finding this video has demystified electricity after 40+ years 'in the darkness'.... and utterly changed my life!! thanks you so much Jeff! love all your videos.
Thanks Jeff, for providing the best marine electrical content on RUclips. I always use your videos to touch up on my basic skills before doing any electrical work on my boats.
Thank you Jeff for sharing your knowledge and experience. Since I have watched/listened to ALL your vlogs . . . you are now my electrical "go-to" technical reference. Keep up the crusade of educating the DIY boating world.
Im an owner of a 6 meter boat and i found all this really fascinating , but there things lile solar panels and some charging methods that i might never need , but i really appreciate every second i spent watching this video , this is quality content people pay to learn that stuff , thank you for sharing
Jeff, you’re a legend. I have learned so much from your several presentations. Much appreciate the quality of content you provide 👍🙏 Keep on with your excellent work
This was fantastic! I just stumbled onto Pacific Yacht Systems, and I've found my new favorite go-to source. Great presentation! Thank you so much! Great discussion on risk tolerance.
Excellent resource: time well spent for anyone doing DIY marine electrical. Thanks Jeff for putting some vital wisdom out there on this complex subject. After reading manuals and cobbling together an initial system layout, I had still managed to get it wrong. This really pulls it all together nicely. Kudos.
33:38 Wouldn't the fuse blowing create a voltage spike? In other more recent videos you talk about putting a blanket on the solar panel before disconnecting and obviously you don't get this same convenience when a fuse blows.
Nice videos! I have old 20 f robalo boat I need rewiring intire boat. You have a picture or diagram for get ideas for simple rewiring ? I dont go putt fancy devices, just navigation and night lights, fishfinder, live bait and gloge pumps! Not have idea what size of wire buy!
wow so glad i found you! weve just gutted our 470 vindex ready for rewire and started searching how to draw electrical plans. thanx from new zealand 🙏🏻
i recently redid a electrical shore power socket connection, nema type 125v 30 amp. totally fried at the black positive terminal. someone must've dropped the power cord into the water and forgot to dry it so corrosion caused fault and burned the plug rite up. Yourn videos are absolutely helpful; and appreciated very much thanks for taking the time. Looking forward to more videos..
Love the videos, I am committed to see every video on your channel. I have been designing our after market systems including from scratch AC system for our new boat due 2023. And I have been thinking about how to heat up the water as one of the challenges since we hate turning on an engine every night to get the water hot and the best I came up with was actually using the ac water heater circuit which is contradictory to your advice here. Let me explain. To heat up 40L of water from 25C to 40C would require 700w. (60AH). From a system design perspective it is an additional 200w solar panel, a slightly bigger solar controller and another 100ah worth of batteries, alternative is an expensive and complicated diesel water heater system. I know that I can run the engine but that seems like a more of a waste than generating heat from batteries. Would love to hear your thoughts.
Jeff, aside from the seriousness of the matter you made me smile for 55 minutes, excellent presentation! A little 1960s 16 ft runabout followed me home last fall and I might hire you to have a look at my DC schematic. À bientôt. a.
I have a 1994 Edtide 180. When I went to look at it some of the transom end was meals for rats. I did not think it would be too hard to fix. What I found, most of the wireing was stripped bare. One of the live wells had the hose chewed into. Built 2 houses, no problem in wireing a house, but this boat has me baffled. I have looked for schematics for my boat and not feeling better about it. Any suggestions on wireing it?
I have an older twin, two batteries, two engine battery switches plus a house and inverter switch, and I"m adding a new bank to be primarily for the inverter. I just built new wiring harnesses for the engines and ran the alternator cables to the solenoid terminal. MRBF fuses mounted on the battery terminals, "unswitched" loads tapped off the engine battery switch studs. Question: with two engines and one "start" battery, how do you recommend configuring the alternator output wiring? I have a diode battery combiner just for the "emergency bus" (automatic pumps, radio, LED nav lights). Can you point me to a drawing you like for gasoline twins?
Great presentation, excellent content from an expert willing to share. Repeated audience questions for the recording. Everything on point. Thank you so much!
Watching from Riverside, CA. Have a 25 Ericson i'm re doinng the electrical on . Yanked out all the old AC and will only be using DC. Thanks for the Vids.
Hi Jeff thanks for the video. Question, if an inverter/charger should not be switched, how can I select only my house batteries when using the inverter fonction? And charge my 2 banks when on shore power? (Xantrex 1000w Freedom HF) My guess was to switched my banks to avoid the inverter taking power from the engine batteries...
Hi Simon, good question. Generally an inverter/charger is connected to only one battery bank. If you are going to choose which battery banks runs your inverter/charger, make sure you have a dedicated source selector switch that is only used on the DC side of the inverter/charger only. No other circuits of your boat should be on this circuit.
Thanks so much for the re-upload. The only think missing is the laser pointer when Jeff points to specific sections on the slides. I appreciate the effort that went into matching the slides to the chat! And hello from Australia!
Hi Mike, bring the solar panel connections via a controller to the unswitched distribution. Remember to connect the controllers with a fuse at the unswitched distribution.
@@PacificYachtSystems He did repeat quite a few questions - I was quite impressed (a lot of presenters getting recorded do not). Thumbs up from me & thanks!
As always, great info. Was half expecting you to touch on battery gassing and the once- yellow dc neg sheathing becoming dull and brown. we see if often.
Thank you this is awesome! One question, how does an alternator know the batteries are full and stop charging? It seems like at some point the batteries would overcharge if it is directly cabled into the batteries.
