Hi I have a 1985 O'Day 28. It has the original AC power setup, which is a shore power inlet to an AC distribution panel in the galley that only powers 2 electrical outlets, one in the galley and one in the head, and the hot water heater. I have in mind to install a battery charger (Promariner or similar) and I want to connect it to the shore power. I have two 12V AGM batteries with the trusty old Guest 1-2-both-off switch, which I am not going to replace at this point because I love the boat but I'm not putting more money into at this stage than necessary.
I am not an electrician; I could pay somebody but I want to do it myself, and looking for guidance on how to hook the charger up. My understanding is I need to connect the charger to the AC distribution panel. I haven't taken it off to look behind it yet, but on the front it has an on/off switch for water heater, another for outlets, and a spot that says "spare". My guess is that I need to connect the charger to whatever is behind the spare slot, and perhaps get a switch for that?
For most projects on this boat I have no difficult finding info on how to do it online, and I have done almost everything without screwing up too bad. But on this I cant seem to find anything. Has anyone here connected a charger to one of these old O'Day AC panels?
I am not an electrician; I could pay somebody but I want to do it myself, and looking for guidance on how to hook the charger up. My understanding is I need to connect the charger to the AC distribution panel. I haven't taken it off to look behind it yet, but on the front it has an on/off switch for water heater, another for outlets, and a spot that says "spare". My guess is that I need to connect the charger to whatever is behind the spare slot, and perhaps get a switch for that?
For most projects on this boat I have no difficult finding info on how to do it online, and I have done almost everything without screwing up too bad. But on this I cant seem to find anything. Has anyone here connected a charger to one of these old O'Day AC panels?