From the looks of it we made some large mistakes on this 110v system. Make sure to tune into the next episode in the series when we get a review from a professional.
Glad you did this episode, you have said many times you aren't a pro and you are willing to show it all. Right or wrong. That's why I watch this channel. You are willing to try stuff and learn neeww stuff... Just please get a ABYC certified electrician to look at this wiring. Congrats on the cancer screening!
Yes, please consult a marine electrician! Hell pay the couple grand to have it wired at least then you can sue someone if your boat catches fire at sea.
Chris, I’ve watched most of your videos for years and am an industrial electrician with marine experience. 15 amps is way under your load requirements. You will have tripped breakers at best and burnt wiring at worst. Only wiring to be used is marine grade wiring. This is you and your friends and family’s safety. Best reevaluate and re-wire.
Everything about the boat is a d3ath trap. He's already had multiple engineers warn him about the upper truss instability, the floor not being waterproofed, the galvanic corrosion at mounts, & so many other issues.
Ok, I love the show, but boats being manufactured for public use must meet ABYC certification. Using house Romex is a definite NO, NO. Ancor is a great company that makes 100% of all the marine required products and necessary tools. Shore power connections are usually a 30amp circuit which is typical for marinas. Unless you intend on trailering your pontoon yacht home...you will need a typical 30amp shore power installation. Your hot tub will most likely need a 20amp circuit. I have the same hot tub on my boat. That very large cable that powers the hot tub is rated for at least 20 to 30 Amp circuit.. Using 15 Amp wiring is dangerous. At the very least you need to make a wiring diagram and identify All the loads and estimate total loads and design a system that is loaded correctly.
Yep, main panels in houses/boats/campers/etc. are not plug and play whatever, wherever. They have to be balanced. Each leg A/B/C legs need to be close… if not the same load.
You will want to connect those 12v batteries in PARALLEL. Connecting them in series will add the voltages together, meaning your "12v" system becomes a 48v with just the 4 batteries you showed in the seat storage.
I was having so much anxiety watching that video! Solid core wire! NO 15a - NO Unprotected circuits - NO Not marine rated breakers/box - NO I was so relieved that 90% of the comments are all relating the exact same concern! Consult ABYC! And get the advice of a MARINE ELECTRICIAN, not household.
@@killsalot78 One of the reasons you don't use solid core on a boat is because of the constant movement and solid core wire over time can fatigue and break, causing a short and possible fire..
Just some advice... anytime you run a wire through metal, or against something where it can rub and damage the insulation you should always put rubber grommets there to prevent killing yourself. Just a helpful hint.
Yes the TV outlet I saw the same thing. You cant just drill a hole and shove a sleeved wire through on a boat thats going to see lots of vibration and motion. That upper deck will be charged with 120V in a week of use.
I am so excited that there is a new video! Like many have said, there are some things you should certainly revisit regarding the electrical. An additional thing that I did not see mentioned was the risk of running your high voltage AC in the same conduit as low voltage data wires. The noise from the unshielded AC wire can interfere with your data wires and cause you all kinds of gremlins. If you have not done so already, run your high voltage and low voltage in conduits that are separate from each other. And good luck with this, I know by the time the video is out, the wiring is mostly done. However, I hope you take the advice from the community here and revisit the wiring you have done. Awesome boat and I can't wait to see it on the water.
In the next video of B is for Boat... (we rip all of the wiring we did and redo it using coast guard approved wiring) Thanks to the comments of viewers like you, "points at camera" So now we start ripping, let's do it. ( Insert B-Roll video at this point )
No Romex! Use the conduit you installed and seal the ends with weather tight j-boxes or use jso cord with seal tight connectors or all of the above to be safe. You need to have a small panel and separate your lines. You need GFI breakers because you are in wet location.
Love the build. Making great progress. But electrical, get some help. GFI, Breakers, marine wire, what they said. There should be a master breaker after your shore power input. Then there is the matter of "stray currents". The grounding (green wire) that connects 3rd wire on outlets to the shore ground wire. There are small currents that travel through the ground wire from shore. Usually, back to back diodes to isolate the small currents. Mercury has systems that will fix these problems (Mercathode). Your aluminum will be swiss cheese without them. Get a marine electrician for better advice. Don't take any shortcuts here.
By passthrough, they mean that shore power doesn't directly get outputted from the outlets on the Anker. It still can use it's inverter to provide power through it's ports. Where you might see issues is when the Anker is charging, it will just take a longer time to charge.
Should have used a marine breaker panel that would handle both the 12 volt and 120 volt. Marinas usually have 30 or 50 amp connections. 15 amp is way too small . 29:22 residential wire is also not good
Just thinking about all the water that will be splashing into those back lids near the engines. Those wires are gonna get trashed. Wonder how long that romex is gonna last before it starts breaking from the vibration 🤔 Also the best place for the battery for the engine starter is gonna be near the engines.
Romex isn’t wet location rated so it’ll fail in time, but it’ll probably break long before since it’s solid wire bouncing around wave after wave, stranded wire will last alot longer. SO cable could be a good option, and you will want to get waterproof connectors for you boxes so water doesn’t get in and corrode your connections. And 12gauge wire is good for 20amps and may wanna add gfci protection as well
@@jeffhuber3411I wouldn't base any of my own projects on the way RVs are built. In my experience every one might as well be made out of cardboard and looks like it was built on a Friday afternoon...
ADD A GALVANIC ISOLATOR INTO YOUR AC EARTH WIRING!!!! This boat will disolve into the river from stray current earth leakage from the marina environment. If boat does not disolve, then the pontoons will develop never ending electrolysis holes and your boat will sink. Find a marine electrician and not a house electrician to help and advise you. And I do love your show!
Just. Friendly reminder: these guys are TH-camrs, this boat is making them a lot of money to build, and of it sinks not only will that get views (look at the yacht sinking for an example) they will also probably have insurance on it. Let's just hope it isn't proven to be insurance fraud.