Hi guys, really great video and nice channel! I have a question on the slide on Minute 47:42. Can I add more power supplies (e.g. Solar, Battery Charger, ...) via an additional bus as additional inputs of the Battery Isolator?
That was a great presentation. Thanks so much for putting that together. Was interested for rewiring my overland expedition truck. Many of the same concepts apply methinks. House batteries, truck starter battery, solar panel, alternator, charge controller etc.
Re Battery Isolator: the alt regulator, being internal or external, excites the regulator depending on battery voltage (or other parameters if you happen to have a "smart" one). If you're using an isolator, how would the regulator be able to handle different battery "states"?
Good question, remember a battery isolator shares a charging voltage from an alternator, but it does NOT change or alter the voltage. All the batteries connected to the battery isolator will see the output voltage from the alternator.
@@PacificYachtSystems Thank you for confirming my suspicions. So if I happen to have different battery types/architectures for house and for other short term loads such as starter or bow thruster/anchor spill, neither a combiner nor an isolator would be the best solution, I believe?
Hey Jeff, Thank you for your expertise and time that you donate, you are greatly appreciated. I have 2 questions at this point and hopefully they'll be simple, easy one first 1. Is an isolation transformer diesel engine room safe? (I'd consider locating it in the generator and battery bank vicinity) 2. What's your opinion about attaching all of the forms of voltage generated (alternator, solar, genset, wind, etc.) to the battery isolator input terminal? And would it distribute a float charge to the needy battery bank w/ key off?
1) Yep, you can install an isolation transformer in a diesel engine room 2) Unfortunately never tried to have one battery isolator take all the charging inputs, as we tend to avoid single point of failures in our electrical systems. Do let us know if you try this approach.
Thanks for the video. I'm a diesel mechanic and I have teached my self electrical (12/24 DC 220v AC) Scarry I know but I have a question as I'm looking to build or find a Sailboat over 60ft. The video help me plan in my head how everything should be layed out and put in proper oder. Much like a puzzle piece. Question * Does the Marine industry use multiplex system *If so do the invertors have pertection on interference . * I have had problems with Generator for back up A/C 3 phase 220 Running at 56 hz . If the A/C is not tuned or out of tune could the damage any Electronic or Elictrical pumps. What is a good fail safe for insurance As I have had AC motor burn up with correct voltage but Hz probablems
@@PacificYachtSystems In heavy equipment we have more computers and sensor then ever before. With Emissions, EBS climet control. The wiring can stack up a lot of weight. Too correct this they have came up with a method of communication in the wiring. To go from what may have taken 10 wires before now only takes one. The best way I can explain it is the single within the wire. It's extremely sensitive too voltage changes and other interference like older or some new AC converter and microwaves.
@@PacificYachtSystems en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiplexing I have really only learned all my skills from reading and trouble shooting. But have came across many problems with newer Electronics integrated with old technology. Kind of like two different languages trying to communicate with one another
Hi Peter, in marine with do similar with a CANbus protocol called NMEA 2000. Similar benefits, allows one cable (made of 5 wires) to communicated lots of data between multiple connected devices.
Jeff, your wealth of knowledge is extremely helpful and I am looking forward to rewiring my 222 Aquasport now that i have support. Quick questions, where should the fuse be mounted between the stator (alternator) and the starter battery? I watch your video that expressed the location at the source of power. Should there be one under the outboard cowling or at the battery terminal/terminal block? Thank You
A couple things about alternators: 1) Make sure the positive and negative wire from the alternator can handle the maximum amperage from the alternator 2) Fuse the alternator circuit at the battery connection. Remember the battery is also a source of power and in the event of dead short will supply way more power then the alternator wire can handle.
I have now seen hvis video more than once and I must say this video will prevent more than one electrical fire. But the part from 42 min in the video. About seperating the batteries. I do understand one start batterie and one house batterie and the two newer see eatch other. But I have 3 batteries. 2 "house" batteries. And what then? Do I connect both the plus side suddenly they see eatch other and the idea about the victron argon fet falls to the ground. Do I miss another Smart device?
Wow, you got me excited and worried at the same time. Where do I find an electrician who actually knows all this in Greece? I'm good with mechanical things but hopeless with electrics. I would like to do a complete electrical refit.
I ended up reading everything i could on boat electrical's, particularly Nigel Calder - the Bible of boat electrical's Plus watching the full series of videos by these guys (which are great). Then I designed and rewired my own (34 ft) sailboat 110V and 12V systems. To keep it manageable, I did it one circuit at a time, starting with the 110V circuits, then the major 12V circuits (like battery connections) and finally the minor 12V circuits (like LED lights). I found some real horrors in the old wiring, including connections where the insulation had broken down (where a fire would surely waiting to happen). Now i do not have one single butt or taped connection on my 12V system (but dozens of terminal blocks, as recommended). Most of the challenge was not electrical (if you are reasonably methodical) but in crawling through tight spaces etc. Took me and my wife (whose small hands helped with the panel wiring), about three weeks. Finished that a few months ago and am now rewiring (the more complicated) NMEA 0176 navigation/autopilot wiring. I never once met an electrician that i thought i could trust with my boat, so i opted to do it my self. Also, there is no substitute for knowing every corner of your own boat.
