| With
clear illustrations and simple explanations, Don Casey shows you
exactly how to install wiring . . . make good, safe connections
. . . match your battery bank and alternator to your needs . . .
troubleshoot problems quickly . . . avoid shore power problems .
. . and more--all without a lot of technical jargon.
Don Caseys
book provides clear guidance on how to create and maintain a robust
electrical system. Dons lucid explanations and numerous illustrations
make what is normally mysterious and invisible--electricity--into
something the reader is able to understand with confidence. An
excellent addition to the sailors seagoing library. --Chuck
Hawley
Contents
Introduction
1. Safety First
Battery Acid; Containment; Spark; Explosive Gas; Fire; Corrosive
Fumes; Fuse
2. Understanding the Basics
Terminology
Amp; Volt; Ohm; Watt
Three-Part Harmony
Ohms Law; Power; Load Calculations; Desert Algebra
Circuits
Not Like Water; Boys Will Be Boys; Polarity; Open and Closed;
Series; Parallel; Extra Credit
AC/DC
Magnetism and Current; Current; Polarity; Loads; Voltage;
Power Factor; Safety Revisited
3. Battery
The Basic Cell
Fully Charged; Discharging; Fully Discharged; Charging;
Gassing; Shedding; Plate Sulfation; Inefficiencies
Batteries
Internal Construction; Plate Thickness; Spongy Lead; Self Discharge;
Starting or House?
Battery Choices
Automotive--Conventional Flooded; Maintenance-Free; Deep-Cycle;
Gel Cell; Scales Dont Lie; Absorbed Glass Mat;
Selection Chart
Capacity
Amp-Hours; Cycle Life; Weight and Amp-Hours; Cold-Cranking
Amps; Marine-Cranking Amps; Reserve Minutes
Sizing Batteries
Load Calculation Redux; The Alternative to Bigger Batteries;
House Bank; Starting Battery; Powering Inverters
Installation
Series; Golf-Cart Batteries; Parallel; Matching; Negative Ground;
Temperature
Maintenance
Discharge; Recharging; Water; Clean and Dry; Terminal
Corrosion; Voltage; SG and Voltage; Specific Gravity; Keep Records
4. Wire
Wire Selection
Construction; Size; 10% Drop; 24 Volts; Insulation
Routing
High and Dry
Connections
Crimp Connectors; Crimping; Soldering; Tinning the Soldering Iron;
Heat-Shrink; Bare Wires; Wire Nuts
Overload Protection
Fuses; Circuit Breakers; Sizing; Installing; Supply Side;
Equipment Protection
Switches
SPST; DT; DP; Battery Selector
Neatness Counts
Labeling; No More Than Four; Terminal Strips; Junction Boxes;
Right Angles; Spiral Wrap; Panel Location
Coax
Size; Construction; Connections; Weatherproofing; Backstay Connection
Copper Ribbon
5. Circuits
Wiring Diagrams
Symbols; More about Ground
Circuitry Step by Step
Closed Circuit; Open Circuit; Overload Protection; Series; Parallel;
Real World
Mapping Your Own Boat
AC Caution; WYSIWYG; Circuit Diagrams; Master Diagram; Layout
Schematic; Signal Wires
6. Troubleshooting
Signs of Trouble
Dimming; House of Cards; Sluggish Starting; Flickering; Blown
Fuse; Ground Return; Heat; Odor; Heat Loss; Corrosion; Wet
Wiring; Rats Nest
Test Light
Make or Buy; Using a Test Light
Digital Multimeter
Digital vs. Analog; Auto Ranging; Polarity; Clamp-On Meters
Meter Fundamentals
Connecting Test Leads; Measuring Voltage; Measuring
Current; Measuring Resistance (or Lack Thereof)
Troubleshooting with a Meter
Voltmeter Tests; Multimeter Connections; Zero Adjust;
Checking Your Hydrometer; Extending Your Reach; Kirchoffs Law;
Ohmmeter Tests; Masthead Lights; Changing Resistance;
Ammeter Tests
7. Charging Systems
Alternators
Output; Pulley Ratio; Sizing; Ignition Protection; Expecting Too
Much
Regulators
Standard Regulator; Fooling the Regulator; Manual Controller;
Three-Step Regulator; Equalization--The Fourth Step; Charging
Gel Batteries
Alternator and Regulator Wiring
Output; Internal Regulation; Attached Regulator; External
Regulation; Polarity; Excitation; Surge Protection
Alternator Maintenance
Belts; Connections; Bearings and Brushes
Troubleshooting Alternators and Regulators
Alternator Output; Regulator Faults; Excitation; Bypassing a Faulty
Regulator; Diodes
Battery Switching
The Standard Way; Direct Alternator Connection; Fuse; Isolating
Diodes; A Better Way
Solar Cells
Choices; Output; Uses; Installation; Turning the Panel Off for
Installation; Troubleshooting
Wind Generators
Choices; Output; Mounting; Connections; Troubleshooting; Water
Generators
8. Alternating Current
Warning
AC Basics
Frequency; Voltage; Power Factor; Three-Wire System; The Grounding
Wire; Wire Type and Size
At the Dock
Plug Types; Polarity; Polarity Tester
Shore-Power Connection
Inlet Fitting; Power Cord; Supply Wire; Main Breaker; Neutral
and Ground
AC Circuits
Single Circuit; Dual Circuit; Breakers; Switch Panel; Polarity
Tester; Routing AC Wiring; Junction Boxes; Outlets; Ground Fault
Interrupt
The Green-Wire Controversy
The Danger; Testing the GFCI; Grounding the Green Wire; Cutting
the Green Wire; Unplug; Galvanic Isolator; Isolation
Transformer
Testing
Polarity; Grounding Wire; Isolated Ground; Green-Wire
Connection; Ground and Neutral Separation; Ground Fault; Stray
Current; Leakage
Inverters
Types; Waveform; Sizing; Load Realities; Battery Capacity;
Connections; Location; Transfer Switch; Neutral and Grounding;
Connection
Generators
Transfer Switch; Frequency
9. Heaven and Earth
Lightning Protection
Lightning Rod; Static Dissipator; Cone of Protection; Wooden Masts;
Ground; Freshwater Sailors Beware; Directing the Charge;
Connections; Parallel Paths
Bonding
For Lightning Protection; For Corrosion Control; Isolating; Grounding;
Testing for Isolation
RF Ground
Ribbon, Not Wire; Copper Screen; Stopping Direct Current
Lightning and Electronics
The Facts; Protective Measures
Index
Author Biography
Don Casey
credits the around-the-world voyage of Robin Lee Graham, featured
in National Geographic in the late 1960s, with opening his eyes
to the world beyond the shoreline. After graduation from the University
of Texas he moved to south Florida, where he began to spend virtually
all his leisure time
messing about in boats.
In 1983 he
abandoned a career in banking to devote more time to cruising
and writing. His work combining these two passions soon began
to appear in many popular sailing and boating magazines.
In 1986 he co-authored Sensible Cruising: The Thoreau Approach,
an immediate best-seller and the book responsible for pushing
many would-be cruisers over the horizon. He is also author of
This
Old Boat, a universally praised guide that has led thousands of
boatowners through the process of turning a rundown production
boat into a first-class yacht, and of Sailboat Refinishing, Sailboat
Hull & Deck Repair, Canvaswork & Sail Repair, and Inspecting
the Aging Sailboat, all part of the International Marine Sailboat
Library. He continues to evaluate old and new products and methods,
often trying them on his own 30-year-old, much-modified, Allied
Seawind.
When not
writing or off cruising, he can be found sailing on Floridas Biscayne
Bay.
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