32v / 12v??

[Paul45c]

Looks like my old girl just missed the cut on 32v or 24v systems, as mine's all 12v. But I've heard several lament that their selection on 32v accessories is limited and/or expensive. I'm just curious when 12v became the standard and why Hatt did 32v. Is it the age of the early Hatts? Was 32v the thing back then?

And is it a bear or even advisable to convert over fully to 12v? No doubt it would involve a lot of new wiring, as I'd guess the gauge on 12v would have to be beefier somewhat. I'm sure redoing the main panel would be akin to doing a new breaker box in a house. Ok, maybe it WOULD be a bear.

 

[egaito]

Others may disagree, but I think applying higher voltages was a move "before their time"...though why 32 over 36 is beyond me.

There's talk of newer cars with all of their gadgets and enhanced electrical demands are are starting to go 24 and even 36.

In my research, the market for most "good" stuff seems to be in 24 volt ranges, which I believe follows the RV industry. As I posted in another thread, I'm looking to converters to "normalize" things so that I can gain use of modern fixtures and electronics.

That said, I've notice that most high end marine electronics are actually tolerant of higer voltages....it's the creature comforts that are a bear to match up.

 

[thoward]

Yep, good idea but wrong voltage. 36v would have been better.

 

[Nonchalant1]

Hatt did it because the higher voltage can carry the required power with smaller gauge wires. The difference in wire sizes between 12V and 32V is incredible, particularly for longer runs.

Doug

 

[Pascal]

problem with converting from 32 to 12 is that you're going to have to upgrade all the wiring to cope with the lower voltage... from bilge pumps to starter cable$

i don't find 32v to be a problem... ok, so you can't go to the local Worst Marine to pick up most replacement parts, although they have a few 32v bulbs sometimes and 2000gph bile pumps, but so what ?

I have an auxiliary 12v system, for electronics, oil changer, shower sumps fed from teh 12v inverter bank.

 

[Fanfare]

The 12v systems are great. You can buy stuff anywhere and at about 1/3 the cost of the higher voltages. The only problems come with the seriously high amperage runs like the ones I had to put in for my Lectra-San MSDs, which draw about 70 amps for two minutes per flush. And the winch. Once these are in, no problem. For most uses the current draw has been decreasing over the years as, for example, my old tube-type marine radiotelephone has been replaced with transistors. Unfortunately, most of the pumps and motors seem to be junk today and don't last very long. Nor are they repairable so you have no alternative to throwing them away. But I bet the 32v motors are just as bad and far more expensive due to the more limited market.

My only gripe is that in 1965 Hatteras simplified its wiring by using just one color of wire--red. 110v, 220v, 12v, grounds, all red. They are labeled with numbers at each end, but finding one in the middle is an experience. I have had two wires fail in the last year or so in the middle of a run due to corrosion. Apparently a nick in the insulation let seawater in. While a higher voltage may have been helpful in punching through this I doubt that the ultimate failure could have been prevented. Hatteras did use high quality wire. It has lasted 40 years after all.

[And if your Hatteras was built around 1965, do open up your 120v outlets and check to be sure you have a green ground wire connected to the third prong of your plugs. Fanfare did not, with only two wires going to each three-hole outlet. I was fortunate not to have been electrocuted, as I relied on this safeguard for such things as my electric drill in the bilges (GFIs had not yet been invented). I had to add the green ground to every fixture except the one on the front of my electric stove which was correctly wired.]

 

[egaito]

[And if your Hatteras was built around 1965, do open up your 120v outlets and check to be sure you have a green ground wire connected to the third prong of your plugs. Fanfare did not, with only two wires going to each three-hole outlet. I was fortunate not to have been electrocuted, as I relied on this safeguard for such things as my electric drill in the bilges (GFIs had not yet been invented). I had to add the green ground to every fixture except the one on the front of my electric stove which was correctly wired.]

Will connecting the grounds change the 'potential' of the bonding system? I can't imagine they did that to save bucks...but that was about the time that housing code was going from 2-prong to 3, isn't it? They may not have fully appreciated the danger. That old philosophy of "we had 2-prong all our lives and we survived" (substitute 2-prong with smokes, no seat belts, flamable sleepware, or your favorite unknown killer!)

 

[SKYCHENEY]

I'm probably in the minority, but I like the 32v stuff and I run everything 32v except for some of my electronics that I run off of converters. If you look at the specifications for your electronics, you will find that some of them allow input voltages from 10 to 40 volts, others do not.

 

[Boss Lady]

I am putting in 24 volt and 12 volt systems in due to the fact that the boat needed a total rewire anyway and the choices are better for everything. I agree with Karl, 36 would have been the best choice by Hatteras.