@@stephenburnage7687 thanks for your insight into this! I figured for blue water sailing the only real solution is to know every system in your boat. Seems like a nightmare for something to break down on a passage and be powerless to fix it. And then arriving at a new port and having to find and electrician in potentially another language
@@waxcomb I agree. It is an essentially part of long distance cruising and we try to learn as much as we can, when we can. We are now in Central America, having made (so far) it from British Columbia, Canada. As we traveled south out of the US, the self sufficiency of cruisers increases exponentially. We have heard of some amazing stories - one changed a cylinder head gasket offshore. Another rebuilt his gearbox offshore and another even changes a thru hull valve offshore. I am not up to those standards but they drive me to keep on learning.
A few notes: Amepere is directly related the conductor's area (resistance), Voltage influences directly the speed at which the electrons travel (potential). Energy is measured in Watt hour (not Ampere hour). Energy = V x Ah x power factor = Wh.
Thanks for the great videos, I'm learning a lot! At 23:57 you show the battery charger going directly to the engine battery, and to the house battery via the unswitched distribution bus. Why? I thought that the charger, solar, and alternater could be hooked up to the unswitched distribution bus, and then into both batter banks (as in the diagram at ~8 minutes)? Edit: directly if you consider the fuzes passive elements.
Im a commercial electrician but i have never worked on a before, but if you understand electricity you understand electricity. A friend called me and said she was watching TV on her boat for about an hour then all the power shut off and the individual breakers started reading reverse polarity. this should be impossible considering no work has been done. The main breaker has 120V to ground and is not reversed when i checked. I can see the hot coming off the main output into the input of the other breakers but i ran out of time and didnt check the reading, but im pretty sure its correct. What would be the next thing you would check? Im assuming its a equipment problem somewhere not a wiring problem
Good question, when troubleshooting reverse polarity, start at the AC dock pedestal and measure polarity and AC neutral to ground at every point closer and closer to panel. Remember reverse polarity on a boat is measured or indicated by a AC light/LED between AC ground and AC neutral. Sometimes, loosing AC ground, causes the reverse polarity light to flicker or show a dim light.
Hi, I have two G31 AGMs that are switched so either can be house or start. I understand the value of an isolator, but is there a way to still have the functionality of either/or with an isolator, or is the proper set up to keep those two batteries separate? Thank you!
Hey stupid question here, I'm wanting to run two banks off an outboard, one dedicated starter and a house battery (sonar lights troller stereo), does the simplicity of the battery isolator apply the same if I want to send extra juice up front?
Great video. In regards to battery combiner vs battery isolator- I'm concern with the engine not being used much and keeping the starting battery topped up via solar. From your isolator slide it looks like the power doesn't flow that way, so an isolator isn't the solution. Is that an accurate statement?
A battery isolator can be used in many applications. Typically it's used on the output of the alternator, therefore a solar panel connected to the house battery will not be able to recharge the engine battery. You'd need a battery combiner for that, preferably a directional battery combiner, going from house to engine battery.
Good question, the starter is connected to engine battery via it's own wire, going through a switch and no fuse.. The alternator, also has it's own wire to a battery, but this one is fused and unswitched.
@@PacificYachtSystems Can you recommend anyone in the Ventura, Channel Islands area for a complete system upgrade/rewire. It’s a 1978 KP44. Existing electrical is a mess and unsafe.
Thank you for all the information. As I do my research for my boat renovations I believe its wise to put a resettable fuse or switch between the solar panel and mppt. This to isolate power during maintenance. Thoughts?
Hi Terence, putting a circuit breaker will work on your solar panel circuit will work. Make sure you cover your solar panels to stop output before disconnecting them.
The people best at their job are the ones most likely to share their knowledge with others. Thank you for being one of those people, Jeff. Edit: The low bar electrical system warning is frightening. I look around the marina and see some signs of questionable maintenance and think, what does their electrical system look like. And, how can they be swimming around that boat?!?!
The conceptual diagrams are so helpful! I love the idea of the battery isolator with the alternator, but where would the external regulator’s voltage sensing wire go?
Thank you much, great video and info for RVs too. AGM Carbon foam good for cold temps, a great solution. Van sees extended 10 F for 12+ hours, during winter trips would have destroyed LiFePO4 batteries or become unusable.
i have an 80amp dolphin smart charger and 2x T105 FLA 6v in series giving ,225AH,12v would this charger be too much for the batteries to handle? would probably only be used for fast charging with the 2kw honda portable generator.
I was going to give this a pass but decided to give it a quick shot. It was time well spent for sure and I know a decent amount about electrical systems. One comment - fuses/breakers are always sized based on the wire because that is what they are supposed to protect. The wire is (should be) sized to the load. This is a niggly point but if the fuse is sized to the load but the wire is too small then you are going to have a problem that will only get worse as age takes its toll. If the wire is oversize then you can size the fuse to the load but this is typically not the case.
Pacific Yacht Systems yeah got an Almar made in the early 80s and there is no switch and the battery has no container. It sits in the hull by the drain. Thanks for all your help. I will be aiming to fix both, first thing this spring.
Hi, Thanks for that great video. I need to install a 2600 watts refrigeration plant in my customer vessel of 20 meter LOA. It has a Chinese make Yuchai YC6T540C engine. I need the refrigeration plant to run for straight 17 hours in peak loads. The Customer cant go with an expensive battery storage system at all. So I need to work on an Off-grid system with no battery. In order to compensate for the fluctuations, I decided to install a dedicated Alternator to the main engine to power things up. The main engine runs usually from morning 5 am to 10 pm. So that I could take most of my solar output out of my 3.5 kW PV system between 10 am and 3 pm. I need your help to make this arrangement work for me. I tried on-grid inverters, but they sent back the excess power from solar to the synchronization source when solar tops up, in this case, which is not possible. Also when the plant occasionally shuts-itself off during peak solar hours, the above-mentioned scenario happens, which cannot be possible. So is there a possible workaround for this application?
