Time to drill a few holes

[Divecoz]

Where have others found it most convenient to mount shore power receptacle?
Aft & Port on a 05 M is a good location for parking at home , but how about in a slip?
Thinking of using switches to operate all 110 volt needs i.e. battery charger A/C D/C converter and 110 lights fan etc ?
My thought being I should not run 12 volt lights off batteries when an inverter is cheap and easy to install?

[Catigale]

Classic place is port side, forward of cockpit, mounted vertically. Keeps it well away from water and rain. Drilling that big 3 inch hole takes guts...

[Moe]

If you put an adequately sized 3-stage charger (converter) in your shorepower system, you can leave it on the batteries all the time, due to its float mode that won't overcharge them. It will power your 12 volt lights and other 12 volt items (including fans) while it's charging or maintaining the charge on the batteries. No switching needed. When you connect or disconnect shorepower, your 12 volt items will continue to run.

Everything in our Airstream, except the microwave oven and the air-conditioner, is 12 volt and works nicely that way (60 amp converter/charger).

Hope this helps,
--
Moe

[Scott]

http://thefamilybusinessinc.netfirms.com/id2.htm
Hey Dive,
About 1/2 way down on this page (link at the top) you can see where I put mine.
At the bottom is a pic of the battery box inc inverter.

When Im slipped up I use 110 as my boat is wired. When out of the slip I can plug the 110 circuits into the inverter but seldom do. Even with 2 huge batteries it sucks em down pretty quick. almost all of our accessories are 12v. Just works out better. About the only thing you cant do 12v is brew a decent cup of mud. Get a per-o-lator to use on the grill.t

Theres bound to be varied opinions but thats been my experience.

[Moe]

Agreed, Scott.

Use inverter powered things as little as possible. A few seconds of blender several times a night or a minute or so of Dirt Devil a day, not a problem. But a 10-cup Mr. Coffee takes a BIG chunk of charge. Definitely use a combustible fuel stove for coffee. And avoid the 12VDC coffeemakers at the camping stores. I've read too many reports that complain of the 45 minutes or more they take to brew.

Powering a 120VAC version of something off an inverter may take 15-20% more battery capacity than the 12VDC version. That's especially true of many electronics where the 120VAC version just steps it down to 12V anyway.

Look for things powered by a "wall wart" that outputs 12-15VDC. They can usually be powered directly from the batteries. (like the powered computer speakers we use with the iPod).

The little 12VDC Hella Turbo Fans only draw 200 mA. It takes 4 of them to draw the saame current as a 10W/0.8A anchor light.

Hope this helps,
--
Moe

[Pouw Geuzebroek]

Nice pictures Scott, I have my shore power on the same spot but on the starboard side. So on the inside it comes into the toilet area. I have my breaker installed in the small cabinet inside the toilet area. And finally I have 2 outlets, one below the dinette table and the other on the galley, above the small seat. Took me a couple of hours to find a way to get the cable from starboard to port though. I managed to do that via the step (which in my 1999 model is empty, because the valve is up front). I do not think there is an other way to get from starboard to port other then all the way up front or way back at the transom.

[Divecoz]

Being in a position of having to conserve power so drasticly is all new to me . I will read up of those chargerstoo. Scott nice web site man .
3" hole !?!? guess I better look a little closer at the plug configuration they use,as I was hoping to order a Hubble W.P. unit from a supplier at work.

[DLT]

I'm a firm believer in choosing 120vac products that just step down to 12vdc.

This past weekend, I installed this DVD/TV/AM/FM/CD player just above the mirror in my

I love it. After removing all the foam (and replacing most of it), my only real issue was getting power to it. I tried mighty hard, but just couldn't get wire fished up there. So, I just tied into the power for the light and called it a day...

It came with AM and FM wire antennas. I had a wire TV antenna. So, I arranged these inside the fiberglass and taped them down before replacing the foam. The radio reception is great. But, the TV isn't so hot. I just bought a cheap set of rabbit ears that I'm going to plug in and set atop the deck, when that is possible. I'll live with my 'internal' antenna when it is not...

Anyway, it runs off 12vdc and doesn't blow a 5 amp fuse, with all the cabin lights and it on...

[Scott]

Dive, My shorepower plug is just reg 110v w/ground. It is sold at boaters world as a charger Thru hull.



That way I just use an outdoor extension cord and a twist lock reducer at the dock end if thats all thats available. Otherwise I can just plug my boat into a regular 110v outlet.

I do have one of the nicer built in floating chargers, it does an awesome job. It even works the batteries up and down over winter to keep them from frying from non use.

P.S. In this pic the yellow plugs/ orange cables are the 2 110v circuits, The large black plug is the charger (hard wired to batteries). The 4 position box is where the 110v comes into, instead of buying expensive switching, I just unplug the circuit I want to run on the inverter and plug it in. The inverter has large alligator clips to get it hot. Kinda redneck but its easier to trouble shoot and much cheaper than all the froo froo official boat stuff.

The wiring is an old contractors extension cord and the plugs are home depot GFCI, the outlet boxes are home depot Wet location boxes. all told about $100 to wire the boat. (not including charger)

[DLT]

Scott,

What charger?

I've been looking at Cabela's or Bass Pro's, which are identical, other than color...

[NautiMoments]

I agree with Moe and Scott about keeping everything 12volt. Nice pictures Scott. The only thing that may not work is the location of the external shorepower inlet. On the X their location is excellent. But on the 05M the problem is getting the power cable internally down to the battery area. I am leaning towards putting it in the rear port side of the engine well area. The internal wire run is then easy, along the bilge and into the battery area.

[Tom Spohn]

Divecoz,
The port side behind the windows is great for the X, but a better place for the M is inside the engine well on the starboard side. I have a good 50' cable and have never been in a marina that I couldn't get plugged into.

[Scott]

DLT, I put it in 3 or 4 years ago. It has been trouble free since so I havent looked at it lately.

Im pretty sure its a guest Hi amp 2 bank. Well I know its the hi amp 2 bank model, Im just guessing its a guest. I looked at the pics on boaters world and that seems to be familiar.

[DLT]

cool, thanks Scott!

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

I put mine on the inside of the transom area on the port side. I went with a standard 15amp 110 receptacle. I like it's location, it's well protected and with my standard 110 50' 14ga yellow extension cord from home depot I can always reach the outlet. If needed I have a 30a twist lock adapter to step down the dock receptacle to the 15' style plug.

From there it is wired to a double pole 15 amp breaker, then out to my receptacle and charger. I elected not to have separate breakers for each 110 branch circuit. For just a simple GFCI outlet and the charger all those switches seem like overkill.

My charger is a marine 5 amp (really a two battery bank 10a one, but I only use one output). All my lights and accessories are 12v. They will run easily off the charger when plugged in. With my link 10 battery meter it is easy to see if I'm running at a surplus or deficit off the charger. We have a small inverter that runs the laptop for movies and occasion things like charging gameboys. We only use the heavy 110v things like the dirt devil when plugged in, never off the inverter.