Task: Refurbish breaker panel
Contents
Status: 3/23/2012
The various breaker panels near the galley sink are designated:
- Panel 1: lower, next to the volt meter.
- Panel 2: upper, outboard to starboard
- Panel 3: upper, inboard of Panel 2
- Panel AC: lower, inboard of Panel 1 (all 120v AC breakers)
- Panel 4: very top
The breaker panel at the nav station is designated:
- Panel N
Many of the screws, terminals, and buss bars on these breakers are extremely corroded and some of the breakers will need to be replaced. Note that the breakers on Panel 4 are of a different make and look to be in good shape.
All the breakers have been removed from panels 1, 2, 3, and AC. The breakers are made by Wood Electric Co. Inc. and are part number 112-2NN-101, where NN is the number of amps for which the breaker is rated (for example, a 15-amp breaker is part 112-215-101). Wood Electric no longer exists, but a direct replacement part is manufactured by Potter & Brumfield (Tyco Electronics). The part number is W31-X2M1G-N, where N is again the breaker amperage rating. These can be found at Allied Electronics and other electrical distributors.
The existing breakers will be cleaned and tested. Ones that do not work will be replaced.
A wiring diagram of the original wiring is here: http://sailing.mit.edu/bluewater/X-dimension breakers.pdf (upload on wiki is offline as of 5/10/2010)
Status 4/4/2012
All of the breakers from panels 1, 2, 3, and the AC panel have had their contacts cleaned and have been tested under load.
Breakers that are marked good were able to handle about 100% of their rated amperage for over a minute without getting warm, and when increased to 150% - 200% of their rating, tripped in less than 30 seconds. This corresponds to the breakers' specification.
Of the breakers mareked BAD, some of them didn't work at all (open). Some of them became very hot under load. Some of them had intermittent connectivity (these all got hot as well), and one of them actually started to smoke.
| Panel | A | Name | Status |
| 1-1 | 30 | Cabin Lites | Good |
| 1-2 | 30 | Cabin Lites (red) | Good |
| 1-3 | 5 | Spreader Lts | Good |
| 1-4 | 15 | Mast Head | Good |
| 1-5 | 10 | Bow | Good |
| 1-6 | 15 | Nav Lite Main | BAD |
| 1-7 | 10 | Auto Pilot | Good |
| 2-1 | 15 | Nav Lite Aux | Good |
| 2-2 | 10 | Compass | Good |
| 2-3 | 15 | F.W. Pump | Good |
| 2-4 | 15 | Salt | Good |
| 2-5 | 15 | N/G | Good |
| 2-6 | 30 | Nav. Inst. | BAD (hot, trips @ 25A) |
| 3-1 | 30 | Radio Phone | BAD (intermittent) |
| 3-2 | 5 | Stove | Good |
| 3-3 | 30 | F. Pump | BAD (smokes!) |
| 3-4 | 15 | Footlites | Good |
| 3-5 | 15 | (blank) | BAD (open) |
| 3-6 | 15 | Bilge Blow | BAD (hot) |
| 4-1 | 5 | Spare | ? |
| 4-2 | 10 | Bilge | ? |
| 4-3 | 15 | Fridge | ? |
| AC-1 | 30 | AC Main | BAD (case damaged) |
| AC-2 | 15 | Spare | BAD (open) |
| AC-3 | 15 | Hot Water | BAD (open) |
| AC-4 | 15 | Outlets 120v | BAD (open) |
| AC-5 | 15 | Battery Charger | BAD (open) |
| AC-6 | 15 | Spare | Good |
Status 4/20/2012
Breakers from Nav Station (Panel N) have been removed and cleaned, but not yet tested. Several of these breakers were physically damaged during the removal process due to severe corrosion.