Charging your start battery and connecting your house bank through a, ACR is not how these circuits should be wired. Your alternator wants to feed a large battery bank, not your start battery. Then the ACR senses the voltage on the house bank, and when it is high enough, the ACR feed the small amount of energy the start battery has lost while starting the battery. Works fine when wired correctly.
"Nobody creates heat from battery" making hot water from your inverter works just fine and isn't stupid if your system is large enough. It's a 1500W load for ~30-45 minute, which gets filled back with enough solar on the same day. A big LFP bank will handle that without blinking. I've done it, took hot showers many mornings powered by the sun (and the inverter/battery).
Great video and all...but isn't this a reupload? It's not from Boat Show 2019 - pretty sure I have seen this entire video before. It doesn't make it bad, it's just a little wierd and I was looking forward for a NEW video when I got the notification about this.
Hmm...I might take this back. Maybe it's just because Jeff starts kind of similar to other videos and he might have done this so many times that he can say the exact same thing everytime - more or less :)
Hi Mads, this is a completely new presentation. All the slides and all the content was created in Jan 2019. The intro slides are always the same though.
If you by pass the solenoid and go direct from the battery to the alternator what stops the starter motor from continuing to turn? As I understood it - the Solenoid acts as a switch to tell the starter motor to start and then tell it to stop once the engine is running...
Hi ColGadarby, if you directly connect your alternator to the battery bank via fuse, one must remove the jumper that connects the alternator positive post and the starter solenoid.
Good information to the people except one thing: a Battery isolator drops the voltage with about 0.7V from the alternator to each battery. this causes the charge currents to drop to half of the possible charge. With a combiner (relay) with self-alignment you have full charge all the time and never drain any battery.
Hi TickTac2, thanks for the reminder, your correct a diode based battery isolator will drop voltage by .7 VDC. Better to install a FET based diode combiner like the Victron ArgoFet.
finding this video has demystified electricity after 40+ years 'in the darkness'.... and utterly changed my life!! thanks you so much Jeff! love all your videos.
Thanks captainantiguanick, glad our content is resonating with you!
@@PacificYachtSystems Most certainly!!! thank you!
Thanks Jeff, for providing the best marine electrical content on RUclips. I always use your videos to touch up on my basic skills before doing any electrical work on my boats.
Thank you Jeff for sharing your knowledge and experience. Since I have watched/listened to ALL your vlogs . . . you are now my electrical "go-to" technical reference. Keep up the crusade of educating the DIY boating world.
Thanks Roger. Much appreciated.
Couldn’t agree more 👏
Just discovered this channel. Definitely top of my "go to" for learning.
What is the web site called?
Im an owner of a 6 meter boat and i found all this really fascinating , but there things lile solar panels and some charging methods that i might never need , but i really appreciate every second i spent watching this video , this is quality content people pay to learn that stuff , thank you for sharing
Thanks Chris for the feedback, glad our content resonated with you!
Seems so passionate about this which comes through naturally in his speech. Very engaging and very helpful 😊
This is not boring
This is the most beautiful video on the RUclipser
Thank you
Thanks!!! Appreciate the feedback.
Best hour yet spent listening to that lecture, brilliant thanks!
Thanks Tony.
Jeff, you’re a legend. I have learned so much from your several presentations. Much appreciate the quality of content you provide 👍🙏 Keep on with your excellent work
I appreciate that!
This was fantastic! I just stumbled onto Pacific Yacht Systems, and I've found my new favorite go-to source. Great presentation! Thank you so much! Great discussion on risk tolerance.
Wow, thanks!
Excellent resource: time well spent for anyone doing DIY marine electrical. Thanks Jeff for putting some vital wisdom out there on this complex subject. After reading manuals and cobbling together an initial system layout, I had still managed to get it wrong. This really pulls it all together nicely. Kudos.
Thanks SalamaSond, appreciate the feedback.
That's just awesome! Best video outdare! Presentation is clear and concise. It's going to my favorites.
Thanks!!! Glad my content resonated with you!
33:38 Wouldn't the fuse blowing create a voltage spike? In other more recent videos you talk about putting a blanket on the solar panel before disconnecting and obviously you don't get this same convenience when a fuse blows.
Hmmm... not sure about this one. Never tested this... but I'm guessing no. Anyone savvy techies out there that can weigh in.
Really well spent 55 minutes. Thank you.
Thanks Rob. Glad you enjoyed it.
Nice videos! I have old 20 f robalo boat I need rewiring intire boat. You have a picture or diagram for get ideas for simple rewiring ? I dont go putt fancy devices, just navigation and night lights, fishfinder, live bait and gloge pumps! Not have idea what size of wire buy!
wow so glad i found you! weve just gutted our 470 vindex ready for rewire and started searching how to draw electrical plans. thanx from new zealand 🙏🏻
Glad I could help!
Thank you, I have now learned enough that I now know there is so much more to learn. This was very well broadcasted and great diagrams.
Your welcome, glad we could help.
i recently redid a electrical shore power socket connection, nema type 125v 30 amp. totally fried at the black positive terminal. someone must've dropped the power cord into the water and forgot to dry it so corrosion caused fault and burned the plug rite up. Yourn videos are absolutely helpful; and appreciated very much thanks for taking the time. Looking forward to more videos..
At last a professional!!!
