even without the fan the compartment that is about 2' x 1' x 1' and under a couch is only about 2 degrees F warmer than the rest of the van when in direct sunlight pulling in nearly all of the 400W.

Fusing the 200a draw is not about the amp-hours of the battery. amp-hours are how long it can discharge, not how fast. you need to find out what the max discharge rate for the batteries are, and the max amp rating of the inverter and size your wires and fuse according to that (along with the length of the run)

"going up one size" on the wire is a general term. Use this instead https://www.wirebarn.com/Wire-Calculator-_ep_41.html

The wire.
Crimping tool.
Wire terminal lugs.
Battery Terminals.

Ask you shall receive, or, let me google that for you! :) I know that feeling when you don't have an experienced person to show you the ropes. All of this I learned from a week of reading and looking at everything I could concerning the matter. Sometimes there is no-one to show you what to do and you have to figure it out. It's not easy, but it is really satisfying. EDIT man that sounded really preachy... sorry about that, came from a good place :P hehe

I just bought these: Antowin 2 Pack Camping Lamp with 3 LED Modes(White, Warm, Mixture Light), Powered by AA or AAA Batteries for Camping, Hiking and Exploring (Battery Included, 100 lumens) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZZ1B75G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_X1D8Ab6JDSXRN

They’re small/compact in comparison to other camping lamps but they’re still very bright and easily enough for what you’ll need at Bonnaroo. They also have the option between warm light instead of a harsh bright LED. They have handles so you can hang them, and if you have a foldable table you can just place them on it.

>I'm fairly ignorant of electric systems on boats.


I hope you're comfortable with how basic 12VDC electrics work and are asking about how to wire them in a marine environment.


Preface, I'm not a certified marine electrician but I've done a ton of work re-wiring, custom work on all kinds of sail and power boats.


Tools:
>I do have a cheap harbor freight multi-meter

good, now you're going to need a way to crimp those shitty connectors and some dielectric grease.


Unless of course you want to solder all your connections (this is my preference as it doesn't vibrate loose or corrode as quickly), then follow NASA's soldering method s and yuu'll need some rosin cored solder and and a soldering iron, you'll also need to use a crimp connector without the pre-molded shrink wrap and some heat shrink tubing


Ok... got your tools? great, now for supplies.


You'll need a buss bar on your ground


Measure how much wire you need, (are you re-wiring the mast?) and use 14/2 AWG marine grade wire.


If you're only using 1 battery you can get away with a simple switch like this. From the devices & lights you listed It sounds like you can use 10AWG to connect your battery to your switch then to the 14 gang panel.


You'll need a way to label your wires, I use one of these but if you're doing one job you might want to use something cheaper.

Ok... now on the to the fun part


Plan where you're going to mount your panel and pull a single RED 10AWG from there to your battery shut off switch and another strand from you battery to the switch.


Pull 10 AWG from the battery to the buss bar.


pull all the 14awg from the lights to the panel labeling each 14/2 wire as you go


red goes to the fuse block, black goes to the buss bar then to the negative on the gang block, label everything at the connection points, big red wire goes from battery switch to the bolt on the 14 gang, big black wire goes to the buss bar.


install new things, as each device is hooked up test the fuse and switch, then install the new thing.

Edit: I forgot to mention, use dielectric grease on all metal fittings to reduce corrosion.


edit 1: put a fuse between your battery and shut off ont the red wire

Bright Eyes Green & Red Portable Marine LED Boating Lights - Boat Bow or Stern Safety Lights - Waterproof https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WFMQNL6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_QwXIzbJ59KNJN

They work great so far. And were cheap.

If you don't have a ton of confidence in wiring, well amigo, you're gonna learn.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000RZNP5K/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_NNiWCbCM6CCHR

This right here is an AWESOME piece of hardware.

With appropriately placed fuses, you wire your van battery to the relay. The relay connects to the house battery. When the engine is running, it charges the house battery. When you're not running, it disconnects the van battery. So you'll never run your starting battery dry and be stranded.

