Electrical upgrades

[morbidfollower]

Here's some electrical upgrades I did last summer, finally got around to taking some pictures of what I ended up doing. The electrical setup when I purchased the boat was abysmal at best and I knew I was going to be power hungry after adding everything I wanted to the system.
1988 Catalina 22 Wing Keel (New Design)

I wanted to repurpose the battery compartment in the cockpit that had the single battery (group 24) and I also wanted to get more weight forward so I used the compartment under the v berth to house the new battery bank (2 gel Group 27 batteries) These Gel batteries are great and there is no concern for gassing or problems with a heeling boat. Each is 100AH giving me 200AH of available storage.

I used the storage compartment in front of the porta potty to mount My inverter (inside), Battery charger (inside), battery disconnect (outside), Solar charge controller (outside), WRGFCI outlet (outside, comes off the inverter when powered on), Inverter on/off switch (outside) and 6 circuit dc switch with battery monitor (outside). The lid lifts up and reveals everything inside. I mounted the charger on the underside of the lid, and the inverter (1000W) in the bottom.

I reused the existing Catalina dc distribution panel to keep the cabin lights and running lights etc but put all new loads on the new 6 circuit panel. (Autopilot, VHF, Garmin chartplotter, Fridge,) I have 2 spots remaining.

The fridge is the best one I could find that fit in the space I wanted to use. It draws 5 amps at 12v dc and has separate fridge/freezer temperature settings. If you remove the divider it becomes a bigger fridge or freezer with one temp control. It was rated to function at heeling degrees so that was a big feature I looked for. A lot of these fridge coolers need to be level to function.

 

[morbidfollower]

Im currently using 2 50W square rigid solar panels from Renogy mounted on the stern rail. I got the clamping idea from Gene Neill on here after asking him what he was using in one of his YouTube videos. They work great and allow me to angle the panels as needed, or fold them out of the way.

 

[morbidfollower]

Anyways, I hadn't seen this area used for electrical control yet but it seemed like a nice accessible out of the way spot that made routing pretty easy. I love seeing everyones different setups. These boats really are customizable to your liking.

 

[Gene Neill]

Wow, impressive work! Your panels are 50W each, right? You're making me itch for an upgrade.

 

[morbidfollower]

Wow, impressive work! Your panels are 50W each, right? You're making me itch for an upgrade.

Hey gene, yes the 50w. They keep up great and are still small enough to not look ridiculous. Thanks for the clamping info you shared. Appreciate it. For the fridge location I put a wooden platform in so that the fridge can't move around. What do you use the compartment with the hinged lid in front of the toilet for?

 

[Steve_Catalina]

Here's some electrical upgrades I did last summer, finally got around to taking some pictures of what I ended up doing. The electrical setup when I purchased the boat was abysmal at best and I knew I was going to be power hungry after adding everything I wanted to the system.
1988 Catalina 22 Wing Keel (New Design)

I wanted to repurpose the battery compartment in the cockpit that had the single battery (group 24) and I also wanted to get more weight forward so I used the compartment under the v berth to house the new battery bank (2 gel Group 27 batteries) These Gel batteries are great and there is no concern for gassing or problems with a heeling boat. Each is 100AH giving me 200AH of available storage.

I used the storage compartment in front of the porta potty to mount My inverter (inside), Battery charger (inside), battery disconnect (outside), Solar charge controller (outside), WRGFCI outlet (outside, comes off the inverter when powered on), Inverter on/off switch (outside) and 6 circuit dc switch with battery monitor (outside). The lid lifts up and reveals everything inside. I mounted the charger on the underside of the lid, and the inverter (1000W) in the bottom.

I reused the existing Catalina dc distribution panel to keep the cabin lights and running lights etc but put all new loads on the new 6 circuit panel. (Autopilot, VHF, Garmin chartplotter, Fridge,) I have 2 spots remaining.

The fridge is the best one I could find that fit in the space I wanted to use. It draws 5 amps at 12v dc and has separate fridge/freezer temperature settings. If you remove the divider it becomes a bigger fridge or freezer with one temp control. It was rated to function at heeling degrees so that was a big feature I looked for. A lot of these fridge coolers need to be level to function.

Your refer draws 5 amps, is that per hour? If that's the case it draws close to 100 amp hours in a 24 hour period. Many refers are close to that. The main concern is you have 200 amp hours in your battery bank. You use 50% for your refer, how far down do you expect to drain from your battery bank?

 

[morbidfollower]

Your refer draws 5 amps, is that per hour? If that's the case it draws close to 100 amp hours in a 24 hour period. Many refers are close to that. The main concern is you have 200 amp hours in your battery bank. You use 50% for your refer, how far down do you expect to drain from your battery bank?