Love the videos, I am committed to see every video on your channel. I have been designing our after market systems including from scratch AC system for our new boat due 2023. And I have been thinking about how to heat up the water as one of the challenges since we hate turning on an engine every night to get the water hot and the best I came up with was actually using the ac water heater circuit which is contradictory to your advice here. Let me explain. To heat up 40L of water from 25C to 40C would require 700w. (60AH). From a system design perspective it is an additional 200w solar panel, a slightly bigger solar controller and another 100ah worth of batteries, alternative is an expensive and complicated diesel water heater system. I know that I can run the engine but that seems like a more of a waste than generating heat from batteries. Would love to hear your thoughts.
Great video Jeff!
Jeff, aside from the seriousness of the matter you made me smile for 55 minutes, excellent presentation!
A little 1960s 16 ft runabout followed me home last fall and I might hire you to have a look at my DC schematic.
À bientôt.
a.
Thanks Alain, appreciate the feedback. Curiosity is definitely a good thing when it comes to electrical.
Do you have any data on if its cheaper to run a big alternator at 5kw vs a 5kw generator
Excellent. I have just bought a small boat with an electrical system that could do with upgrading or replacing.
I say the same as all of you, the best hour spent. I can´t wait to get started with changing the electrical system on my boat!
Thanks so much. Inspired from your feedback.
Exactly what I wanted to know, plus what I didn't know I needed to know! All delivered with excellent presentation skills. 10/10
Glad it was helpful!
I have a 1994 Edtide 180. When I went to look at it some of the transom end was meals for rats. I did not think it would be too hard to fix. What I found, most of the wireing was stripped bare. One of the live wells had the hose chewed into. Built 2 houses, no problem in wireing a house, but this boat has me baffled. I have looked for schematics for my boat and not feeling better about it. Any suggestions on wireing it?
I have an older twin, two batteries, two engine battery switches plus a house and inverter switch, and I"m adding a new bank to be primarily for the inverter. I just built new wiring harnesses for the engines and ran the alternator cables to the solenoid terminal. MRBF fuses mounted on the battery terminals, "unswitched" loads tapped off the engine battery switch studs. Question: with two engines and one "start" battery, how do you recommend configuring the alternator output wiring? I have a diode battery combiner just for the "emergency bus" (automatic pumps, radio, LED nav lights). Can you point me to a drawing you like for gasoline twins?
Hi Stephen, unfortunately as of yet we don't a have a schematic ready for what you are looking.
Great presentation, excellent content from an expert willing to share. Repeated audience questions for the recording. Everything on point. Thank you so much!
Hi ApprenticeGM, thanks for the reminder on the questions. Got get that habit going.
@@PacificYachtSystems hi mate, no I was saying you did it pretty well! Was impressed. You repeated quite a few questions. Good job & thanks.
Ahh... so you to forgetting... I am used to apologizing. LOL
Watching from Riverside, CA. Have a 25 Ericson i'm re doinng the electrical on . Yanked out all the old AC and will only be using DC. Thanks for the Vids.
Good luck with your project.
I love your remark about the wisdom gained from the pain of bad experience. It's been a recurring life lesson, ha ha.
Hi Jeff thanks for the video. Question, if an inverter/charger should not be switched, how can I select only my house batteries when using the inverter fonction? And charge my 2 banks when on shore power? (Xantrex 1000w Freedom HF) My guess was to switched my banks to avoid the inverter taking power from the engine batteries...
Hi Simon, good question. Generally an inverter/charger is connected to only one battery bank. If you are going to choose which battery banks runs your inverter/charger, make sure you have a dedicated source selector switch that is only used on the DC side of the inverter/charger only. No other circuits of your boat should be on this circuit.
Awesome. Great job. Thanks and stay safe.
Thanks, you too!
Thanks for watching and thanks for the kudos!
Excellent!!!
I think I will watchit a few more times.
Thanks.
Awesome, thank you!
Thanks so much for the re-upload. The only think missing is the laser pointer when Jeff points to specific sections on the slides. I appreciate the effort that went into matching the slides to the chat! And hello from Australia!
Hi DBay, your right cannot have it all. We figured cleaner more legible slides would be better.
At the 48:00 mark, where in this setup would you connect your solar to properly charge the batteries?
Hi Mike, bring the solar panel connections via a controller to the unswitched distribution. Remember to connect the controllers with a fuse at the unswitched distribution.
Thanks for all you do. Please remember to repeat the questions (that you get from an audience) for the benefit of everyone (RUclipsrs) listening.
Hi David, so sorry i should know better.
@@PacificYachtSystems He did repeat quite a few questions - I was quite impressed (a lot of presenters getting recorded do not). Thumbs up from me & thanks!
Is it correct to assume that a galvanic isolator is not needed if an isolation transformer is used?
Hi Joe, your correct. No need for a Galvanic Isolator if you have an Isolation Transformer.
As always, great info. Was half expecting you to touch on battery gassing and the once- yellow dc neg sheathing becoming dull and brown. we see if often.
Thank you this is awesome! One question, how does an alternator know the batteries are full and stop charging? It seems like at some point the batteries would overcharge if it is directly cabled into the batteries.
The internal/external regulator job is to regulate the alternator voltage and not overcharge the battery.
Hi guys, really great video and nice channel! I have a question on the slide on Minute 47:42. Can I add more power supplies (e.g. Solar, Battery Charger, ...) via an additional bus as additional inputs of the Battery Isolator?
Hi Felix, never seen or tried this before, resultingly not sure of the implications.
@@PacificYachtSystems Okai, thanks for answering anyways
Jeff knows his stuff!
Thanks Mike V. Always curious always learning.