But, say your van battery starts to take a shit, and you can't crank. You can flick the switch into bypass, and can start using house batteries. Jump yourself. It's awesome.

Oh its a gearmotor thats like 16RPM. I'm fine with it just being on/off with my particular application (it's a work thing).

However I didn't realize they were 20A until the seller called me. The spec's I found online made me think they were 10A each. So I'm hoping these toggles work. People in the comments say they are rated for 20A, which hopefully means 20A sustained and not 20A peak.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078W8NNY8/

Thanks for the response.

Well first off, I wasn't totally sure if it was that easy, but that being said, there are switches with two, three, or as much as five pins, so how do I go about choosing which type of switch?

I would assume it depends on the project and what you're trying to turn off and on.

As of now I'm not 100% what the inside of the wire for the microphone looks like. Like I said its your standard analog pc microphone. I'm kind of still using it so I was hoping it might be some sort of common knowledge for someone in the know, but obviously I'm willing to cut it open and find out. Looking online I can't find a definitive answer so I'm assuming I'm going to need to figure that out myself.

Yes, just a day sailor.

I found the book on Amazon so I'll definitely order it and give it a good read.

This wire is about $90 for 100ft of 12awg triplex wire.
https://www.amazon.com/Ancor-Marine-Grade-Duplex-Cables/dp/B000NV2AVS

And would a single 100Ah battery like this one be sufficient with a 50W solar panel for what I'm trying to do?
https://www.amazon.com/Universal-UB121000-45978-100AH-Cycle-Battery/dp/B00S1RT58C/

Red lights are great for sailing for the same reason. These things are fantastic.

Yeah, I thought anyone interested in the thread would be! But as soon as I posted the original version with amazon links, it was auto-deleted. Weird.

Oh well, here are my products:

Solar panel: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017OMTAV6/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3NTUA0DGQ65YX&coliid=I2R53I6ASRE7TH&psc=1

Charge controller: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JMLPP12/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3NTUA0DGQ65YX&coliid=IMF9F8IHLJ6EN&psc=1

House battery: http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/SSBQ/3478PLT/03321.oap?year=1967&make=Ford&model=Mustang&vi=1332302&ck=Search_03321_1332302_-1&pt=03321&ppt=C0005

Battery isolator: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0058SGDFK/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3NTUA0DGQ65YX&coliid=I2UYT4LFVI14AN

Van fan: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002OWAIB8/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3NTUA0DGQ65YX&coliid=I1Q9S1UN7Z94H7&psc=1

LED lights: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007JF2A6G/ref=od_aui_detailpages02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Fuse block: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000K2MBPA/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3NTUA0DGQ65YX&coliid=IK1ERB55YT6QX&psc=1

Busbar: https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Sea-MiniBus-Grounding-Terminal/dp/B0058GA4IO/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1467345205&sr=8-11&keywords=6+terminal+bus

Main line fuses (inline): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WZHE3A4/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3NTUA0DGQ65YX&coliid=ICS8GYAQNUJV1&psc=1

Flounder Fishing Gigging Light Head 1" PVC Adaptor … https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ITOL8R2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_bMtxzb3DECCY1

I bought this light and hope it works out. I'll read through that thread more once I am off work. Do you like that set up well?

The 4-way rotary selector is more suited for boats than vans and really, a VSR (Voltage Sensitive Relay) is better for a van as it requires less wiring. An example of the 4-Way isolator my boat uses can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Selector-Switch-Distribution-Marine/dp/B00DPX6RR4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1466597409&sr=8-2&keywords=battery+selector

They have 3 studs on the back. The primary stud is the input and is wired directly to the alternators positive output.

All negatives are bonded to a common earth stud welded to the hull (chassis).

The other two studs can be individually linked or both connected to the alternator stud and then either feed through to the starter or leisure batteries or divide the alternators output between both.

I connect my 12V loads and inverter to the alternator input stud so power is taken mainly from the alternator when the engine is running but it also allows them to be isolated from all the batteries when the engine is off powering everything off.

