Tag: electrics
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Solar upgrade
As noted a while back, the solar panel I have on Blue Opal wasn’t working well with the Votronic MPPT solar charger. The panel I have is a 55 Wp panel, and the testing I did led me to the conclusion that it basically can’t put out enough voltage that the Votronic can buck down…
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A decrepit steaming/deck light
Blue Opal’s deck light hasn’t worked for a while, and now I know why. So much corrosion. A replacement fitting has been ordered, and since I’ve done LEDs everywhere else, I’ve opted to order an Osculati unit. Depending on how far the corrosion has gone, I may need to run a whole new power cable…
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Updating the cabin lights
Back in early 2018, I posted about the light fittings in the saloon and forward cabin, and how they were falling apart. I’ve finally found an appropriate replacement fitting, courtesy of boatlamps.co.uk (Wayback) – the Cantalupi DIANA 85. Boatlamps were able to supply both regular warm white LED lights (the default), and a red LED…
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Lighting up the wiring locker
A bit of LED strip light, IP65 rated, makes it really easy to see everything in the wiring locker without resorting to beams of light that get blocked by hands, require your third hand etc. The wiring still needs some more tidying and labeling, but it’s getting better.
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Upgrading the alternator cable
Another observation during all of this wiring work is that there was a drop in the voltage from the alternator terminal to the splitter input – up to 0.5V. A drop at the batteries is expected as the relationship between amps and volts changes during charging, but in the ~4 metres from the alternator to…
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Re-wiring the battery locker
Given the voltage drop at the water pump, the next wiring upgrade was to take the battery locker to wiring locker wire up to 16mm sq. This was completed today, and while it’s made things a bit better at the water pump, the voltage drop is still 2 volts. Along the way, the main battery…