That was a great presentation. Thanks so much for putting that together. Was interested for rewiring my overland expedition truck. Many of the same concepts apply methinks. House batteries, truck starter battery, solar panel, alternator, charge controller etc.
Re Battery Isolator: the alt regulator, being internal or external, excites the regulator depending on battery voltage (or other parameters if you happen to have a "smart" one). If you're using an isolator, how would the regulator be able to handle different battery "states"?
Good question, remember a battery isolator shares a charging voltage from an alternator, but it does NOT change or alter the voltage. All the batteries connected to the battery isolator will see the output voltage from the alternator.
@@PacificYachtSystems Thank you for confirming my suspicions. So if I happen to have different battery types/architectures for house and for other short term loads such as starter or bow thruster/anchor spill, neither a combiner nor an isolator would be the best solution, I believe?
Hey Jeff,
Thank you for your expertise and time that you donate, you are greatly appreciated.
I have 2 questions at this point and hopefully they'll be simple, easy one first
1. Is an isolation transformer diesel engine room safe? (I'd consider locating it in the generator and battery bank vicinity)
2. What's your opinion about attaching all of the forms of voltage generated (alternator, solar, genset, wind, etc.) to the battery isolator input terminal?
And would it distribute a float charge to the needy battery bank w/ key off?
1) Yep, you can install an isolation transformer in a diesel engine room
2) Unfortunately never tried to have one battery isolator take all the charging inputs, as we tend to avoid single point of failures in our electrical systems. Do let us know if you try this approach.
Thanks for the video.
I'm a diesel mechanic and I have teached my self electrical (12/24 DC 220v AC) Scarry I know but I have a question as I'm looking to build or find a Sailboat over 60ft.
The video help me plan in my head how everything should be layed out and put in proper oder. Much like a puzzle piece.
Question
* Does the Marine industry use multiplex system
*If so do the invertors have pertection on interference .
* I have had problems with Generator for back up A/C 3 phase 220
Running at 56 hz . If the A/C is not tuned or out of tune could the damage any Electronic or Elictrical pumps.
What is a good fail safe for insurance
As I have had AC motor burn up with correct voltage but Hz probablems
Hi Peter, never heard of the Multiplex System per say. What is it?
@@PacificYachtSystems In heavy equipment we have more computers and sensor then ever before. With Emissions, EBS climet control. The wiring can stack up a lot of weight. Too correct this they have came up with a method of communication in the wiring. To go from what may have taken 10 wires before now only takes one.
The best way I can explain it is the single within the wire. It's extremely sensitive too voltage changes and other interference like older or some new AC converter and microwaves.
@@PacificYachtSystems en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiplexing I have really only learned all my skills from reading and trouble shooting. But have came across many problems with newer Electronics integrated with old technology. Kind of like two different languages trying to communicate with one another
Hi Peter, in marine with do similar with a CANbus protocol called NMEA 2000. Similar benefits, allows one cable (made of 5 wires) to communicated lots of data between multiple connected devices.
Awesome information! I can tell you love what you do!
Thanks Justin! Definitely do love reliable marine electrical.
Jeff, your wealth of knowledge is extremely helpful and I am looking forward to rewiring my 222 Aquasport now that i have support. Quick questions, where should the fuse be mounted between the stator (alternator) and the starter battery? I watch your video that expressed the location at the source of power. Should there be one under the outboard cowling or at the battery terminal/terminal block?
Thank You
A couple things about alternators:
1) Make sure the positive and negative wire from the alternator can handle the maximum amperage from the alternator
2) Fuse the alternator circuit at the battery connection. Remember the battery is also a source of power and in the event of dead short will supply way more power then the alternator wire can handle.
@@PacificYachtSystems Thank you very much for the Reply!
I have now seen hvis video more than once and I must say this video will prevent more than one electrical fire.
But the part from 42 min in the video.
About seperating the batteries. I do understand one start batterie and one house batterie and the two newer see eatch other. But I have 3 batteries. 2 "house" batteries. And what then? Do I connect both the plus side suddenly they see eatch other and the idea about the victron argon fet falls to the ground. Do I miss another Smart device?
Wow, you got me excited and worried at the same time. Where do I find an electrician who actually knows all this in Greece? I'm good with mechanical things but hopeless with electrics. I would like to do a complete electrical refit.
I ended up reading everything i could on boat electrical's, particularly Nigel Calder - the Bible of boat electrical's Plus watching the full series of videos by these guys (which are great). Then I designed and rewired my own (34 ft) sailboat 110V and 12V systems. To keep it manageable, I did it one circuit at a time, starting with the 110V circuits, then the major 12V circuits (like battery connections) and finally the minor 12V circuits (like LED lights). I found some real horrors in the old wiring, including connections where the insulation had broken down (where a fire would surely waiting to happen). Now i do not have one single butt or taped connection on my 12V system (but dozens of terminal blocks, as recommended). Most of the challenge was not electrical (if you are reasonably methodical) but in crawling through tight spaces etc. Took me and my wife (whose small hands helped with the panel wiring), about three weeks. Finished that a few months ago and am now rewiring (the more complicated) NMEA 0176 navigation/autopilot wiring. I never once met an electrician that i thought i could trust with my boat, so i opted to do it my self. Also, there is no substitute for knowing every corner of your own boat.