These switches are usually wires with “1” being the engine battery and “2” being your domestic. When the switch is “Off” and you try to start the engine, nothing will happen.

You need the switch to be selected at “1” to crank the engine and leave it on setting “1” for the battery to be topped-up before either selecting “2” or “Both”.

When the engine is off and I am aboard, I have it set to “2” as it links the input stud along with the 12V loads to the domestic battery.

The MPPT solar charger and mains charger are connected to the leisure battery “2” stud so that even when everything is isolated “off”, the leisure batteries are still being charged.

An in-line VSR directly from the engine battery through to the domestics with maybe an additional manual on/off switch is your best solution unless you want to split the starter battery source to two separate leisure banks?

I bought a deep cycle battery and connected it to the car starting battery with a switch http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00445KFZ2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1.

You turn the switch on when driving, which allows your deep cycle to charge, and turn it off when parked so it doesn't draw from your starter.

I then wired up a cigarette lighter to my deep cycle and use it for a 12 v fan, phone charger, and 12 v laptop charger.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001JT7B3A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You drill a hole in the floor of your van and run at least 4 gauge wire from the positive pole of your car starting batter, to the positive pole of your deep cycle with the switch in line. Then you ground your negative pole on your deep cycle to the frame.

After that you can add on whatever components to the deep cycle to draw charge with ring connectors.

The draw back of this set up is that you MUST turn your switch to off when parked otherwise you can draw power of your car battery and be unable to start your car.

The alternator on your vehicle contains a built-in regulator that prevents overcharging.

To prevent over-discharging, you need to monitor manually, with a meter that reads out your house battery voltage, or buy a device like a charge controller that will monitor voltage for you and turn off the load when need be.

A voltage meter can be had from amazon, there are multiple like this one that give you charging ports and a volt meter: click me

Oooh, that sounds interesting.

Previously I stumbled upon a Battery Selector Switch which would allow the operator to select battery 1, battery 2, or both for the starter. But you're talking about something a little different, yes?

Please share the video you found!

I use this boost converter for my laptop. I used a lighter duty one previously but my laptop can really consume some juice, and the other ones would overheat and fail. I combine them with a typical cig outlet cord and the laptop end of a cheapo charger. You could also fid a pre-made one if you know the specs of the plug and its power requirements.

I installed this switch panel and all my DC stuff is wired on a switch. The labels on the switches are stupid but you can put a label sticker over them. I also have several of these around the bus.

When you convert between AC and DC power, it's very generous to figure on only losing about 15% for each conversion. If you go with that, though, and you have a 100 watt load (laptop charger) using a typical AC adapter (15% loss here) through a typical inverter (15% loss here) to a typical battery (15% loss here), you're going to be consuming over 150W from your battery...And that's being very kind, it's likely more like 180W.

If you use a boost converter like the one I liked, it's more than 90% efficient, but let's just say it's 90%. It's only doing one transition, so your 100W load is only consuming 110W or so from your battery.

To run your AC (and everything else, although they're really negligable) that long, you're going to need 37 100w solar panels. That's probably not going to fit on your bus, and by the sounds of it, it definitely won't fit your budget. Also, that 100w rating assumes that these panels are at a 90 degree angle to the sun. So, you'll need to tilt the panels. That also assumes you don't have losses from a crappy PWM solar controller. So, you're going to need MPPT controllers, which are expensive ($550 and way up). And you'll run four 6v Trojan T-105REs down to damaging levels in just two hours.

So, you're best bet is to either use your bus' engine as a generator, in which case I suggest an alternator to battery charger (These get much more power out of your alternator than a simple isolator will. They are well worth the money.) or buying a generator tied to a charge controller (You'll want/need the charge controller if you plan on plugging in anywhere anyway). The generator is by far more efficient (quieter and smells better), but you'll have to find a place for it, and store gasoline for it. It's more expensive up front, but cheaper in the long run.

