As any 32v owner knows, the advantages of 32v are great, but
unfortunately everything that is purchase from routine electronics,
weather, radios, lighting has a real premium for 32volt and the
selection is greatly limited.

Therefore, can someone please help me with setting up a separate
breaker panel that can supply almost everything on my boat but my
motor (Detroit Diesel) and Gen. Set which would be expensive to
convert to 12v from 32v.

I figured that I could use my existing setup for the DD and Gen and
then run my lights and almost everything else off 12v. It is just as I
replace aged equipment, the investment in 32v is far greater than the
same item in 12v.

Presently, I have a reducer with a terminal strip that powers several
12v radios and equipment and steps down the 32v. This is only a
temporary setup and now it is time to wire a new system. I just don't
think it is practical to run several converters that are required
because of all the 12v stuff I have onboard.

Here are several questions on my immediate short list:

1. Should I simply add a 3rd bank of batteries to operate the NEW
house 12v system?
2. Should I add a new circuit breaker panel to operate off the 12v
system?
3. What is the best way to charge this 3rd battery bank?

Anyone that can help, please post or write

Thanks much Bob

Bob,
Virtually no one uses 32V systems anymore, because that market is now filled
by 24 Volt equipment, which actually operates on 28 to 31 volts anyway. All
the advantages of 32V systems are present with the 24V and the scarcity and
high cost of the 32V is gone. Trucks, ships and aircraft all use the 24V
system. Compatible equipment is everywhere. Where you have no choice but to
run 12V gear like small VHF radios, B&G electronics, ect. DC converters are
available and relatively inexpensive. Beware, there are two types, the pass
bank and chopper types, the chopper type can be more than 90% efficient. The
pass bank type works like a simple load resistor and is less than 50%
efficient, where 50% of the power it consumes is shed as waste heat. I would
not even consider using 12V except on craft less than 25'.
Steve

wrote in message
ups.com...
As any 32v owner knows, the advantages of 32v are great, but
unfortunately everything that is purchase from routine electronics,
weather, radios, lighting has a real premium for 32volt and the
selection is greatly limited.

Therefore, can someone please help me with setting up a separate
breaker panel that can supply almost everything on my boat but my
motor (Detroit Diesel) and Gen. Set which would be expensive to
convert to 12v from 32v.

I figured that I could use my existing setup for the DD and Gen and
then run my lights and almost everything else off 12v. It is just as I
replace aged equipment, the investment in 32v is far greater than the
same item in 12v.

Presently, I have a reducer with a terminal strip that powers several
12v radios and equipment and steps down the 32v. This is only a
temporary setup and now it is time to wire a new system. I just don't
think it is practical to run several converters that are required
because of all the 12v stuff I have onboard.

Here are several questions on my immediate short list:

1. Should I simply add a 3rd bank of batteries to operate the NEW
house 12v system?
2. Should I add a new circuit breaker panel to operate off the 12v
system?
3. What is the best way to charge this 3rd battery bank?

Anyone that can help, please post or write

Thanks much Bob

In article . com,
wrote:

As any 32v owner knows, the advantages of 32v are great, but
unfortunately everything that is purchase from routine electronics,
weather, radios, lighting has a real premium for 32volt and the
selection is greatly limited.

snipped for brevity

Thanks much Bob


It really depends on just how much of a load you plan on running on
the NEW 12Vdc System, and how you can supply that load from either the
32Vdc Battery Bank, and, or, from the Main and Aux engines via a new
12Vdc Alternator. This design criteria was addressed in the North
Pacific Fishing Fleet years ago when the FVSA (Fishing Vessel Safety Act)
was passed, and the USCG rewrote the rules for US Flagged Fishing
Vessels. Fishing Vessels were then REQUIRED to have Emergency Lighting,
and Power for the Wheelhouse and Radio Systems, that was on the Main
Deck or higher, and independant of any source in the Engineroom.
What most vessels did was to fit an 8D or larger Battery on the
Wheelhouse Roof and run heavy Power wires down to the ChartTable
Lights, and the 12Vdc Radio Power Buss. Then the question was,
"How to Recharge the 12Vdc Battery. Three Schools of thought were
put forth. First, since some of the vessels were Main Powered from
24-32Vdc Batteries in the engineroom, they already had Numar 32-12Vdc
Converters that could supply 20Amps Continuous, to supply the MF/HF
Radio, and Vhf Radio, these were reconfigure to ReCharge the new
Emergency 12Vdc Battery, and then added the ChartTable Lights. Second,
some vessels already had a sperate 12Vdc Alternator/Battery System
fitted in the engineroom. They just ran a Charging Circuit from the
engineroom up to the Emergency 12Vdc Battery, that was large enough
to handle the Primary 12Vdc Loads, plus a couple of amps to float
charge the battery. Third, some of the vessels had 120Vac Power
from Aux Gensets that needed to be operational, 24/7, while Navigating,
anyway due to Hydrolic, or basic Systems Power requirments. A new 120Vac
Regulated Powersupply/Battery Charger was fitted to charge the
12Vdc Emergency Battery.