| Panel | A | Name | Status |
| N-1 | 30 | FM Radio Phone | BAD (intermittent) |
| N-2 | 5 | Free | BAD (damaged) |
| N-3 | 15 | GPS | GOOD (pushbutton type) |
| N-4 | 15 | Free | GOOD |
| N-5 | 15 | NavMan | BAD (damaged) |
| N-6 | 15 | Sta Light | BAD (damaged) |
12-volt Circuits
Here is a list of the 12-volt circuits on the boat. Where appropriate new names have been suggested. The Orig. Breaker column includes the breaker rating and the panel number and location of the original breakers.
| Circuit Name | Orig. Name | Orig. Breaker | True Amps |
| Cabin Lights [1] | Cabin Lights | 30A 1-1 | 20A |
| Footlights | Footlights | 15A 3-4 | <15A ? |
| Propane | Stove | 5A 3-2 | < 5A |
| Fridge | Fridge | 15A 4-3 | <15A ? |
| Bilge Blower [2] | Bilge Blow | 15A 3-6 | <15A |
| Aux Sockets [3] | n/a | n/a | ? (cigarette lighter sockets) |
| Auto Pilot | Auto Pilot | 10A 1-7 | ? (not connected) |
| Fresh Water Pump | F.W. Pump | 15A 2-3 | 10A |
| Radar | Radar | 30A 2-6 | 5A |
| VHF Radio | FM Radio Phone | 30A N-1 | 4.9A (6A fuse recommended) |
| Nav Inst. [4] | GPS & NavMan | 15A N-3 & 15A N-5 | 5A |
| Foredeck Light | Spreader Lts | 5A 1-3 | 1.7A (20W bulb) |
| Tri-Color | Mast Head | 15A 1-4 | 2A (25W bulb) |
| Steaming Light | Bow | 10A 1-5 | 0.4A (5W bulb) |
| Nav Lights | Nav Lite Main | 15A 1-6 | 3A (3 x 12W bulbs) |
| Inst. Lights[5] | Compass | 10A 2-2 | 0.04A |
| Anchor Light [6] | n/a | n/a | 0.8A (10W bulb) |
| Horn [7] | n/a | n/a | 3A |
| FM Radio [8] | n/a | n/a/ | <5A (5A fuse recommended) |
| Bilge Pumps [9] | Bilge | 10A 4-2 | 25A |
| Fuel Pump [10] | F. Pump | 30A 3-3 | 10A (5A measured) |
| Engine [11] | n/a | n/a | < 15A (will power starter solenoid & engine instruments) |
Notes:
- 1. "Red" cabin lights circuit will be merged in with white cabin lights.
- 2. Orig blower broken, new blowers range between 6A and 12A
- 3. How many amps needed for socket-powered devices?
- 4. All nav instruments will be powered by one breaker (GPSMap541: 3A, GMI10: 1A, NMEA buss: < 1A)
- 5. Compass light circuit will be combined with lights for instrument panel
- 6. Anchor light could not be turned on with original wiring
- 7. Horn not originally installed on boat. Perhaps this could be combined with another circuit, such as Nav Inst.
- 8. FM Radio is currently on the white cabin lights breaker.
- 9. Both bilge pumps will be powered by an "always on" breaker on panel 4, tied directly to house batteries
- 10. Fuel pump breaker will be one of the "always on" breakers on panel 4, powered by starter battery.
- 11. This circuit will be on an "always on" breaker on panel 4, powered by starter battery
Proposed Breaker Layout
Panel 4
The three breakers on Panel 4 will always be left on. Breaker 1 will be tied directly to the House batteries. Breakers 2 and 3 will be powered through the Engine Starter battery switch.
| 1 | Bilge Pumps | 25A | Tied directly to House batteries |
| 2 | Fuel Pump | 10A | Powers inline fuel pump under port berth (near fuel tank) |
| 3 | Engine | 50A | Powers starter solenoid, Regulator circuit & Engine Instruments |
Panel 1
This panel is next to the voltmeter and the House battery switch. These are the breakers that are normally turned on while sailing.