@@stephenburnage7687 thanks for your insight into this! I figured for blue water sailing the only real solution is to know every system in your boat. Seems like a nightmare for something to break down on a passage and be powerless to fix it. And then arriving at a new port and having to find and electrician in potentially another language
@@waxcomb I agree. It is an essentially part of long distance cruising and we try to learn as much as we can, when we can. We are now in Central America, having made (so far) it from British Columbia, Canada. As we traveled south out of the US, the self sufficiency of cruisers increases exponentially. We have heard of some amazing stories - one changed a cylinder head gasket offshore. Another rebuilt his gearbox offshore and another even changes a thru hull valve offshore. I am not up to those standards but they drive me to keep on learning.
A few notes:
Amepere is directly related the conductor's area (resistance), Voltage influences directly the speed at which the electrons travel (potential). Energy is measured in Watt hour (not Ampere hour). Energy = V x Ah x power factor = Wh.
Thanks Josi.
Thanks for the great videos, I'm learning a lot!
At 23:57 you show the battery charger going directly to the engine battery, and to the house battery via the unswitched distribution bus. Why? I thought that the charger, solar, and alternater could be hooked up to the unswitched distribution bus, and then into both batter banks (as in the diagram at ~8 minutes)?
Edit: directly if you consider the fuzes passive elements.
Hi Jake, good point. I do so just to simplify the explanation. Your correct, the output could go to a unswitched distribution.
@@PacificYachtSystems Woot, thanks!
Hey - How can i make a dual engine, 2 x altinators. Charge 3 battery banks. Can i use two Victron Argo FET 200?
Sort off, you can install 2 ArgoFET 1-3, with each battery connection from each ArgoFET paralleled to one another.
Im a commercial electrician but i have never worked on a before, but if you understand electricity you understand electricity. A friend called me and said she was watching TV on her boat for about an hour then all the power shut off and the individual breakers started reading reverse polarity. this should be impossible considering no work has been done. The main breaker has 120V to ground and is not reversed when i checked. I can see the hot coming off the main output into the input of the other breakers but i ran out of time and didnt check the reading, but im pretty sure its correct. What would be the next thing you would check? Im assuming its a equipment problem somewhere not a wiring problem
Good question, when troubleshooting reverse polarity, start at the AC dock pedestal and measure polarity and AC neutral to ground at every point closer and closer to panel. Remember reverse polarity on a boat is measured or indicated by a AC light/LED between AC ground and AC neutral. Sometimes, loosing AC ground, causes the reverse polarity light to flicker or show a dim light.
Does that minimum charge current apply to lithium batteries, too?
So use amp hr or cca
Hi, I have two G31 AGMs that are switched so either can be house or start. I understand the value of an isolator, but is there a way to still have the functionality of either/or with an isolator, or is the proper set up to keep those two batteries separate? Thank you!
Peter, keep you batteries #1 and #2 separate.
Hey stupid question here, I'm wanting to run two banks off an outboard, one dedicated starter and a house battery (sonar lights troller stereo), does the simplicity of the battery isolator apply the same if I want to send extra juice up front?
With an outboard, better and easier to install a battery combiner.
Great video. In regards to battery combiner vs battery isolator- I'm concern with the engine not being used much and keeping the starting battery topped up via solar. From your isolator slide it looks like the power doesn't flow that way, so an isolator isn't the solution. Is that an accurate statement?
A battery isolator can be used in many applications. Typically it's used on the output of the alternator, therefore a solar panel connected to the house battery will not be able to recharge the engine battery. You'd need a battery combiner for that, preferably a directional battery combiner, going from house to engine battery.
How do you recommend handling the starter wiring if you connect your alternator directly to your battery, bypassing the starter?
Good question, the starter is connected to engine battery via it's own wire, going through a switch and no fuse.. The alternator, also has it's own wire to a battery, but this one is fused and unswitched.
@@PacificYachtSystems true magic! thank you.
@@PacificYachtSystems Can you recommend anyone in the Ventura, Channel Islands area for a complete system upgrade/rewire. It’s a 1978 KP44. Existing electrical is a mess and unsafe.
Thank you for all the information. As I do my research for my boat renovations I believe its wise to put a resettable fuse or switch between the solar panel and mppt. This to isolate power during maintenance. Thoughts?
Hi Terence, putting a circuit breaker will work on your solar panel circuit will work. Make sure you cover your solar panels to stop output before disconnecting them.
@@PacificYachtSystems thank you
The people best at their job are the ones most likely to share their knowledge with others. Thank you for being one of those people, Jeff.
Edit: The low bar electrical system warning is frightening. I look around the marina and see some signs of questionable maintenance and think, what does their electrical system look like. And, how can they be swimming around that boat?!?!
Hans, appreciate the feedback!
Thank you for your information and sharing how the system work. brilliant
Thanks Peter! Glad you like it.
The conceptual diagrams are so helpful! I love the idea of the battery isolator with the alternator, but where would the external regulator’s voltage sensing wire go?
Sensing wire goes to deep-cycle battery bank.
Thank you much, great video and info for RVs too. AGM Carbon foam good for cold temps, a great solution. Van sees extended 10 F for 12+ hours, during winter trips would have destroyed LiFePO4 batteries or become unusable.
Hi Nat, good point.
I only wish more people would listen to this
i have an 80amp dolphin smart charger and 2x T105 FLA 6v in series giving ,225AH,12v would this charger be too much for the batteries to handle?
would probably only be used for fast charging with the 2kw honda portable generator.
Based on your battery bank size, the maximum charge acceptance rate should be about 50 amps (25% of battery capacity).
Great content. Thanks for sharing!
What is your website address please?
Hi Steve. You can find us at www.pysystems.ca Cheers!
This is GOLD. Thank you so much, fabulous information! My only complaint is that you're on the west coast and I'm on the east ;)
Thanks, maybe one day we'll open an office out east.