Chris has always been really dismissive of galvanic corrosion. I guess he’s never actually dealt with it! My Land Rover defender dissolved! my doors, wings, seat box and tub just turned to powdery salt over the years. And that was on a car that wasn’t submerged!
You might want to incorporate ground fault protection into your 120VAC system. Your entire electrical system is going to need to meet Coast Guard approval. Romex and residential boxes and receptacles are not going to be approved for use on a boat.
Chris, if you run those batteries in series you will not have 12v anymore, you need to run them in parallel if you want to keep them 12v whilst increasing the capacity. Series increases voltage whilst keeping same ampage.
Chris, all that wiring and water dont mix. All those junction boxes, switches, etc. need to go inside sealed wayerproof boxes with waterproof thru box cable strain reliefs. Just invision the whole top deck getting flodded with water because it will. ❤
Good luck with your cancer screening Chris. My wife of 54 years is in treatment for another outbreak. We know what your going through. You take good care of yourself you’ll live long and keep me occupied with your great content
Chris, love your show, im also an electrician with 20yrs experience, safety is the number 1 priority, i hope you have your electrician help you replace the wiring and use the correct devices. Auto wiring is one thing, but 120v wiring is a completely different and highly dangerous thing if not installed correct. Good luck with the other endeavors and congrats on you cancer free diag!!!
Buddy, I love this channel, but as a commercial sparky, I feel that aside from the undersized, indoor resi style wiring system, mounting electrical devices on or near steel, requires some serious, redundant bonding. Might want to hire this job out. Good luck with the build, aside from 120v work I’ve been really enjoying this
Having worked on pontoons for years, I recommend drilling drain holes in several locations in ALL of your deck boxes as they WILL get wet inside from rain and swim suits. Venting is also highly recommended so they can dry out.
Marine batteries need to be vented. The wiring is all gonna have to be replaced. Buddy you could have saved so much time and money, and been out for boating season, if you had just commissioned plans from a marine architect instead of thinking you could just design a boat in solid works with zero prior experience lol
I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have gained the EXPERIENCE that he’s after building these projects himself! Plus the cost would’ve been even higher! Connections made and experience earned have extreme value themselves bud.
The hot tub needs it's own breaker... as does the mini fridge and ice maker. So you need a minimum of 3 breakers. Also need marine grade wiring. The whole system is not safe as is. Huge fire hazard.
@@andrewgilbreath1331 While I agree that shock hazard is huge, the system would have to be wired incorrectly, or have a box get filled with water, for the shocks to occur. From what is shown in the video, everything is wired correctly, just wrong application, making fire from overloaded systems more likely than shocks.
So happy for your 3rd cancer free year. I remember, back then, when you announced your diagnosis. I was praying for you. I lost my dad to the exact thing you had. Same place and everything. Love the channel. Take care, man.
Even if we take all the marine code electrical requirements out of the mix; with a fridge, hot tub, tv, plus whatever other 110/125v things that you'll have running on this, 15A is 1000% not even close to enough... also, are those even gfci outlets?
Every electrician on here is just yelling at his phone that 15A is not enough and the boxes chosen are not okay 😂. I really want to hear what his friend wants him to change. Hey at least we will get another electrical episode. 😅
I know, right?! I remember him saying that he had the structural plans approved by an engineer. Not sure why a consult was not done with a marine electrician...
His friend will tell him to rip it all out as none of the wiring or equipment is suitable, he will also tell him to add bushings where the cables pass through the holes in the metal structure to prevent damage to the cables.
He had one firm look at his solid works plans and say "ok", even tho it turns out they were wrong and he had to modify the plans several times after lol. This whole project was a joke to begin with by not hiring a marine architecture firm to create plans. To say nothing of the awful material choices. The funniest thing was that this started with him expecting to be done during boating season, AND that he wanted to sell these to people lol
I absolutely love these boat build videos. Honestly I don’t watch any of your non boat content. But I’ve been thinking this for awhile and after reading some comments I need to say it… I can not wait for the video that gets posted when you’re denied a marine certification and all the stuff you will have to change to get it 😂
Every outlet of the boat should be GFCI. If not that, then at least buy a GFCI breaker. To prevent electrocution liabilities. Also, that black support bracket in the walkway next to the fridge is going to be a huge trip hazard.
Deep cycle and glass mat lead acid can be discharged to 0% and left then charged and as long as they didn’t freeze when discharged they will handle it just fine which is why that’s the type used for battery backup systems.
Feels like yesterday when you announced the whole cancer situation. I can’t believe how quickly time flies! Really happy to hear the good news every year!
I just think that you are missing quite a few electrical consumers and equipment! 1. signal lights and lights for night mooring and evening parties. 2.party ship without speakers and music? 3. navigation and communication are basic for a ship. 4. do you have a toilet, will it be dark inside without lights. 5. most people have smartphones, but where do they put them and charge them when they are on the ship? 6. A socket for a hair dryer is not a bad idea. 7. I guess the New Year's decorations would also like to have some electricity for those crazy parties. 8. An alarm system with a tracking GPS tracker would also be recommended, since the ship itself will be worth a good $300,000, if not more!
Another electrical issue is your plastic junction boxes, makr sure they're UV rated. I've seen so many of those used outside because they're plastic and assumed to be "weatherproof." Many are not and they crumble in a couple years of exposure.
I am enjoying this series but at the same time I am curious what level of research you are doing when it comes to how to build a boat. I realize commenters can be wrong or trolling but every video seems to have at least 1 largely upvoted comment about how you did something incorrectly at best or detrimental to the safety of the crew or the life of the boat at worst. I truly mean no insult in this though I understand how it can be taken that way
What about a microwave oven combo in the bar area perhaps in the stair wall enclosure also for charging phones and cameras also the power for the navigation equipment lights etc. just a thought, disclaimer (btw I am not an Eletrician 😉 ) 👍👍👍👍
AGM Spiral still drains like regular flooded for the same amount of time. Better off getting some 27M flooded that are way cheaper. Mix starting for the engines and some DP (dual purpose) for everything else. You will save money in the long run. It is what it is now tho, keep a battery tester handy and make sure that you're grounded out well. AC is also a different beast so be prepared to re-wire after things go underway. Best wishes, love your videos!