Good question. it's only drawing 5 amps when the compressor is on. Compressor seems really efficient and unless you are opening and closing the lid a lot it hardly runs. Another nice thing is it can go from unplugged to freezer temps in about 20 min. I have a cooler in the cockpit for drinks (opened the most), and I use the step cooler for my dry food storage. Fridge/freezer is only opened at meal times. The 100W of solar helps top things off during the day and I have never ran below 40% of the battery bank so far on my trips. All lighting is LED and my simrad autopilot is really efficient it appears too.

 

[Johnb]

Your refer draws 5 amps, is that per hour? If that's the case it draws close to 100 amp hours in a 24 hour period. Many refers are close to that. The main concern is you have 200 amp hours in your battery bank. You use 50% for your refer, how far down do you expect to drain from your battery bank?

My 3 cubic foot fridge does draw 5 amps when running, but consumes 35 ampere-hours in a day, indicating that it runs for about 7 hours out of each 24.

We are in an area where it hardly ever gets much above 70 degrees and that will make a difference.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

Your refer draws 5 amps, is that per hour?

OUCH ! Back to the books.

5A is the rate of pulling electricity. If the refer pulled 5A and only ran for 1/2 hour, it would use 2.5 Amp-hours of electricity. In three hours of continuous running, it would consume 15 Amp-hours.

If that's the case it draws close to 100 amp hours in a 24 hour period. Many refers are close to that.

DOUBLE OUCH ! !

If the refer ran for 24 hours/day and never shut down because the thermostat never reached its low setting, then it would consume 24 Amp-hours. If you had a refer that ran 100% of the time, it's got a major problem. The average refer will run about 25% of the time and a 5A unit will consume about 30 Amp-hours/day.

 

[Gene Neill]

What do you use the compartment with the hinged lid in front of the toilet for?

Toilet chemicals, toilet paper, wet wipes, etc.

 

[Gene Neill]

If the refer ran for 24 hours/day and never shut down because the thermostat never reached its low setting, then it would consume 24 Amp-hours.

Did you mean to say it would consume 120Ah? 5A continuously for 24hrs?

Compressor seems really efficient and unless you are opening and closing the lid a lot it hardly runs. Another nice thing is it can go from unplugged to freezer temps in about 20 min. I have a cooler in the cockpit for drinks (opened the most), and I use the step cooler for my dry food storage. Fridge/freezer is only opened at meal times. The 100W of solar helps top things off during the day and I have never ran below 40% of the battery bank so far on my trips. All lighting is LED and my simrad autopilot is really efficient it appears too.

That certainly does make me wonder. A legit fridge sure would be nice! My dream would be to build one in, to replace the companionway step cooler.

I have measured the real-world output of our 60W array at 14.5Ah per day, averaged over a nine day stretch.Theoretically, this would mean I could get about 24Ah/ day with a 100W array. It's still not quite enough, but it's getting close. And there are fridges out there that draw only 3A.

Tantalizing. Even if we couldn't run the fridge 24/7, it would stretch our ice-block supply tremendously if we could just run it for three or four hours each day.

 

[Gene Neill]

Morbid, are you able to raise those 50W panels high enough that the starboard panel aims to port, and vice versa? So they can both aim at the sun, no matter which side it's on? Or does the rail get in the way.

 

[morbidfollower]

Morbid, are you able to raise those 50W panels high enough that the starboard panel aims to port, and vice versa? So they can both aim at the sun, no matter which side it's on? Or does the rail get in the way.

Hey gene, ya I believe they are they same length as the 30w panels, just wider. I have them far enough forward that I can pivot them all the way up to hit either the port or starboard side. I think I remember seeing a vid you had where you put a support underneath (I can't remember) but I have not done that. The clamps seem to hold tight enough but I would like to put some rubber or something on the front corner because that sucker is a spear...and maybe a brace underneath that is adjustable to give it more stability in the higher positions. If I am at anchor I can put them in any position and it holds fine.

50 watt panel:
Dimensions: 22.9 x 20 x 1.18 in

30 watt panel:
Dimensions: 22.4x13.4x1.0 inches

Based on these I would think you would have the same adjustability that you have now. Your supposed to do this stuff first so I can keep stealing your ideas

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

Did you mean to say it would consume 120Ah? 5A continuously for 24hrs?

Oh crap, I can't even do basic arithmetic. YES.
5 Amps X 24 hrs = 120 Amp-hrs.
Thank you.

 

[Rltgold]

Nice job !