I was going to give this a pass but decided to give it a quick shot. It was time well spent for sure and I know a decent amount about electrical systems. One comment - fuses/breakers are always sized based on the wire because that is what they are supposed to protect. The wire is (should be) sized to the load. This is a niggly point but if the fuse is sized to the load but the wire is too small then you are going to have a problem that will only get worse as age takes its toll. If the wire is oversize then you can size the fuse to the load but this is typically not the case.
Jeff you are awesome!!
Do you have a video on battery equalizer
Hi Mike, not yet, but that's a good suggestion.
Bravo, i have learn so much about electricity since I discovered your video, sad I am on east cost ...
Oh well, at least RUclips connects us all boaters together.
Your lessons are very helpful....and finally sinking in.
Thank you!
Hi Sean, glad to know it's all making sense. Thanks for watching.
What type of fuse do you recommend to use on the battery
Hi South Trucker, choosing a battery depends on the expected loads and the wire size.
That is absolutely correct
What about Lithium vs AGM? Charge rate minimums? Still 10% minimum?
Hi Andrew, it's one of our upcoming topics. Watch for the battery video.
Can you go alternator to battery direct, with an outboard?
You should always have a battery switch between an engine (including an outboard) and a starting battery.
Pacific Yacht Systems yeah got an Almar made in the early 80s and there is no switch and the battery has no container. It sits in the hull by the drain.
Thanks for all your help.
I will be aiming to fix both, first thing this spring.
Great work
Thank you! Cheers!
The best info... thank you!
Thanks Daniel.
Hi, Thanks for that great video. I need to install a 2600 watts refrigeration plant in my customer vessel of 20 meter LOA. It has a Chinese make Yuchai YC6T540C engine. I need the refrigeration plant to run for straight 17 hours in peak loads. The Customer cant go with an expensive battery storage system at all. So I need to work on an Off-grid system with no battery. In order to compensate for the fluctuations, I decided to install a dedicated Alternator to the main engine to power things up. The main engine runs usually from morning 5 am to 10 pm. So that I could take most of my solar output out of my 3.5 kW PV system between 10 am and 3 pm.
I need your help to make this arrangement work for me.
I tried on-grid inverters, but they sent back the excess power from solar to the synchronization source when solar tops up, in this case, which is not possible. Also when the plant occasionally shuts-itself off during peak solar hours, the above-mentioned scenario happens, which cannot be possible.
So is there a possible workaround for this application?
man .. i just keeping go with your videos 👍🏼⭐️💪🏻 still watching you from kuwait 😀⚓️
Awesome! Thank you!
Charging your start battery and connecting your house bank through a, ACR is not how these circuits should be wired. Your alternator wants to feed a large battery bank, not your start battery. Then the ACR senses the voltage on the house bank, and when it is high enough, the ACR feed the small amount of energy the start battery has lost while starting the battery. Works fine when wired correctly.
Awesome video
Glad you enjoyed it
"Nobody creates heat from battery" making hot water from your inverter works just fine and isn't stupid if your system is large enough. It's a 1500W load for ~30-45 minute, which gets filled back with enough solar on the same day. A big LFP bank will handle that without blinking. I've done it, took hot showers many mornings powered by the sun (and the inverter/battery).
Hi Antoine, meant heating a boat cabin with an inverter via batteries.
Great video and all...but isn't this a reupload? It's not from Boat Show 2019 - pretty sure I have seen this entire video before. It doesn't make it bad, it's just a little wierd and I was looking forward for a NEW video when I got the notification about this.
Hmm...I might take this back. Maybe it's just because Jeff starts kind of similar to other videos and he might have done this so many times that he can say the exact same thing everytime - more or less :)
Hi Mads, this is a completely new presentation. All the slides and all the content was created in Jan 2019. The intro slides are always the same though.
If you by pass the solenoid and go direct from the battery to the alternator what stops the starter motor from continuing to turn? As I understood it - the Solenoid acts as a switch to tell the starter motor to start and then tell it to stop once the engine is running...
Hi ColGadarby, if you directly connect your alternator to the battery bank via fuse, one must remove the jumper that connects the alternator positive post and the starter solenoid.
Thank You ....
Outstanding!! Thank You
You're very welcome!
Can I be a marine electrical designer ? My background is mechanical engineering
I create heat from batteries and it works fine
well can yo make up for lost time when your 29?
Jeff on getting a battery charger you say size the charger to 10% of the battery oh electric
Thank you so much for sharing.
MY question is... I am a consumate DIYer. Can I buy products from your warehouse in lieu of hiring one of your engineers?
Most definitely. Email solutions@pysystems.ca to let PYS know what you are looking for.
I want to go down the rabbit hole
Lol Michael. The "rabbit hole" is always an exciting ride.
There's got to be some kind of easier wifi system. If not, someone will revolutionize it eventually.
Eventually.
Good information to the people except one thing: a Battery isolator drops the voltage with about 0.7V from the alternator to each battery. this causes the charge currents to drop to half of the possible charge. With a combiner (relay) with self-alignment you have full charge all the time and never drain any battery.
Hi TickTac2, thanks for the reminder, your correct a diode based battery isolator will drop voltage by .7 VDC. Better to install a FET based diode combiner like the Victron ArgoFet.
Pacific Yacht Systems Yes. FET is a better choice, but a relay do the job good enough and are cheaper ;)
still cost a lot $500 for one 12v...
A sales rep for firefly batterys
Hi Joseph, you bring a good point, I do earn a living working on boats and part of this work includes installing and selling marine products.