I can't disagree with some of the more negative comments on the electrical, but 1) if you are wiring for 15 amp, make sure there is a 15 amp breaker right at the shore power plug. At the moment the wire from shore to your Anker is only protected by the breaker on the shore power outlet, which is probably 30 amp, so if the Anker malfunctions it could pull 30 amp through that wire and start a fire. 2) Make sure your toggle switch switches neutral. If not, and the plug were removed, the plug's neutral pin would be exposed and could become live under certain faults. 3) The Anker is not pass through, in that it connects the input to the output. It is both charging the battery and running the inverter from the battery at the same time. 4) Finally, you comment on removing the toggle switch entirely at 27:30. You need it. There are several practical reasons, but one overriding safety reason... This is like installing a generator at your home. If your Anker were on, you were plugged in to shore power, and there were a power outage, you would be pushing electricity out to the power grid. Best case this would smoke your Anker. Worst case, it will KILL AN ELECTRICIAN OR LINEMAN trying to fix the problem. I am perfectly happy with you doing janky work on your own boat. In fact I bet it will last a lot longer than the naysayers. Also I think you have 100% agency to choose your own risk level for yourself. But that one last point puts the people around you in danger, which ain't OK.
I suggest that you mount the outlet box's so that plugs wire's hand down. That way water flows away from them, not into them. And wiring is not plumed in, it's wired IN.
Along with all the other comments, you need to be using flexible armored cable for the flex part. That cable you said you were using is flexible, but it would be destroyed by any mild abuse. And those batteries are _lead acid_ deep cycle, which means you can HALVE the amp-hour rating. Because using more than 50% of rated capacity means you're DAMAGING your batteries. Each time you'll lose a significant amount of their capacity (how much depends on how far below 50%), until they're all but worthless. For that price, you would have been MUCH better served buying LiFePO4 12v batteries.
LiTime 100 Ah LiFePO4 batteries are about $150 less than those Optimas, and you can actually use a full 75 Ah (instead of 32) for each discharge without significantly affecting their lifetime.
Not to be the Negative Nancy.... again...😂 you need a bigger breaker and confirm your romex is capable. Think about this.... TV on, lights on, the jacuzzi on... wel over 15 amps. Definitely run LEDs to keep the amps down. Congrats on the screening brother. God bless you and the B is For build fans
Great boat build. I used similar pontoon stuff furniture on a rebuild and they specified the backs of each needed to rest against a rail. Without this for support it will pull the fastener out of the deck or the base of the furniture.
In regards to your confusion about passthrough; you can charge the battery and output from the battery at the same time, passthrough is when you're bypassing the battery and running everything directly on shore power, like your switch but automatically/internally.
I am not an electrician, but I have owned a number of sailboats, and install that hot tub at my house. What I don’t see on your project is a number out of ground fault outlet. On my sailboat, I always had brown salt outlets and every 110 V run. The more the Better. See what your electrician buddy says.
Dang, that's a missed opportunity by going with old school lead-acid batteries for the house bank. You mentioned 3.6kWh, but with lead acid, you can only use about 50% of the capacity without destroying the batteries. So in actuality, you'll have 1.8kWh of usable power to work with. You could have got that from a single 200AH LiFePO4 battery for about $500-$600.
But, he got the lead acid batteries for free from Optima. Too bad Optima didn't send him their new LiFePO4 ORANGETOP lithium batteries, it would have been great marketing especially since the recently LiFePO4 batteries have came way down in price basically the same price as AGM lead acid per amp hour.
SUMMARY. Pure copper is great for electrical conductivity but can oxidize quickly in a marine environment and decrease its performance. The marine industry has addressed this issue by coating copper wires in tin. This forms a protective barrier that resists corrosion and keeps your wires conducting electricity properly
I’ve been looking forward to this episode. I’m a wiring geek. I understand sponsors. But why use out dated lead acid batteries. Lithium is a way better choice for a power bank. I’m not an expert. But you should probably use marine grade stranded wire and not solid wire. Solid wire does like vibrations. But still doing a good job.
Congrats on the diagnosis. I'm glad to hear it gonna get a checkup myself now you mention it.....also can't wait to see this finished best project to date honestly...👍
This is why they don't recommend swimming in a marina. This boat will be putting 120V into the water for sure. In the water and grab ahold of the aluminum swim platform and watch your friends convulse from the electrocution.
Chris, you should be using FS (weather-tight) boxes everywhere you have an outlet, your very first outlet should be a GFCI being as you're definitely a "wet location" and it will protect everyone downstream from the GFCI, using just a 15-amp circuit breaker could prove deadly.
Just installed a 250V 16A system on our boat with a 3000VA charger/inverter. We're two persons living on that boat and I'm thinking that's not enough for us 😅 We also use RDOE cables which are oil resistant, safe for explosive enviroments, can handle medium mechanical stress, works well in dry and damp enviroment.
Hey! I have been and electrician for 6 years and a shade tree mechanic, I have some thoughts, You should use SO or SJW cabling for your power. It is rated for flexing and use in these applications. Make sure to use rain tight fittings and in use covers as well as weather resistant GFCIs and receptacles to add longevity. You are building something that will be in some of the harshest conditions for electrical and not something you want to fail.
Spot on. seriously everything that was done here electrically is horrendous. Upward facing outlets in a wet location?? wtf. He’s also going to need like double the gauge for his outboard starter cables. That’s heck of a long way to run for that much current.
Sup Chris... love the show. Your going to need some kind of drainage or small water pump inside the hot tub housing. Rain fall, waves, and even just the people getting in or out the tub are going to collect alot of access water in there.