The only design critera that you need to really calculate, is to total
the Maximum Loads that your 12Vdc Buss is likely to see, and then design
in a small Charging current for a Battery, if fitted, plus a small
Emergency Margin in the Supply Current Capability for your New 12Vdc
Buss. The battery, in your case would be an extra advantage, and not
REQUIRED, but still would keep you operational, for a while should you
12Vdc Power source fail while navigating or at anchor, with all the Power
Souces shut down.

Bruce in alaska
--
add path before @

"Bruce in Alaska" wrote in message
...
In article . com,
wrote:

As any 32v owner knows, the advantages of 32v are great, but
unfortunately everything that is purchase from routine electronics,
weather, radios, lighting has a real premium for 32volt and the
selection is greatly limited.

snipped for brevity

Thanks much Bob


It really depends on just how much of a load you plan on running on
the NEW 12Vdc System, and how you can supply that load from either the
32Vdc Battery Bank, and, or, from the Main and Aux engines via a new
12Vdc Alternator. This design criteria was addressed in the North
Pacific Fishing Fleet years ago when the FVSA (Fishing Vessel Safety Act)
was passed, and the USCG rewrote the rules for US Flagged Fishing
Vessels. Fishing Vessels were then REQUIRED to have Emergency Lighting,
and Power for the Wheelhouse and Radio Systems, that was on the Main
Deck or higher, and independant of any source in the Engineroom.
What most vessels did was to fit an 8D or larger Battery on the
Wheelhouse Roof and run heavy Power wires down to the ChartTable
Lights, and the 12Vdc Radio Power Buss. Then the question was,
"How to Recharge the 12Vdc Battery. Three Schools of thought were
put forth. First, since some of the vessels were Main Powered from
24-32Vdc Batteries in the engineroom, they already had Numar 32-12Vdc
Converters that could supply 20Amps Continuous, to supply the MF/HF
Radio, and Vhf Radio, these were reconfigure to ReCharge the new
Emergency 12Vdc Battery, and then added the ChartTable Lights. Second,
some vessels already had a sperate 12Vdc Alternator/Battery System
fitted in the engineroom. They just ran a Charging Circuit from the
engineroom up to the Emergency 12Vdc Battery, that was large enough
to handle the Primary 12Vdc Loads, plus a couple of amps to float
charge the battery. Third, some of the vessels had 120Vac Power
from Aux Gensets that needed to be operational, 24/7, while Navigating,
anyway due to Hydrolic, or basic Systems Power requirments. A new 120Vac
Regulated Powersupply/Battery Charger was fitted to charge the
12Vdc Emergency Battery.

The only design critera that you need to really calculate, is to total
the Maximum Loads that your 12Vdc Buss is likely to see, and then design
in a small Charging current for a Battery, if fitted, plus a small
Emergency Margin in the Supply Current Capability for your New 12Vdc
Buss. The battery, in your case would be an extra advantage, and not
REQUIRED, but still would keep you operational, for a while should you
12Vdc Power source fail while navigating or at anchor, with all the Power
Souces shut down.

Bruce in alaska

Bruce, you've pretty much nailed how our fleet handled it. However
there were always some clever mechanics hired from local saloons (I'll
mention no names) that used a far simpler method. Just put the new 12V 8D on
the pilot house floor (it made a dandy foot rest) and charge it via a series
light bulb off the 32V buss on the aft pilot house bulkhead. If you used a
porcelain ceiling type light bulb socket, you could just screw the bulb in a
little to charge, and then screw it out a little when it was charged enough!
You could easily tell when the 8D battery needed charging, as the
radios were awfully quiet for a couple of hours or more. Likewise one could
tell when to stop charging by the amount of steam coming out of the 8D's
cell caps.

Old Chief Lynn (Whatcom, Nordic and Anacortes Marine Electronics)

In article ,
"Lynn Coffelt" wrote:

Bruce, you've pretty much nailed how our fleet handled it. However
there were always some clever mechanics hired from local saloons (I'll
mention no names) that used a far simpler method. Just put the new 12V 8D on
the pilot house floor (it made a dandy foot rest) and charge it via a series
light bulb off the 32V buss on the aft pilot house bulkhead. If you used a
porcelain ceiling type light bulb socket, you could just screw the bulb in a
little to charge, and then screw it out a little when it was charged enough!
You could easily tell when the 8D battery needed charging, as the
radios were awfully quiet for a couple of hours or more. Likewise one could
tell when to stop charging by the amount of steam coming out of the 8D's
cell caps.

Old Chief Lynn (Whatcom, Nordic and Anacortes Marine Electronics)

Yea, i had forgotten about those.......

Bruce in alaska
--
add path before @