I'm dreaming of re-doing our electric panels on Zia. Hopefully in the next year. I'm in the planning stage now & I appreciate any advice from fellow Morganeers. Especially people like Jim Cleary** who are bonafide electricians & other people with great ideas/experience. I've promised Susan I'll finish our other projects (hardwood flooring at home, and making new interior cushions for Zia) before I start another new project.
The Motivations for this Project: I've never been happy with our electric panel, but everything is mostly working. We want newer battery state-of-charge capability and tank level monitoring. I've already purchased nice Blue Sea systems for those but don't have them installed yet. We will probably be adding a watermaker & solar in the future & don't have any room for expansion. I don't like how 120V is co-mingled with 12V on the same panel, and the whole thing appears to be cobbled together by multiple previous owners with various levels of ability. The exterior looks kind of shoddy, but not horrible. However, behind the panels, it literally looks like a rat's nest. I'm too embarrassed to post a photo of behind the panel. Front of existing panel shown below.
Question #1: Because of the mixed pedigree/lineage of the existing wiring, some of it is super tight when you open the panel and others wires have lots of slack. I think I'd really like to terminate everything on terminal blocks on the wall, and then have a sort of harness/bundle that is a nice and tidy running to the panel. Is this a good idea? Or might the terminal blocks introduce other problems?
My desire for terminal blocks is inspired by Jim Cleary's** modern art shown below. Everything organized, labelled, traceable, etc. And his "Zip Tie" Kung Fu is very strong.
I've done a fair amount of electric work & have great/pro tools for crimping, stripping, safety, etc. I've taken multiple classes from Nigel Calder and know most of the stupid mistakes to avoid, especially for marine wiring. I'm sure I'll invent some new stupid mistakes along the way.
We really like to do "professional" work, and have been slowly working through Zia and cleaning up the obvious "DIY" projects of previous owners.
We like the modular design of Blue Sea's "360" panels, and I used their Panel Wizard to come up with the separate DC and AC panels below. Those are how I'm planning to organize the circuits, however the amperages are not real yet. Working on that now. I'm planning on visiting each circuit with my Amp meter & equipment documentation. Confirming the sizes of breakers & wire gauges.
The DC Panel (13.63" wide, 10.75" tall):
The AC Panel (13.65" wide, 4.75" tall):
Considering that it is legit "marine" equipment, the Blue Sea 360 panels don't seem horrifically expensive to me. I already have the State-of-Charge & Tank monitors & all of the other stuff will be around 1.5 boat bucks. Isn't that about how much a toilet seat costs at WM?
Question #2: Has anyone used Blue Sea's 360 panel system? Or any similar systems?
Question #3: Good references. Does anyone recommend any good book/article references or videos for this specific type of re-wiring? I've already got Nigel Calder's & Don Casey's latest versions. Although I'm a boring engineer, I fall asleep reading ABYC specifications, but I want to follow them, so if you know any interpretations that are easier to read, please let me know.
Any other ideas or feedback?
As usual, I'm very thankful for everyone collaborating on this forum. Thank You!
-Mark
** Standing offer to Jim Cleary. I'll provide airfare, room & board if you come out to Oregon and make Zia's "Behind the Panel" look like Dana's "Behind the Panel". And then you and Bonnie can take Zia & cruise Puget Sound & British Columbia for 2-3 weeks! Of course this would be after everyone is vaccinated & COVID fears are gone.
The Motivations for this Project: I've never been happy with our electric panel, but everything is mostly working. We want newer battery state-of-charge capability and tank level monitoring. I've already purchased nice Blue Sea systems for those but don't have them installed yet. We will probably be adding a watermaker & solar in the future & don't have any room for expansion. I don't like how 120V is co-mingled with 12V on the same panel, and the whole thing appears to be cobbled together by multiple previous owners with various levels of ability. The exterior looks kind of shoddy, but not horrible. However, behind the panels, it literally looks like a rat's nest. I'm too embarrassed to post a photo of behind the panel. Front of existing panel shown below.
Question #1: Because of the mixed pedigree/lineage of the existing wiring, some of it is super tight when you open the panel and others wires have lots of slack. I think I'd really like to terminate everything on terminal blocks on the wall, and then have a sort of harness/bundle that is a nice and tidy running to the panel. Is this a good idea? Or might the terminal blocks introduce other problems?
My desire for terminal blocks is inspired by Jim Cleary's** modern art shown below. Everything organized, labelled, traceable, etc. And his "Zip Tie" Kung Fu is very strong.
I've done a fair amount of electric work & have great/pro tools for crimping, stripping, safety, etc. I've taken multiple classes from Nigel Calder and know most of the stupid mistakes to avoid, especially for marine wiring. I'm sure I'll invent some new stupid mistakes along the way.
We really like to do "professional" work, and have been slowly working through Zia and cleaning up the obvious "DIY" projects of previous owners.
We like the modular design of Blue Sea's "360" panels, and I used their Panel Wizard to come up with the separate DC and AC panels below. Those are how I'm planning to organize the circuits, however the amperages are not real yet. Working on that now. I'm planning on visiting each circuit with my Amp meter & equipment documentation. Confirming the sizes of breakers & wire gauges.
The DC Panel (13.63" wide, 10.75" tall):
The AC Panel (13.65" wide, 4.75" tall):
Considering that it is legit "marine" equipment, the Blue Sea 360 panels don't seem horrifically expensive to me. I already have the State-of-Charge & Tank monitors & all of the other stuff will be around 1.5 boat bucks. Isn't that about how much a toilet seat costs at WM?
Question #2: Has anyone used Blue Sea's 360 panel system? Or any similar systems?
Question #3: Good references. Does anyone recommend any good book/article references or videos for this specific type of re-wiring? I've already got Nigel Calder's & Don Casey's latest versions. Although I'm a boring engineer, I fall asleep reading ABYC specifications, but I want to follow them, so if you know any interpretations that are easier to read, please let me know.
Any other ideas or feedback?
As usual, I'm very thankful for everyone collaborating on this forum. Thank You!
-Mark
** Standing offer to Jim Cleary. I'll provide airfare, room & board if you come out to Oregon and make Zia's "Behind the Panel" look like Dana's "Behind the Panel". And then you and Bonnie can take Zia & cruise Puget Sound & British Columbia for 2-3 weeks! Of course this would be after everyone is vaccinated & COVID fears are gone.
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