Working 12V electrics

It feels like it has taken an age, and I'm still waiting for a few more components that I hadn't realised I needed, however, we now have a safely connected 12V battery that is powering our WiFi Booster.

One of my first triumphs is DIY Bus Bars (50mm x 6mm tinned copy bolted to FR4). I'm really pleased with finding a location that is accessible, a long way away from water and takes no space from storage. So they are tucked inside the cockpit coaming above the corridor to the aft cabin. The battery is directly below them and the switch panels just in front of them.

The switch panels are fully wired, except that they didn't include a negative busbar, so that is coming early next week. Then I can start adding 12volt systems such as lights, USB sockets (well they are 5V but I have converters for them), the Victron Ekrano management screen etc.

The top panel will be for essentials (boat navigation lights, boat navigation instruments, minimal red lighting in the cabins) and the lower one for all the nice to have (fridge, lights, fans etc). If we are ever in a critical situation with battery levels, we can turn off everything unessential with one switch.

I have significantly over-sized all the wires to minimise losses, and they are all tinned cable for corrosion resistance. Every connection is crimped (using ferrules for all the ones where they are a screw down connector) and protected by heat shrink.

I do need to do some cable management, but have left enough length for that (the Digital Yacht Wi-Fi booster is temporarily wired to the main busbars until the negative busbar for the panels arrives). Everything is properly protected by Circuit Breakers which are sized well below the wire rating.

Once we have the main 48v battery bank installed, the blue Victron battery charger won't be needed.

When I fit the corridor ceiling, there will be a drop-down section to provide access to the wiring.

NB the 240v AC extension lead is temporary (it is for the Wi-Fi router and Home Assistant Raspberry PI - both these will be powered from the 12V panel) and I'm getting a waterproof box for the battery (which willl be secured in place).

In other news, we have fitted the vegetable net that Jane made. This evening (Fri) we only have onions left, shopping day tomorrow.

Jane got loads of clothes washing done (again! The sooner we are in hot places where we can wear fewer clothes, the better 😎).

While I don't have pictures to prove it, Jane has also been working on the exact details for the first panels of the Wheelhouse enclosure/extension. More bits are arriving tomorrow, so maybe sewing will start! I'm really excited about this, it is going to make a huge difference to our space, comfort and ability to do boat jobs whatever the weather.

Tomorrow, I hope to start on connecting the two 48V banks of batteries. We have had several more breakthroughs in working out how to fit everything together.

We are really grateful for all the support! Our YouTube channel is getting a lot more attention, so is the blog. Our next video is all about the "Battery Panic" we have had for the electric motor. Paid Early Bird Subscribers will get to see it from Sunday, everyone else from Wednesday.