Should I Install a Switch Panel or a Breaker Panel on My Boat?
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- Опубліковано 23 вер 2023
- John sent us a question due to a recent boat fire in his marina. He asked, "We've noticed some of the original DC breakers are broken on the back, and since two boats have caught fire and been destroyed in our marina, we are on pretty high alert now. We decided to build a new panel with new breakers. Will a switch panel be ok instead of a breaker panel for the DC house loads?"
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When breakers trip they don't jump all the way to the OFF position. Like your breakers on your AC panel at home, the tripping action lets the spring pull the contacts apart. The lever ends up somewhere in the middle space, so when walking up to your panel you can see a tripped breaker at a glance. If the switch/breaker also has a red LED for ON, it will be dark.
Also you can't just flick it ON again. Most breakers like the Blue Sea ones have to be pushed to all the way OFF when you'll feel a little 'click' as the arm re-latches with the
trip spring. Then you turn the switch all the way to ON again and it's now spring-loaded ready to 'pop' if the amperage rating is exceeded again.
Dude, you are a gift to the boating community. Thank you!
Very clear and well explained. Thanks
I had smoke the other day my wire became a fuse the wires burnt! I just fixed my cabin lights been watching all your videos re did the breaker panel all the wiring 💯 let there be light ! 💡
So crazy you uploaded this today 😛
Time for a break FL is so hot 🏝️
I had a friend who installed car stereos and alarms years ago. I remember seeing a lot of cars that had rats nests of wire and unprotected circuits from bad installers. Saw a few vehicle fires as those guys pushed huge power through the systems with capacitors. Just look at lightning strikes.
Only problem with breakers is that water can get in and corrode the parts inside. Even though some have rubber boots, they crack over time and water gets in. There is no real way to test them other than to introduce a short and see if they work. For smaller boats, I suggest using a fuse box instead and only have breakers for pumps, cigarette lighter accessory or troll motors.
RIP Jeff
Jeff, excellent content and a real help. I got a question for you. I'm surprised I can't solve this on my own. I want to mount a thru Deck multi pin plug next to my mast step, so when I put up or take down the deck stepped mast all I have to do is plug it in. Do you know a specific plug to use? My wires are 14 Guage I believe. Thank you
Thanks Jeff, I do like the blue sea breaker panels as you can make things very neat, which of course makes it more reliable.. I know this probably goes with out saying but some people don't fuse starting circuits, and some people wire the start battery straight to the starter motor, without even an isolation switch. What's your thoughts on this? To me it sounds a bit crazy, but it seems to be a common practice..
Uh! I like that question. Looking forward to Jeff's answer. Personally, I'd always want to have a switch on any power source. But how about the fuses on a starter motor. I believe it's not common but I could not reason against it.
@@sebmitb910 I do believe he talks about that a bit more in other talks. If I remember correctly, it's a case where he takes extra care in the installation and over-specs the wire cross-section and then fuses for that particular cross-section. That overspeccing avoids (potentially risky) nuisance tripping on such circuits, while still protecting it with fuses.
Hey Jeff I have a victron battery protect related question.
My boat is often moved by 3rd parties while I'm away and if the ignition key is not set to off it will quickly drain the batteries. A simple mistake to make, but it has meant the loss of batteries in the past.
I therefore installed a victron battery protect on the ignition switch line to cut the circuit should this happen.
A smart idea I thought. However (I think) the sudden drop in battery after ignition cuts the circuit in an unsafe way. The ignition panel goes dark and I can't kill the engine until it comes back on.
Furthermore I have perhaps blown my alternator out. Maybe related. Maybe not.
Is there any way to add a battery protect to the starter battery safely? I don't want my ignition switch to stop working, nor do I want to risk my alternator.
Thanks
I have notice in some boats that Din rail AC circuit breakers are used to protect DC circuits. To my limited understanding, interrupting AC current is easier than DC current. DC breakers should open quicker and with a wider gap in order to limit internal damage from arching. My question now, is it ok to use AC breaker for DC current?
Circuit breakers have different ratings for AC/DC, and many AC breakers do not have DC ratings, and vice versa.
I nearly made the same mistake in the past until I read up on it. As you say: interrupting DC takes more oomph than interrupting AC, and therefore you need breakers which indicate a DC rating on the housing (sometimes in addition to an AC rating depending on model).
When I see a boat catch fire, my first thought is insurance scam.
As one that does full re-wires on boats, I am surprised more boats have not caught fire. This includes a boat I purchased 5 years ago.
The whole boat had residential house wiring in it, including running DC components.
I did a full rewire on the boat.
It was costly, but now follows ABYC code and actually is safer than the bare minimum code.
👍👍👍👏👏👏🇨🇦