Hey Chris. I am currently battling stage 4 metastatic squamous cell carcinoma. A damn skin cancer that moved into my parotid gland and into my lymphatic system. I do Chemo every Tuesday and radiation Monday through Friday. Im glad to hear of your 3 year
God watching this makes my head spin as I do industrial machinery and electrical and to see this makes me scream fire hazard. This boat will burn down on the first day out in water
My 2cents... Make sure to get your sparky buddy to check that breaker. It looks to be a 2pole breaker and you are running it 120v. Your not supposed to "switch" the neutral in a 120v setup. Cheers!
The fuse capacity should be selected according to your AC cable maximum current carrying capacity not based on Anker power rating capacity. The function of the breaker is to protect the cable from over current, melting or catching fire. In your situation the breaker selection should be based on the smallest cable since you are distributing all the cables of one breaker which is not recommended. I recommend to install a dedicated sub- breaker for each power outlet. If you draw more power from the anker it should throw a fault to protect its self.
As someone else mentioned, your batteries need to be in parallel, not series to maintain 12VDC. But not mentioned is that you are installing a single bank Guest Charger. It will only charge 1 battery, not all of them. You need a multi-bank charging system put in.
Like everyone is saying. 15 amps is not enough. Also I would put each thing on its own breaker. That way if something shorts and trips, it won't take everything out with it. Long time supporter love the show!!!
Hope that RV fuse has an RCD in it. Please promise me you will check the shoreline infeed male socket for liveness during all non infeed electrical operations (little kids fingers and big kids get everywhere and you need to check it on the water when you are running different things (sh!t happens), grommit any wires that go through metal penitrations. This pontoon is looking great.
Justin FYI use GFI outlets whenever by water or anything on water or a round water should have a GFI connection because a breaker doesn't react fast enough basically you'll kill somebody instantly for the breaker won't trip but a GFI will usually trip super quickly
Once you have butts in all that seating that little fridge just ain't going to cut the mustard IMHO. In a pinch, you may find that rather than using the hot tub for its intended purpose, you could put ice in it instead and fill it with beer and other assorted cold snacks. Just a thought.
I want to add that the boxes built right in front of the motors is going to get a lot of backwash from the motor area when you come off plane especially when you come off plane fast! That area needs to be almost water tight or the back of the fridge and BBQ's are going to be flooded frequently.
Stealth use to make a smart charge system.. im sure other manufatures do too, but when you engine batterys are charged it switches to the inverter batteries tto charge them also.. im sure if you reach out theyll supply one
You need to fuse or breaker your main power sources at sources main fuse breaker at power inlet as close to batteries as possible What you are doing 200 to 300 amp just estimate What if wrench somehow slips and dead shorts everything bad news not worth the risk The number one way that boat trips get cancelled or cut short Electricity issues
Think it would be a good idea to use outdoor waterproof covers for those boxes and take into consideration the orientation of the boxes? with the orientation of the plug for the battery charger there may be a chance of water getting in there, just a suggestion.
From the looks of it we made some large mistakes on this 110v system. Make sure to tune into the next episode in the series when we get a review from a professional.
Glad you did this episode, you have said many times you aren't a pro and you are willing to show it all. Right or wrong. That's why I watch this channel. You are willing to try stuff and learn neeww stuff... Just please get a ABYC certified electrician to look at this wiring. Congrats on the cancer screening!
Yes, please consult a marine electrician! Hell pay the couple grand to have it wired at least then you can sue someone if your boat catches fire at sea.
Thank you! Whew. Really man, it's not worth it. I really hope all this is for the comments.
I'm glad you addressed this....there is quite a heated debate about it going on in the comments!! LMAO
Ya, GFI outlets so you dont shock the hell outta everybody in wet conditions.
Chris, I’ve watched most of your videos for years and am an industrial electrician with marine experience. 15 amps is way under your load requirements. You will have tripped breakers at best and burnt wiring at worst. Only wiring to be used is marine grade wiring. This is you and your friends and family’s safety. Best reevaluate and re-wire.
fyi marine grade wiring is fully tinned wires. you can get them for not too much from your local chandlery.
You have never been on a house boat have ya 😂😂.
It's not a house boat. It is a open air pontoon
120V tinned braided wire instead of standard romex
Everything about the boat is a d3ath trap. He's already had multiple engineers warn him about the upper truss instability, the floor not being waterproofed, the galvanic corrosion at mounts, & so many other issues.
Ok, I love the show, but boats being manufactured for public use must meet ABYC certification. Using house Romex is a definite NO, NO. Ancor is a great company that makes 100% of all the marine required products and necessary tools. Shore power connections are usually a 30amp circuit which is typical for marinas. Unless you intend on trailering your pontoon yacht home...you will need a typical 30amp shore power installation. Your hot tub will most likely need a 20amp circuit. I have the same hot tub on my boat. That very large cable that powers the hot tub is rated for at least 20 to 30 Amp circuit.. Using 15 Amp wiring is dangerous. At the very least you need to make a wiring diagram and identify All the loads and estimate total loads and design a system that is loaded correctly.
Amen bud. I cringed watching this video.. I was a boat repairman for 18 years so alot of this is hard to watch
😢😢😢 I cant believe this. Boats and house are diffrent. Hope they pull all this out and fix it!
Yep, main panels in houses/boats/campers/etc. are not plug and play whatever, wherever. They have to be balanced. Each leg A/B/C legs need to be close… if not the same load.
Not if it's his own boat it doesn't matter what he uses.hes not a manufacturer so your bs has no Marit.
@scottdo509 why would he it's his boat and can use what ever he wants.
You will want to connect those 12v batteries in PARALLEL. Connecting them in series will add the voltages together, meaning your "12v" system becomes a 48v with just the 4 batteries you showed in the seat storage.
Yes this and bunch of other wiring issues to be addressed. Hopefully they get someone to come and point them in the right direction
I was having so much anxiety watching that video!
Solid core wire! NO
15a - NO
Unprotected circuits - NO
Not marine rated breakers/box - NO
I was so relieved that 90% of the comments are all relating the exact same concern!
