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55 Year Old Electric Panel Upgrade

  • Thread starter Thread starter SeaEric
  • Start date Start date
  • Replies Replies 36
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oscarvan said:
I thought he said that custom labels were on order and these are temporary. Knowing Eric this is NOT the end state.
Click to expand...

Yes. This ^^^
 
Here is the finished panel with all but one of the custom labels in place. The breaker labeled "Heater" will become "Engine Block Heaters". I ordered the correct label and they sent the wrong one. This project was expensive, but I'm very pleased with the end result. Plus, I sleep a whole lot more soundly.
 

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BTW there is an all new separate panel for the Air Conditioning, located in the Port side closet. 2 Breakers currently in use, one for each AC unit. I have capability for 4 breakers - one each for 3 new (future) units plus 1 for a sea water pump.
 
Beautiful!
 
That looks great! That was one of the first things i did on mine when I started the refit. The old panel in the port ER was done and really had to be moved upstairs.
 
This is so worth doing for the 50 amp power, everything is heavier duty, the cords, plugs, wiring, switchgear, all way less problematic. I have had to replace so many shore power cables and outlets on my chris craft that had the same twin 30a setup because somebody didn’t know any better and put one of the air conditioning switches in the wrong position. On my hatt the worst that happens is you blow the fuse on the dock and realize you can’t run every ac and the water heater at once, but there’s nothing damaged.
 
that looks great... please give an update on the smart plug in the future, i'm thinking of this change on my yf.. let us know how it is holding up
 
I don't understand how the smartplug is an upgrade. The design of the plug and sealing is superior, but you lose the ability to plug two cords together, if needed and you still have the old plug on the shore end.

But I sure do like that new panel
 
SKYCHENEY said:
I don't understand how the smartplug is an upgrade. The design of the plug and sealing is superior, but you lose the ability to plug two cords together, if needed and you still have the old plug on the shore end.

But I sure do like that new panel
Click to expand...

It keeps the fire on the dock side of the cord.
 
SKYCHENEY said:
I don't understand how the smartplug is an upgrade. The design of the plug and sealing is superior, but you lose the ability to plug two cords together, if needed and you still have the old plug on the shore end.

But I sure do like that new panel
Click to expand...

My 2 new shore power cords were built using a 75' white cable that is used for cablemaster replacement. My "home" cord is about 12' long so that left 60' + for my "travel" cord. Smart Plugs on the boat end and typical Hubbell ends on the dock. I purchased and will carry a spare 25' standard 50a Hubbell cord if I need to extend to reach a far pedestal source. I like the Smart Plug well enough at this point that I don't see myself ever going back to the twist lock type.
 
Who makes the smart plug ?
 
Every loose connection on my twin 30 amp shore cords has been on the DOCK side, not on the boat.
Last winter, the dockside cord came loose, so the battery charger quit, refrigerator quit, and some things rotted and only now is it smelling ok again. It sped up 3 batteries replacements, which were only 3 years old. My old dumb Rairitan charger then cooked all 4 batteries, dried out the water, so I got a new IP22 Victron 30 amp 3 bank charger. Instead of then replacing the gen start battery (#4), I ran big wires to the buss bar for the start battery from generator and it starts off that now along with 2 main engines.

I can rotate house switch to 'both, 1+2 position', and the house battery joins with the start battery, just in case of emergencies. My number 2 position on the switch was not used, now it has a wire running to the start battery buss bar.

What i noticed, is I may not have fully twist locked the cord into the dock socket. What I also do now is tie it in with a 1/4 rope to the dock power pole. It can no longer come off.
 
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I hope it's a diesel boat or it's been nice knowing you.

The ip22 is NOT explosion protected.
 
sdowney717 said:
What i noticed, is I may not have fully twist locked the cord into the dock socket. What I also do now is tie it in with a 1/4 rope to the dock power pole. It can no longer come off.
Click to expand...
Always rotate the plug a few times to ensure the connects are wiped clear of bug stuff.
Always twist the PL30 & 50 CCW so a CW twist is always keeping the the plug tightly in place.

Always in play, never a problem.
 
Excellent work!!
 
The panel board is 1/2" black King Starboard. The breaker panels and switching are all "off the rack" Blue Sea Systems components. I did a mock up in cardboard and the electrician who did the install cut the openings and mounted the equipment in the panel. I did a LOT of preliminary planning and thinking about what I wanted/needed before pulling the trigger. I'm extremely pleased with the result.
 
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