Another tip would be to get a smaller AC unit. I'm in Texas where the weather is just as hot, if not as humid, and I'm running two 6,000btu window units. That way I can run one when I need to conserve power, and two when I can plug into "shore power" at a camp site or friend's house. New window units are cheap. And running just one of those will only cost you 7kW for the day instead of the astronomical 26kW you're talking about. I think my whole central air system at home uses less than 26kw a day, and I like it COLD!

With my setup that I'm building currently, I'm going to run the alternator to battery charger for when I'm driving (free power), 4x 250W solar panels on tilting racks, a MidNite Solar Classic 200 MPPT solar controller, a 3000w inverter/charge controller combo, 8x Trojan T-105REs, and a 30A shore power plug. I expect my total setup to cost me just under $5k. I also intend to add a second set of solar panels and solar controller next year to get another 1kW of solar up to need to run the bus engine less often.

Trunk, if you want. I'd use the passenger floorboard. All mine does is collect garbage.

[Something like this](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NI1BIE/ref=asc_df_B000NI1BIE943850?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=nextag-sg-delta-20&linkCode=asn&creative=380341&creativeASIN=B000NI1BIE "no affiliate link") is clipped to the battery and powers your blanket or other 12v appliances. Real easy to make your own for about 1/2 the price. Just use heavy duty copper cable - scrap romex from construction would work fine.

This IS a 50A 125V plug. there is a difference between a 50A 125V and 50A 125/250V plug in the US

Your shore connection is a NEMA type "SS1" known as the 50a 125V (the male plug will likely have 50a 125V written inside of it).

Other posters here are getting this confused with the more common NEMA "SS2" 50a 125/250 which will say 50 125/250 inside of it. They are not the same plugs.

This adapter will connect your 30a cable to that plug:

https://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|328|2290035|2290037&id=584322

​

and here is another version of the same cable on Amazon but cheaper/ of unknown quality.

https://www.amazon.com/Conntek-Marine-Pigtail-Adapter-Connector/dp/B001TNOJ1S/

​

This chart might help:

https://www.coxhardware.com/pdf_files/NemaPlugChart.pdf . Look at TYPE SS1 and you will see it matches your photo.

Nope, that's pretty much exactly what I would've done if I'd been any more confident in my "electrician skills" ... instead I bought and put this adapter on the plug instead.

It seems to be working just fine and not tripping any circuits (yet), so there's that. I'm honestly more worried about the electricity code aspect of it.

Amazon Link

Also created /r/battlewagon today if anyone is interested.

Maybe this unit or this unit would arrive just a little bit faster (prime vs china)? Second one is even UL rated.

Just follow /u/jjcarrol 's advice and be careful. Do not leave the unit unattended while plugged in like this. You have no guarantee its only going to pull 2 Amps, and if anything goes amiss, your insurance company will politely but firmly decline to cover you. A KillAWatt-style meter would be advisable.

If those things aren't fused, they should be. Putting in a little fuse block (like https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000K2MBPA/) fixes both issues -- easy fusing + tidy.

These are fairly common and cheap, not to mention pretty robust. It would be far more elegant than the plug solution. I swapped one out for my mom on her smoke exhaust in the kitchen, it died after 10 years of constant use and it died only because the internal contacts has been covered with grease/grime over the years. Tons of other variations exist too that are pretty common.

I use one of these in the engine compartment and one of these for smaller branch circuit inside the cabin on the back of the firewall.

I'd worry about using something that isn't a) common or b) intended for that use.

Any competent electrician will warn you against repeatedly using a breaker as a switch (but yes, I have). They DO have a limited lifespan. It's big, but so are the consequences of you being unlucky and it failing. I'd use a dedicated switch (I use this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00445KFZ2/) and a fuse rated to 150% of the max expected current. Keep in mind, your inverter is designed to handle a surge, and most electrical things draw a huge surge when they start for a brief moment. You have to consider that current in your fuse selection as well. I always kill the inverter when not in use. It arguably increases its lifespan as well. It's one less thing to fail while I sleep, while I am away from the van, or while I am driving down a mountain in snow!!!