Consult ABYC! And get the advice of a MARINE ELECTRICIAN, not household.
if watching a TH-cam Post gives you anxiety, maybe the services of a therapist and sum Prozac should be considered.
you definitely want solid core over non-tinned stranded in marine applications, corrodes way slower
@@killsalot78 One of the reasons you don't use solid core on a boat is because of the constant movement and solid core wire over time can fatigue and break, causing a short and possible fire..
Diff
@@keithw846 a wire breaking doesnt cause a short, it causes the opposite - either an open circuit, or a high resistance that will overheat.
Just some advice... anytime you run a wire through metal, or against something where it can rub and damage the insulation you should always put rubber grommets there to prevent killing yourself. Just a helpful hint.
Yes the TV outlet I saw the same thing. You cant just drill a hole and shove a sleeved wire through on a boat thats going to see lots of vibration and motion. That upper deck will be charged with 120V in a week of use.
15 amps will not be enough. My boat has less then your's and mine is 30 amp. Not too mention you have to use coast guard approved wiring
I am so excited that there is a new video! Like many have said, there are some things you should certainly revisit regarding the electrical. An additional thing that I did not see mentioned was the risk of running your high voltage AC in the same conduit as low voltage data wires. The noise from the unshielded AC wire can interfere with your data wires and cause you all kinds of gremlins. If you have not done so already, run your high voltage and low voltage in conduits that are separate from each other. And good luck with this, I know by the time the video is out, the wiring is mostly done. However, I hope you take the advice from the community here and revisit the wiring you have done. Awesome boat and I can't wait to see it on the water.
In the next video of B is for Boat... (we rip all of the wiring we did and redo it using coast guard approved wiring) Thanks to the comments of viewers like you, "points at camera" So now we start ripping, let's do it. ( Insert B-Roll video at this point )
Lol
I sure hope so 😒
At this rate they will have 3 days for the SEMA build
Yup exactly!
@@HarryCrackzI'm upset they aren't starting that yet lol. The boat can 100% wait so it can be done properly.
No Romex! Use the conduit you installed and seal the ends with weather tight j-boxes or use jso cord with seal tight connectors or all of the above to be safe. You need to have a small panel and separate your lines. You need GFI breakers because you are in wet location.
Love the build. Making great progress. But electrical, get some help. GFI, Breakers, marine wire, what they said. There should be a master breaker after your shore power input. Then there is the matter of "stray currents". The grounding (green wire) that connects 3rd wire on outlets to the shore ground wire. There are small currents that travel through the ground wire from shore. Usually, back to back diodes to isolate the small currents. Mercury has systems that will fix these problems (Mercathode). Your aluminum will be swiss cheese without them. Get a marine electrician for better advice. Don't take any shortcuts here.
By passthrough, they mean that shore power doesn't directly get outputted from the outlets on the Anker. It still can use it's inverter to provide power through it's ports. Where you might see issues is when the Anker is charging, it will just take a longer time to charge.
Should have used a marine breaker panel that would handle both the 12 volt and 120 volt. Marinas usually have 30 or 50 amp connections. 15 amp is way too small . 29:22 residential wire is also not good
Just thinking about all the water that will be splashing into those back lids near the engines. Those wires are gonna get trashed. Wonder how long that romex is gonna last before it starts breaking from the vibration 🤔 Also the best place for the battery for the engine starter is gonna be near the engines.
Romex isn’t wet location rated so it’ll fail in time, but it’ll probably break long before since it’s solid wire bouncing around wave after wave, stranded wire will last alot longer. SO cable could be a good option, and you will want to get waterproof connectors for you boxes so water doesn’t get in and corrode your connections. And 12gauge wire is good for 20amps and may wanna add gfci protection as well
Romex is standard in RVs. It will be fine.
Came here to say this. USCG doesn't allow solid conductors for any application for this very reason
@@jeffhuber3411I wouldn't base any of my own projects on the way RVs are built. In my experience every one might as well be made out of cardboard and looks like it was built on a Friday afternoon...
Plus they should add an isolator imo.
I was going to say the same thing
ADD A GALVANIC ISOLATOR INTO YOUR AC EARTH WIRING!!!! This boat will disolve into the river from stray current earth leakage from the marina environment. If boat does not disolve, then the pontoons will develop never ending electrolysis holes and your boat will sink. Find a marine electrician and not a house electrician to help and advise you.
And I do love your show!
His floor will rot first I think. The guy doesn't listen.
Just. Friendly reminder: these guys are TH-camrs, this boat is making them a lot of money to build, and of it sinks not only will that get views (look at the yacht sinking for an example) they will also probably have insurance on it. Let's just hope it isn't proven to be insurance fraud.
Chris has always been really dismissive of galvanic corrosion. I guess he’s never actually dealt with it!
My Land Rover defender dissolved! my doors, wings, seat box and tub just turned to powdery salt over the years. And that was on a car that wasn’t submerged!
You might want to incorporate ground fault protection into your 120VAC system. Your entire electrical system is going to need to meet Coast Guard approval. Romex and residential boxes and receptacles are not going to be approved for use on a boat.
Chris, if you run those batteries in series you will not have 12v anymore, you need to run them in parallel if you want to keep them 12v whilst increasing the capacity. Series increases voltage whilst keeping same ampage.
Chris, all that wiring and water dont mix. All those junction boxes, switches, etc. need to go inside sealed wayerproof boxes with waterproof thru box cable strain reliefs. Just invision the whole top deck getting flodded with water because it will. ❤
Good luck with your cancer screening Chris. My wife of 54 years is in treatment for another outbreak. We know what your going through. You take good care of yourself you’ll live long and keep me occupied with your great content
Chris, love your show, im also an electrician with 20yrs experience, safety is the number 1 priority, i hope you have your electrician help you replace the wiring and use the correct devices. Auto wiring is one thing, but 120v wiring is a completely different and highly dangerous thing if not installed correct. Good luck with the other endeavors and congrats on you cancer free diag!!!
