Wiring and busbar help

[Shallowman]

Iam wiring and kinda got an idea of what iam wanting to do. My battery/ fuse block / ect will be under console all together . Much like this picture below . From what i can tell to do similar to the picture iam going to use :
Blue sea 5026 = 12-Circuit Fuse Block
Blue Sea 2304 = 5 screw MiniBus 100A
Blue Sea 2301 = 10 Screw Busbar
8 toggle switch Panel


Is the 100a Minibus what i need and what circuit breaker will i need ?

If i set it up like this , do i just connect the boat motor positive to the 100a busbar or do i need to add a kill switch or anything with it ?

 

[Shallowman]

Re: Wiring and busbar help

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Wiring and busbar help

Why the mini buss? The fuse panel is all you need.

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: Wiring and busbar help

a lot depends on the type of motor set up you have on the boat. I honestly can not see the use of the mini buss but im a great believer in over kill as its easier to add now then to have to add later so its just some spare screws for future use.

 

[Shallowman]

Re: Wiring and busbar help

Thanks , Yea iam not sure what the bar is being used for either and the panel also has a ground bar too . But where i got that pic from seems most of the set ups were done like that . I also could use a 6 circuit panel but decided on the 12 if i add stuff later . Its for my skiff with a 25 mercury on it . Basic fishing stuff really : single battery , Fish finder , livewell pump , bilge pump, led nav lights , couple inside small led lights . I do have a separate battery for trolling motor that i may add in down the road .

 

[kahuna123]

Re: Wiring and busbar help

The picture looks great. Not to bust your #### but the breaker in the picture is a whole lot of money that really is not necessary where it is located in the picture. The idea of the breaker is to protect the feed line coming from the battery. A 50 amp $5.00 automotive breaker at the battery would protect the feed line. Push on connectors are not a great idea either. Maybe ok in fresh water but not good for salt. Nothing wrong with the buss bars. Better to have extra than to have to regroup.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Wiring and busbar help

Seems over-kill and I agree with kahuna that the breaker is in the wrong location, needs to be by the battery (optimally within 1 foot). I guess they could have added the buss bars to connect, fused devices (sonar, radio, etc) but that seems odd to me.

Sounds like you have a simple install and could use just the 12 circuit fuse panel (with room to grow) and then a breaker by the battery. I have that fuse panel on my 18'er and it's working very nice. I maxed it out, but I'm running 3 lighting circuits, 2 sonars, etc, etc....

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: Wiring and busbar help

If you built that panel then it looks nice.......If you did not build the panel then.....The breaker is in the wrong place and should be near the battery, The grounds should be landed on the large ground buss not double landed on the small buss at the top of the fuse block, The wires on the fuses should make a loop around a pencil before having the terminal attached as this acts like a shock absorber and also gives enough wire to re-terminate if the female spade ever needs to be replaced, Panel looks to be built upside down so any water/moisture on the wires will run down into the fuse block not run away from the fuses.

 

[NYBo]

Re: Wiring and busbar help

Guys, that's not his panel, just a picture illustrating one way to go:

But where i got that pic from seems most of the set ups were done like that .

There is no need for either bus bar; the only thing connected to them is the fuse box! All they do is add addition cost and additional possible points of failure.

 

[Shallowman]

Re: Wiring and busbar help

Ill look for a 50 amp auto breaker . So maybe someway like ..... this would the breaker be ok mounted like in the picture below ? If i don't need the buss bars then i won't get them . Again just looking at pictures gettings ideas like from here Idividualized Electronic Fuse Blocks - Donat Marine Solutions .

heres the picture / diagram of what iwas orignally thinking

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: Wiring and busbar help

wire to the boat motor does not go through the breaker that goes directly to the battery. The breaker only protects the wire to the fuse panel and is not really required over that distance but its cheap so install one anyway. Make sure that battery is secured preferably in a battery box so 1/ it doesn't move around and 2/ if you throw anything down there it will not short out. Also you have increased the distance to the motor so you may need to upgrade the size of the main cables to the motor to reduce voltage loss to the starter.

p.s think of a way to protect the cables so you are not walking on them which could cause damage to the insulation (this is why the battery is normally mounted in the rear of the boat)

 

[Shallowman]

Re: Wiring and busbar help

Thanks everyone , Points taken for sure. After reading these replies , iam thinking i may need to read up more and consider adding the 2nd battery now and a switch for it.

 

[Shallowman]

Re: Wiring and busbar help

alright let me ask this . My motor is a 2001 25 mercury , can i use a Blue Sea add-a-battery kit = Iam not sure what the charge output is from motor .

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Wiring and busbar help

You have a 25 HP motor with a very low output alternator (likely less than 16 amps). It can also be rope started. Why on earth spend all this money and complication on a a dual battery setup that you don't need nor would it serve a useful purpose unless you make extremely long wide open throttle runs. By "long" I mean a couple hours minimum. You already indicated the electrical load is very small in the grand scheme of things. Unless you hook the large battery cables directly to the battery, every time you attempt to start the engine you will pop the breaker. Engine starters draw a lot of current -- way more than the breaker you indicated. And that 100 amp POS buss bar is still a mystery. You have a fuse panel with 12 circuits. Why add a buss bar to power stuff that will then need either another fuse panel or the use of in-line fuses. It's only purpose in your scheme seems to add two more potential points of failure. Sorry if this sounds a little critical but overkill can be costly and problematic.

 

[Shallowman]

Re: Wiring and busbar help

Silvertip , i've read alot of posts mostly on hooking up the fuse block . In reading those i read people adding second battery ect. When i got this boat , there were 3 batteries . 1 start battery and 2 deep cycles = 1 to trolling motor and the 1 other went to everything else. The troll battery and the start battery were simply hard wired no fuse inline or anything . The deep cycle for the other things was simple too --- battery had terminals with a stud on each . Off the positive was about 5 or 6 inline fuses and 2 or 3 wires with no fuses at all. All them wires and the grounds were run all over - thru , over and under steering cable , shift cables ect. some had 2 or 3 butt connectors on 1 piece of wire . So i needed to clean this area up and guess after reading posts i thought something like above would be more simple and add protection to what i could . I usally spend all day on the water , the livewell runs most of the time so 2 battery i like , even if i do them seperate = start battery to start the motor and a deep cycle under the console to power the electronics so if that battery gets drained while out i can get back in .


So keep it simple and just use the start battery on the motor and then the deep cycles seperate ? Iam guessing but for the most part i'd just need to keep up the charge at home for the deep cycles before i go out correct ? ( dont sound like id get much charging off the motor anyhow )

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Wiring and busbar help

No. You do not charge before going out. You charge immediately upon return from an outing. Batteries do not fair well when sitting in a discharged state for long periods.

 

[Shallowman]

Re: Wiring and busbar help

No. You do not charge before going out. You charge immediately upon return from an outing. Batteries do not fair well when sitting in a discharged state for long periods.

Ok , that i can do ... money saved on other stuff could invest in a good charger Thanks for the replies.