110v Electrical Throughout

[Lepke]

Having 120/240 house current (properly done) on a liveaboard is a huge convenience. In my time on the water (about 60 years) I have found house appliances outlast DC appliances and usually have a greater capacity. I can have a large water heater with a fast recovery, a 240v windlass motor that is cheaper than 12v and lasts years longer, much smaller cabling at the higher voltage, my choice in lights is beyond a few dim 12v fixtures. Whenever I'm running the mains, an alternator keeps ahead of the inverter banks, so I never run a generator any more when moving. I'm hoping if I add solar panels, I won't use the generators except in the winter.

 

[sdowney717]

Safety of AC power in a boat is simply a matter of keeping the current contained within the system, and if any decides to leak out, for reasons that may be beyond anyone's control, GFCI protection is a great idea.
I have my Cruisair heat pump GFCI protected, and no nuisance trips (of any significance). A couple times out of hundred times it has clicked off when running on the generator with the GFCI-AFCI combo breaker away from the dock.
I do not GFCI protect the fridge for obvious reasons.

 

[ben2go]

I am glad GFCI/AFCI is being brought up. This is an area I am familiar with in sticks-n-bricks, but not so much in the float-a-homes. I need to do more research and buy more study materials.

 

[denverd0n]

Also consider thumping the price a bit. Any time a boat is not Standard, those eccentricities come off the top of the price-tag.

So true. "Eccentricities." That's a good word for them. The problem is, a whole lot of sellers think that all the non-standard stuff they did makes the boat worth just SOOOO much more, when the reality is just the opposite.

 

[sdowney717]

I am glad GFCI/AFCI is being brought up. This is an area I am familiar with in sticks-n-bricks, but not so much in the float-a-homes. I need to do more research and buy more study materials.

It was an easy swap for me to make my AC circuits GFCI-AFCI protected.
When my boat was made in 1970, they used a QO breaker style Square-D distribution panel. QO is the same today as then. So out with the old standard breaker and in with the new AFCI-GFCI combo breaker.
Out of 8 AC circuits, 5 are now protected. I left stove-oven, fridge and the built in electric wall heaters standard breaker.

All other circuits, the cruisair heat pump, MW, all outlets, water heater, pool pump for raw washdown are AFCI-GFCI breaker protected.

The QO combo breakers also work ok with an MSW 3000 watt inverter, and an Onan generator. But if the voltage is way out of spec on the generator, they will not test trip. they must expect to see a certain close range of what is normally utility supplied power.

I rewired my entire AC system with new wiring except I left a few circuits as original. All the wiring was in pretty good condition even being that old. I just needed to configure it the way I wanted it to work.

 

[ben2go]

It was an easy swap for me to make my AC circuits GFCI-AFCI protected.
When my boat was made in 1970, they used a QO breaker style Square-D distribution panel. QO is the same today as then. So out with the old standard breaker and in with the new AFCI-GFCI combo breaker.
Out of 8 AC circuits, 5 are now protected. I left stove-oven, fridge and the built in electric wall heaters standard breaker.

All other circuits, the cruisair heat pump, MW, all outlets, water heater, pool pump for raw washdown are AFCI-GFCI breaker protected.

The QO combo breakers also work ok with an MSW 3000 watt inverter, and an Onan generator. But if the voltage is way out of spec on the generator, they will not test trip. they must expect to see a certain close range of what is normally utility supplied power.

I rewired my entire AC system with new wiring except I left a few circuits as original. All the wiring was in pretty good condition even being that old. I just needed to configure it the way I wanted it to work.

Good deal. Glad that worked out so easily.