Planning my 12v narrowboat electrics (the SIMPLE way)

Episode 23 - In this vlog I plan the narrowboat electrics by calculating our solar power needs and making an electrics diagram. And I share a sneak peek at the work I've been doing at the boat lately!

WAYS TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT
- Let the ads play all the way through as we earn a little more if they do.
- Watch the whole video as this helps Youtube show it to more people.
- Subscribe, comment, like & share. Engagement sometimes helps get this channel in front of more people who may enjoy it!

RESOURCES

FOLLOW:

BRAND COLLABORATIONS

MUSIC

FILM EQUIPMENT: (affiliate links)

ABOUT:
Hey there! We're Nesha and Mike and we are restoring a 45 foot narrowboat and turning it into a tiny floating home. Subscribe to follow our journey as we show the highs and lows of boat restoration, travel the British waterways, and live slow, wild and free.

DISCLAIMER:

#boatlife #narrowboat #offgrid #tinyhouse #tinyhome #travelvlog #travelcouple #travelvlogger #canal #canalboat #vanlife #vanlifediaries #offgrid #offgridliving #offgridlife #narrowboats #tinyhomebuild #narrowboatlife #boatrestoration #narrowboatliving

[dremein]

If I were building out a narrow boat I'd parallel four 12V batteries so my electrical trunks were running at 48V and use a 48 to 12 volt converter to step down the voltage for individual or closely grouped sockets/appliances. Stepping up the voltage drops the current and allows you to use a much smaller wire size. In the long run this will likely be less expensive.
You can check this out yourself but estimating a run from the electrical closet to the bow of the boat for say running lights/tunnel lights/bedside sockets. Be sure to allow for the vertical runs and give yourself a bit extra length. Then do a wire gauge calculation (Blue Sea has a real good one) using 12V at X amps vs 48V at X/4 amps. Lastly price out the 12V wire vs the 48V wire + 48/12V converter(s) needed.

[docostler]

A couple of things I'd like to mention.
1) Do not use standard house wire on a boat. The conductors are solid and can fail due to the vibrations inherent in boating. Flexible strand wiring is the way to go.
2) In my experience, it is very easy to underestimate your electrical requirements. Wiring in more outlets than you think you need (and potentially ending up unused) will be far more economical than trying to add circuits after the interior is completed. I know it is tempting to skimp on wiring as it is so expensive, but I'd be wary. Even if you simply run wires from the distribution panel into various areas of the boat and simply terminate them in a junction box will mean any expansion to the circuit count wouldn't have to be run all the way back to the panel.
3) Labeling is your friend. All wires look the same when you're upside down with a flashlight in your mouth and some wire cutters embedded in your palm.

[Bari_Khan_CEng_CMarEng]

Smart lady, and fun project and planning. Good efforts and video

[TrogART]

I actually purchased a plug that you could plug items into and it gave a readout of what it would pull, it was handy as some items have more of a draw when powering up and then settle down once running, so its nice to know this as well. I then tested every item I was going to use on my boat and I have a lot of kit, large screen TV's, computers, iPads, iPhones, low power kettle and some greedy kitchen appliances, some of these I would only use on shore power as I have an inverter charger on my boat. I have some items I only use when on shore power and others when traveling. I got a widebeam sailaway only fitted to first fix on the electric side, battened inside with foam insulation painted on the outside and engine and batteries plus engine electrics all set up but had the entire fit out to do inside. Have done a Dutch Barge replica and a Widebeam now, one more boat maybe as they say it takes 3 to get it really right.

[put]

Remember to add lights outside for use in tunnels and a horn to your map 😊

[mikejfranklin]

Don't forget that the rated output of solar panels is the maximum they can output at mid-day on the sunniest day ever!

[RetireMentalityChallenged]

Be sure to factor in the window locations for this plan. That will relate to daytime vs. night time needs and if you have an accurate rendition of the window positions it will help with socket and switch placement. I'd recommend you try to make your plan as close to scale as you can, it will pay off.

[mattwhitehall]

You are doing a great job planning first, your next thing will be the cable runs, you can then do the cable calculations to give you the right size cable for current load requirement, but also to cover volt drop as you have some long runs and at 12v dc it doesn't take much to loose a couple of volts. This will also give you your fuse sizes and remember fuse for the size of cable and not what you want to run off it, the fuse is there to protect the cable and nothing else. It stops the cable burning out and causing a fire. You will need to use multi strand cables like on cars as there will be vibration so don't use household cabling, not even for the 230v side.
If you are running cable in for lights then don't use battery lights as well, run them all at 12volt. And switch as many as you can independently so you only have on what you need, think carefully where you place lights especially over work areas so you are not standing causing a shadow over you work too or desk. Don't forget outside and navigation lights. Think about how many 12v sockets you actually need and what you will use them for. And where you can use a usb socket. If you do use usb then make sure you use standard and C type to future proof. Don't bunch too many cables together and keep the 12v dc and 230v ac separate I hope this helps

[carlf]

You go girl I think you have it under control good job.

[alisongalloway]

I live off grid alone and have a 2300 inverter. I would never go smaller as you will add more items and maybe more people to the equation.

[BellaTrix]

There is a YT channel called Narrowboatelectrician ...
His videos are impressive.
The Narrowboat that James build also is very good reg electrics.
Between these two, you guys should have no further issues.

[robtheplod]

Nice vlog, . Whilst working out your power audit its really hard to be accurate, and it does grow. A much easier way is to fit as much solar as you can afford/have room for - you cant have too much solar! If you watch most narrowboat vloggers they often end up adding additional solar, which costs more than doing it in one hit.

[cappokenneth]

you can get a/c outlets with USB charging sockets built into them

[liamhainsworth]

Great, informative video. However; have you allowed for the standby of appliances, voltage drop, and inverter power? Power will get lost during DC/AC conversion and in standby. I would likely say you need twice the AH capacity looking at your layout. Also, don’t forget to swap your alternator for lithium.

We fit 1000AH AGM in our regular diesel boat, and 4000AH Lithium Life Po4 in our electrical boats. If you need help. Reach out

[MrPeterJMilner]

Good afternoon, . I am a Territorial Army Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers trained vehicle electrician. I currently own and run a commercial drone flying school and am a filmmaker and editor. I am in the middle of replacing my entire electrical system on my own narrowboat. It is custom designed by me but based on mostly off the shelf Victron equipment. This includes 800Ah of Victron Smart Lithium batteries for which I have special approval from my insurance company to install myself. The whole system and all auxiliary services such as system monitoring, solar dump hot water system and the central heating system is all computer controlled, automated and controllable from either on the boat or remotely across the internet. If I can give you any advice, let me know. Cheers, Peter.

[DEmma]

Most rooms will need 2 way light switches at either end of the room, otherwise you may have to traverse the length of the room in the dark to turn a light on to see what you tripped over.

[forresteralex]

Just make sure your using artic flex and if I was you I'd run 240 on one side of the boat unless your gunna buy 100 metre roll of artic flex like I had to.. and make sure your fuse box is in a waterproof box... Plan looks good look your 12 v lights I'd use strips too use less power 😁 keep up great work

[elizaandalisa]

BIG SWELLS guys cheese n onion pie homemade awaits Atlas she's a guddun bring the lads to Oz cheers n beers Marty Australia

[rotinkerbell]

using smart stuff all your lights can be controlled remotely so no need for 2 way switches any more. xx

[dnewnova]

12v is very inefficent 24 volt enables you to use thinner gauge wire and the inverters are not that more expensive