Buddy, I love this channel, but as a commercial sparky, I feel that aside from the undersized, indoor resi style wiring system, mounting electrical devices on or near steel, requires some serious, redundant bonding. Might want to hire this job out. Good luck with the build, aside from 120v work I’ve been really enjoying this
Steel or aluminum!
How do you ground a boat? Serious question. Do you rely on gfci?
No Romex on boats not legal. Stranded marine rated wire only
Where do you get stranded marine wire on a stranded island I'm assuming ?
Having worked on pontoons for years, I recommend drilling drain holes in several locations in ALL of your deck boxes as they WILL get wet inside from rain and swim suits. Venting is also highly recommended so they can dry out.
Marine grade stranded wire, connectors and GFCIs are your friend.
Marine batteries need to be vented. The wiring is all gonna have to be replaced. Buddy you could have saved so much time and money, and been out for boating season, if you had just commissioned plans from a marine architect instead of thinking you could just design a boat in solid works with zero prior experience lol
Less videos. Less DIY. Getting out boating isn't the only goal here buddy. This is his job after all.
I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have gained the EXPERIENCE that he’s after building these projects himself! Plus the cost would’ve been even higher! Connections made and experience earned have extreme value themselves bud.
The hot tub needs it's own breaker... as does the mini fridge and ice maker. So you need a minimum of 3 breakers. Also need marine grade wiring. The whole system is not safe as is. Huge fire hazard.
Fire hazard, aluminum frame and hulls in a wet environment it will shock the hell out of someone before it starts a fire.
@@andrewgilbreath1331 While I agree that shock hazard is huge, the system would have to be wired incorrectly, or have a box get filled with water, for the shocks to occur. From what is shown in the video, everything is wired correctly, just wrong application, making fire from overloaded systems more likely than shocks.
So happy for your 3rd cancer free year. I remember, back then, when you announced your diagnosis. I was praying for you. I lost my dad to the exact thing you had. Same place and everything. Love the channel. Take care, man.
ice maker, fridge, hottub, tv........ all on a 15 amp circuit? I hope you did the math and dont forget your in-rush current.
Romex, NO! House style junction boxes, NO!! This boat will see salt water and salt water seizes everything it touches.
Marine electrical is much different than house electrical. All wiring if much different.
Don't worry, everything was bought on Amazon. It won't last a day.
I must agree. Better to be safe than sorry. It would suck to put so much work into it only to have issues later.
It's a lake boat not salt water
@@dtouw hes going to be in salt water.
Even if we take all the marine code electrical requirements out of the mix; with a fridge, hot tub, tv, plus whatever other 110/125v things that you'll have running on this, 15A is 1000% not even close to enough... also, are those even gfci outlets?
I am so exited to see the finish product of this boat but how are you going to Hall this boat
Every electrician on here is just yelling at his phone that 15A is not enough and the boxes chosen are not okay 😂. I really want to hear what his friend wants him to change. Hey at least we will get another electrical episode. 😅
I know, right?! I remember him saying that he had the structural plans approved by an engineer. Not sure why a consult was not done with a marine electrician...
His friend will tell him to rip it all out as none of the wiring or equipment is suitable, he will also tell him to add bushings where the cables pass through the holes in the metal structure to prevent damage to the cables.
Congratulations on the 3 years! 🎉
He had one firm look at his solid works plans and say "ok", even tho it turns out they were wrong and he had to modify the plans several times after lol. This whole project was a joke to begin with by not hiring a marine architecture firm to create plans. To say nothing of the awful material choices. The funniest thing was that this started with him expecting to be done during boating season, AND that he wanted to sell these to people lol
Try being Mechatronic Eng, its like a freaking suspense thriller, which one will be the k!ller
I absolutely love these boat build videos. Honestly I don’t watch any of your non boat content. But I’ve been thinking this for awhile and after reading some comments I need to say it… I can not wait for the video that gets posted when you’re denied a marine certification and all the stuff you will have to change to get it 😂
Every outlet of the boat should be GFCI. If not that, then at least buy a GFCI breaker. To prevent electrocution liabilities. Also, that black support bracket in the walkway next to the fridge is going to be a huge trip hazard.
3.6kw but lead acid cannot be discharged under 50% so you need to cut that number if half.
Deep cycle and glass mat lead acid can be discharged to 0% and left then charged and as long as they didn’t freeze when discharged they will handle it just fine which is why that’s the type used for battery backup systems.
Feels like yesterday when you announced the whole cancer situation. I can’t believe how quickly time flies! Really happy to hear the good news every year!
Very few marinas have 15 power, almost all 30 or 50 amp. Some marinas won’t let you use 15 amp cords.
Romex on a boat dude come on. They make wiring for boats.
I just think that you are missing quite a few electrical consumers and equipment! 1. signal lights and lights for night mooring and evening parties. 2.party ship without speakers and music? 3. navigation and communication are basic for a ship. 4. do you have a toilet, will it be dark inside without lights. 5. most people have smartphones, but where do they put them and charge them when they are on the ship? 6. A socket for a hair dryer is not a bad idea. 7. I guess the New Year's decorations would also like to have some electricity for those crazy parties. 8. An alarm system with a tracking GPS tracker would also be recommended, since the ship itself will be worth a good $300,000, if not more!
You went camping the same time my wife and I did... Thunderstorms and all over in Lincoln City that morning. That was insane!
Another electrical issue is your plastic junction boxes, makr sure they're UV rated. I've seen so many of those used outside because they're plastic and assumed to be "weatherproof." Many are not and they crumble in a couple years of exposure.
I am enjoying this series but at the same time I am curious what level of research you are doing when it comes to how to build a boat.
I realize commenters can be wrong or trolling but every video seems to have at least 1 largely upvoted comment about how you did something incorrectly at best or detrimental to the safety of the crew or the life of the boat at worst.