| # | Name | Required Amps | Notes |
| 1 | Nav. Lights | 10A | This switch will power the Nav Lights sub panel |
| 2 | Nav. Inst. | 10A | This will power the Garmin GPSMap541, the GMI10 display, and the entire NMEA2000 buss (5A required) |
| 3 | VHF Radio | 10A | |
| 4 | Horn | 5A | |
| 5 | Radar | 5A | |
| 6 | Fresh Water Pump | 10A |
Panel 2
This panel is above the voltmeter. These are the breakers that are not normally turned on while sailing, but may occasionally be turned on when necessary.
| # | Name | Required Amps | Notes |
| 1 | Cabin Lights | 30A | All currently installed lights draw about 19A total |
| 2 | Footlights | 15A | |
| 3 | Propane | 5A | |
| 4 | Fridge | 15A | |
| 5 | Blower | 15A | Not currently installed |
| 6 | Aux Sockets | 10A | This will power the 12v cigarette lighter sockets |
Other Circuits
These are circuits that may need to be added later
| # | Name | Required Amps | Notes |
| 1 | FM Radio | 5A | Currently on the Cabin Lights circuit |
| 2 | Auto Pilot | 10A | Not currently connected |
All these circuits together draw less than 10A. It makes sense to use one breaker for all of them, but have separate switches for each item.
These are all items that may need to be turned on at sunset. Placing these switches near the companionway would make it easier and safer to turn them on at sunset without having to descend into the cabin. Alternatively, these switches could be put in the cockpit somewhere in a waterproof panel.
| # | Name | Required Amps | Notes |
| 1 | Nav Lights | 3A | 3x 1A bulbs [#1004 bulbs] |
| 2 | Steaming Light | 0.4A | |
| 3 | Tri-Color | 2A | 25W bulb |
| 4 | Anchor | 1A | 10W bulb |
| 5 | Foredeck | 1.7A | |
| 6 | Instrument Lights | 1A | tach: 0.27A [194 bulb]; temp: 0.12A [53 bulb]; oil: 0.12A; compass: 0.04A [LEDs] |
Cabin Lights
This information is meant to inventory the current complement of cabin lights.
Types of Cabin Lights
- Red/White circular ceiling lamps. These have a SPDT switch (ON-OFF-ON) to switch between white and red mode. In white mode, two 6W festoon lamps are lit. In red mode, one 6W red festoon lamp is lit. Max current: 1A.
- Black swivel lamp. These have one 5W bulb each. Current: 0.5A
- Square panel lamp. These are 6" x 6" square panels and use an automotive type 1141 bulb. Current 1.6A
- Gold reading lamp. These use a 10W bi-pin bulb. Current: 0.9A
- Red/White flourescent lamp. Uses SPDT switch (ON-OFF-ON) to turn on one 8W flourescent bulb at a time. Maximum current: 0.7A
- Circular LED ceiling lamps. These have an array of white LEDs. Amperage is yet to be determined, but is probably less than 0.1A.
- Circular white ceiling lamp. This lamp above the sink has the same housing as the LED lamps, but it contains two 10W bi-pin bulbs. The SPDT switch (ON-OFF-ON) can turn on either one or both bulbs. Perhaps this lamp should be rewired for red operation.
List of Cabin Light Fixtures
- Forward Cabin: two square panel lamps facing forward on forward side of bulkhead (2 x 1.6A)
- Forward Cabin: two gold reading lamps at aft end of cabin above berths (2 x 0.9A)
- Head: R/W circular (1)
- Forward locker, starboard side: square panel lamp (1.6A)
- Next locker, starboard side: square panel lamp (1.6A)
- Main cabin: 4 R/W circular lamps (4 x 1A)
- Main cabin: 2 LED lamps (2 x 0.1A)
- Main cabin, above sink: 1 circular white lamp (1 x 2A)
- Main cabin: 6 black swivel lamps (6 x 0.5A)
- Main cabin: flourescent lamp over stove (0.7A)
Summary
The total amperage of the above light fixtures is 19.1A. As of 4/4/2012, it still needs to be determined which lights are on the white circuit and which are on the red circuit. All the lights should also be tested with a 12 volt battery to determine if all the circuits actually work. The footlights also need to be examined to determine if the circuits work and how much current they draw.
