I've slowly been wiring up various circuits. It's really a slog and much more time-consuming than initially anticipated. I'm about 60-70% complete with the wiring.
*** Main Breaker Panels ***
Since my last post I added in the battery monitor and 3 switches. Also wired in the Color Control. Those 3 switches are all salon lights.
*** Breaker "Splitter" Panel ***
How to layout the breakers was a topic of some thought. There are many ways to organize the power flow throughout the boat. In the end, what I came up with is 2/0 Cables feed into 7 breakers which in turn feed 7 panels.
In the picture below, the 2/0 input cables from the batteries are coming up from the bottom. They first go through a 150 amp breaker, then various circuit breakers that feed various panels.
The empty spot in the wooden panel above is where the 110 AC breaker panel will go.
For reference, here is what it looked like before I started:
*** Layout for all the breakers ***
| Main Panel 1 - Lights, Auto Bilge, Misc (40 Amp Breaker) | Breaker Size | Unit |
1 | Automatic Bilges | 30 | amps |
2 | NMEA 2000 | 5 | amps |
3 | Anchor Light / Tri-Color / SOS | 2.5 | amps |
4 | Fwd Nav Lights | 2.5 | amps |
5 | Steaming Light | 2.5 | amps |
6 | Deck Light | 2.5 | amps |
7 | Stern Light | 2.5 | amps |
8 | Computer | 5 | amps |
| | | |
| Main Panel 2 - Manual Bilges (50 Amp Breaker) | | |
9 | Bilge, Port Forward Locker | 5 | amps |
10 | Bilge, Port Midships (Main) | 5 | amps |
11 | Bilge, Port Engine | 5 | amps |
12 | Bilge, Port Head | 5 | amps |
13 | Bilge, Starboard, Forward Locker | 5 | amps |
14 | Bilge, Starboard Midships (Main) | 5 | amps |
15 | Bilge, Starboard Engine | 5 | amps |
16 | Bilge, Starboard Head | 5 | amps |
| | | |
| Main Panel 3 - Accessories (70 Amp Breaker) | | |
17 | Victron Color Control | 5 | amps |
18 | Nav Station USB | 10 | amps |
19 | Stereo | 10 | amps |
20 | Refrigerator, Port | 15 | amps |
21 | Refrigerator, Starboard | 15 | amps |
22 | Fresh Water Pump | 15 | amps |
23 | Saltwater Pump | 20 | amps |
24 | Propane Solenoid & Sniffer | 5 | amps |
| | | |
| Main Panel 4 - Operational (50 amps) | | |
25 | VHF | 10 | amps |
26 | AIS / Splitter / GPS | 5 | amps |
27 | Chart Plotter | 10 | amps |
28 | Helm Station | 10 | amps |
29 | Auto-Pilot | 30 | amps |
30 | Windlass | 5 | amps |
31 | Radar | 10 | amps |
32 | Spare | 5 | amps |
| | | |
| Main Panel 5 - Compartments (70 Amp Breaker) | | |
33 | Staterooms, Forward | 5 | amps |
34 | Stateroom, Aft Port | 10 | amps |
35 | Salon, Port | 10 | amps |
36 | Salon, Starboard | 10 | amps |
37 | Galley | 5 | amps |
38 | Engine Room, Port, Sub Panel | 20 | amps |
39 | Engine Room, Starboard, Sub Panel | 20 | amps |
40 | Cockpit | 10 | amps |
| | | |
| *** Sub Panel in Starboard Head which has Toilet only *** (100 Amp Breaker) | | |
41 | ElectroSan | 60 | amps |
42 | Toilet | 30 | amps |
43 | 12V Charging Hallway | 10 | amps |
44 | Aft Stbd Cabin | 10 | amps |
45 | Starboard Hallway | 2.5 | amps |
46 | Macerator | 20 | amps |
47 | Head Bilge | 5 | amps |
48 | Head Lights | 2.5 | amps |
| | | |
| *** Sub Panel in Fwd Starboard Locker (i.e. water room) *** | | |
49 | Light & Fan, Stbd Fwd (2 amp) | 3 | amps |
50 | Light & Fan, Center Fwd (2 amp) | 3 | amps |
51 | Light & Fan, Port Fwd (2 amp) | 4 | amps |
52 | WM Feed Pump (5 amp) | 6 | amps |
53 | WM High Pressure Pump Relay (1 amp) | 4 | amps |
54 | Bilge Pump | 6 | amps |
| | | |
| *** Sub Panel in Port Engine Compartment *** | | |
55 | Light (Main) | 10 | amps |
56 | Lighs (Aft) | 3 | amps |
57 | Fan | 3 | amps |
58 | Blower | 6 | amps |
59 | Bilge | 6 | amps |
60 | Spare | 8 | amps |
| | | |
| *** Sub Panel in Starboard Engine Compartment *** | | |
61 | Light (Main) | 10 | amps |
62 | Lighs (Aft) | 3 | amps |
63 | Fan | 3 | amps |
64 | Blower | 6 | amps |
65 | Bilge | 6 | amps |
66 | Spare | 8 | amps |
*** Batteries in the Engine Room ***
@TimE, you're correct that the life of the batteries will be shortened some by the heat of the engines. However, I don't anticipate running the engines that much in comparison to the life of the batteries. Perhaps a few hours per week. So hoping the impact will be negligible.
*** Fuse Boxes ***
There will also be a number of fuse boxes throughout the boat in addition to all these breakers. It's enjoyable putting it all together, but it does take time. One nice thing is actually seeing things start working around the boat as I get each circuit hooked up.
*** Victron Color Control ***
The Victron Color Control came with the boat so I'm using it. However, there are only 2 USB ports and 2 VE.Direct ports. I'm using a powered USB splitter to get more ports. Here's how I have things laid out:
VE.Direct #1 - Solar Charge Controller 1
VE.Direct #2 - Solar Charge Controller 2
USB Port #1 - Batter Monitor (VE.Direct to USB Cable)
USB Port #2 - Powered USB Splitter
USB Splitter Port #1 - Solar Charge Controller 3
USB Splitter Port #2 - Solar Charge Controller 4
USB Splitter Port #3 - Wifi Dongle
The charge controllers are about 30' of wiring distance from the Color Control so I've had to daisy link VE.Direct lines and also the USB cables. Fortunately it all works.
The new Cerbo VX has more ports, which would be nice.