I truly mean no insult in this though I understand how it can be taken that way
What about a microwave oven combo in the bar area perhaps in the stair wall enclosure also for charging phones and cameras also the power for the navigation equipment lights etc. just a thought, disclaimer (btw I am not an Eletrician 😉 ) 👍👍👍👍
AGM Spiral still drains like regular flooded for the same amount of time. Better off getting some 27M flooded that are way cheaper. Mix starting for the engines and some DP (dual purpose) for everything else. You will save money in the long run. It is what it is now tho, keep a battery tester handy and make sure that you're grounded out well. AC is also a different beast so be prepared to re-wire after things go underway.
Best wishes, love your videos!
I can't disagree with some of the more negative comments on the electrical, but
1) if you are wiring for 15 amp, make sure there is a 15 amp breaker right at the shore power plug. At the moment the wire from shore to your Anker is only protected by the breaker on the shore power outlet, which is probably 30 amp, so if the Anker malfunctions it could pull 30 amp through that wire and start a fire.
2) Make sure your toggle switch switches neutral. If not, and the plug were removed, the plug's neutral pin would be exposed and could become live under certain faults.
3) The Anker is not pass through, in that it connects the input to the output. It is both charging the battery and running the inverter from the battery at the same time.
4) Finally, you comment on removing the toggle switch entirely at 27:30. You need it. There are several practical reasons, but one overriding safety reason... This is like installing a generator at your home. If your Anker were on, you were plugged in to shore power, and there were a power outage, you would be pushing electricity out to the power grid. Best case this would smoke your Anker. Worst case, it will KILL AN ELECTRICIAN OR LINEMAN trying to fix the problem.
I am perfectly happy with you doing janky work on your own boat. In fact I bet it will last a lot longer than the naysayers. Also I think you have 100% agency to choose your own risk level for yourself. But that one last point puts the people around you in danger, which ain't OK.
If you’re on a pontoon or boat in general why arent all of the outlets waterproof?
I suggest that you mount the outlet box's so that plugs wire's hand down. That way water flows away from them, not into them. And wiring is not plumed in, it's wired IN.
Along with all the other comments, you need to be using flexible armored cable for the flex part. That cable you said you were using is flexible, but it would be destroyed by any mild abuse. And those batteries are _lead acid_ deep cycle, which means you can HALVE the amp-hour rating. Because using more than 50% of rated capacity means you're DAMAGING your batteries. Each time you'll lose a significant amount of their capacity (how much depends on how far below 50%), until they're all but worthless. For that price, you would have been MUCH better served buying LiFePO4 12v batteries.
LiTime 100 Ah LiFePO4 batteries are about $150 less than those Optimas, and you can actually use a full 75 Ah (instead of 32) for each discharge without significantly affecting their lifetime.
@@chrisw1462 NOT starting batteries, turning those big Merc's over will kill them.
Not to be the Negative Nancy.... again...😂 you need a bigger breaker and confirm your romex is capable. Think about this.... TV on, lights on, the jacuzzi on... wel over 15 amps. Definitely run LEDs to keep the amps down. Congrats on the screening brother. God bless you and the B is For build fans
Dang I feel bad that you have to unrun all that Romex
Great boat build. I used similar pontoon stuff furniture on a rebuild and they specified the backs of each needed to rest against a rail. Without this for support it will pull the fastener out of the deck or the base of the furniture.
Soon as I heard 15amp and Romex I rushed to the comments section. I was relieved to see mostly everyone with the same concerns as me about the wiring.
In regards to your confusion about passthrough; you can charge the battery and output from the battery at the same time, passthrough is when you're bypassing the battery and running everything directly on shore power, like your switch but automatically/internally.
I am not an electrician, but I have owned a number of sailboats, and install that hot tub at my house. What I don’t see on your project is a number out of ground fault outlet. On my sailboat, I always had brown salt outlets and every 110 V run. The more the Better. See what your electrician buddy says.
Dang, that's a missed opportunity by going with old school lead-acid batteries for the house bank. You mentioned 3.6kWh, but with lead acid, you can only use about 50% of the capacity without destroying the batteries. So in actuality, you'll have 1.8kWh of usable power to work with. You could have got that from a single 200AH LiFePO4 battery for about $500-$600.
But, he got the lead acid batteries for free from Optima. Too bad Optima didn't send him their new LiFePO4 ORANGETOP lithium batteries, it would have been great marketing especially since the recently LiFePO4 batteries have came way down in price basically the same price as AGM lead acid per amp hour.
You mentioned water proof outlets but you also should have a GFI protecting all outlets on the boat. Ground Fault Interupter
I guess we'll be seeing a part 2 of wiring when you do it again w the correct stuff
As a electrician for many years your making me sick ! Stop!!! Listen to me!!! Get a electrician!!
SUMMARY. Pure copper is great for electrical conductivity but can oxidize quickly in a marine environment and decrease its performance. The marine industry has addressed this issue by coating copper wires in tin. This forms a protective barrier that resists corrosion and keeps your wires conducting electricity properly
Did you not actually listen to him...He is having an electrician come look at it....
Mechatroninc Eng Tech, whole build has been like a horror movie
Way too many violations.... Boats vibrate and solid wiring will break. Romex in conduit in a wet location is a definite problem.
@@XxmillerniaxXa house electrician, not a marine electrician, anyone should know water and electricity do NOT mix.
The comment section is erupting with massive amounts of common sense and electrical knowledge ❤
You should build a camper van so you don’t have to get stuck out in the rain!
😂😂😂😂😂
Respect bud cancer is not a joke,my hat off for been so positive.
Greetings from south africa
YOU CAN'T RUN ROMEX IN A BOAT'S CONDUIT!!! It's for house wiring!!!!!! Stop while you're ahead!!!
I'm not sure of current regulations but I don't think solid core wire is legal by ABYC or coastguard
I’ve been looking forward to this episode. I’m a wiring geek.
I understand sponsors. But why use out dated lead acid batteries. Lithium is a way better choice for a power bank. I’m not an expert. But you should probably use marine grade stranded wire and not solid wire. Solid wire does like vibrations. But still doing a good job.
Every pontoon boat I’ve ever been on has had water completely soaking every inch. Can imagine having outlets on the floorboard.
Congrats on the diagnosis. I'm glad to hear it gonna get a checkup myself now you mention it.....also can't wait to see this finished best project to date honestly...👍
This is why they don't recommend swimming in a marina. This boat will be putting 120V into the water for sure. In the water and grab ahold of the aluminum swim platform and watch your friends convulse from the electrocution.
On today B is for build we see how many boats we can sink in one year....
13:35 you should ensure that there’s a rubber bushing for that cable that’s crossing through the tube. Chafing happens on all boats
Oscar, we need you and your wiring kit back ASAP!!! LOL
Chris, you should be using FS (weather-tight) boxes everywhere you have an outlet, your very first outlet should be a GFCI being as you're definitely a "wet location" and it will protect everyone downstream from the GFCI, using just a 15-amp circuit breaker could prove deadly.
Just installed a 250V 16A system on our boat with a 3000VA charger/inverter. We're two persons living on that boat and I'm thinking that's not enough for us 😅
We also use RDOE cables which are oil resistant, safe for explosive enviroments, can handle medium mechanical stress, works well in dry and damp enviroment.
Hey! I have been and electrician for 6 years and a shade tree mechanic, I have some thoughts, You should use SO or SJW cabling for your power. It is rated for flexing and use in these applications. Make sure to use rain tight fittings and in use covers as well as weather resistant GFCIs and receptacles to add longevity. You are building something that will be in some of the harshest conditions for electrical and not something you want to fail.
Spot on. seriously everything that was done here electrically is horrendous. Upward facing outlets in a wet location?? wtf. He’s also going to need like double the gauge for his outboard starter cables. That’s heck of a long way to run for that much current.
Sup Chris... love the show. Your going to need some kind of drainage or small water pump inside the hot tub housing. Rain fall, waves, and even just the people getting in or out the tub are going to collect alot of access water in there.
Looks great! well done....one thought...move the hottub plug out of that space and put it in the seat bottom above...no chance of water splash :)
Hey Chris. I am currently battling stage 4 metastatic squamous cell carcinoma. A damn skin cancer that moved into my parotid gland and into my lymphatic system. I do Chemo every Tuesday and radiation Monday through Friday. Im glad to hear of your 3 year
Hope there’s room for life vest flares flare gun or guns just seems your using a lot of space for creature comforts but no boating equipment
God watching this makes my head spin as I do industrial machinery and electrical and to see this makes me scream fire hazard. This boat will burn down on the first day out in water
You should have ran water tight electrical boxes. For all the outlets And switches
My 2cents... Make sure to get your sparky buddy to check that breaker. It looks to be a 2pole breaker and you are running it 120v. Your not supposed to "switch" the neutral in a 120v setup. Cheers!
This is actually not that uncommon for boats and rvs. It is to protect from hot neutral reversed( improperly wired receptacles) at parks/ marinas
The fuse capacity should be selected according to your AC cable maximum current carrying capacity not based on Anker power rating capacity. The function of the breaker is to protect the cable from over current, melting or catching fire. In your situation the breaker selection should be based on the smallest cable since you are distributing all the cables of one breaker which is not recommended. I recommend to install a dedicated sub- breaker for each power outlet.
If you draw more power from the anker it should throw a fault to protect its self.
As someone else mentioned, your batteries need to be in parallel, not series to maintain 12VDC. But not mentioned is that you are installing a single bank Guest Charger. It will only charge 1 battery, not all of them. You need a multi-bank charging system put in.
Please be safe, use marine grade stuff, use more breakers, use rubber grommits. This is not the way. Otherwise, love the show.
Like everyone is saying. 15 amps is not enough. Also I would put each thing on its own breaker. That way if something shorts and trips, it won't take everything out with it. Long time supporter love the show!!!
That doesn’t look like a typical twist lock marine shore power connector
Congrats on three years Chris!
Congrats on 3 years clear. Also great work on the self care & psa.
Hope that RV fuse has an RCD in it. Please promise me you will check the shoreline infeed male socket for liveness during all non infeed electrical operations (little kids fingers and big kids get everywhere and you need to check it on the water when you are running different things (sh!t happens), grommit any wires that go through metal penitrations. This pontoon is looking great.
The medpay insurance on this boat is gonna be 💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰
Justin FYI use GFI outlets whenever by water or anything on water or a round water should have a GFI connection because a breaker doesn't react fast enough basically you'll kill somebody instantly for the breaker won't trip but a GFI will usually trip super quickly
Once you have butts in all that seating that little fridge just ain't going to cut the mustard IMHO. In a pinch, you may find that rather than using the hot tub for its intended purpose, you could put ice in it instead and fill it with beer and other assorted cold snacks. Just a thought.
Beer and female snacks.
I want to add that the boxes built right in front of the motors is going to get a lot of backwash from the motor area when you come off plane especially when you come off plane fast! That area needs to be almost water tight or the back of the fridge and BBQ's are going to be flooded frequently.
Hey guys on todays episode of B is for build we’re building a FIRE HAZARD that might corrode before we even use it 😂
You can charge the Anker with solar, 12v and 120v all at the same time while drawing power.
GFCI outlets should really be used for everyone's safety, don't want anyone to get hurt
Stealth use to make a smart charge system.. im sure other manufatures do too, but when you engine batterys are charged it switches to the inverter batteries tto charge them also.. im sure if you reach out theyll supply one
You need to fuse or breaker your main power sources at sources
main fuse breaker at power inlet
as close to batteries as possible
What you are doing 200 to 300 amp just estimate
What if wrench somehow slips and dead shorts everything bad news not worth the risk
The number one way that boat trips get cancelled or cut short Electricity issues
Your gonna want to put vents in the seat storage containers.
Think it would be a good idea to use outdoor waterproof covers for those boxes and take into consideration the orientation of the boxes? with the orientation of the plug for the battery charger there may be a chance of water getting in there, just a suggestion.