120V switching 12V relay?

[RigBig]

Oh, please. What your're offering posses more risk. It can't any simpler than adding a simple 120Vac lamp.

[Peel]

Originally Posted by Marc13

Yes, but he wants to limit the risk of wires with 120V on his 12V electrical panel.

Correct. Where my panel is, it is exclusively 12V wiring which is all traditional red and black (not safety wiring with the yellow ground) so I don’t want to have any 120V there, because I could inadvertently mistake a 120V black hot wire for a 12V black ground.

[Lake-Effect]

No relay necessary. There are straight LED 110vac AC indicator lights available, but I appreciate your reluctance to have any AC around the DC panel.


Ok, options:

If you have a spare AC outlet (or wire an extra one in) you can use any small wall-wart type DC power supply, and then an LED and suitable resistor. They're usually UL/CSA approved and very safe to use.


There are also nice encapsulated power supplies that deliver a nice clean isolated regulated 5v dc, for your LED and resistor. I have a few of these. Again, these usually have UL/CSA safety ratings. You'd need to house it in a suitable AC outlet box.


Either of these will drive a LED +resistor directly. And can power other stuff when AC is present.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Lake-Effect

No relay necessary. There are straight LED 110vac AC indicator lights available, but I appreciate your reluctance to have any AC around the DC panel.


Ok, options:

If you have a spare AC outlet (or wire an extra one in) you can use any small wall-wart type DC power supply, and then an LED and suitable resistor. They're usually UL/CSA approved and very safe to use.


There are also nice encapsulated power supplies that deliver a nice clean isolated regulated 5v dc, for your LED and resistor. I have a few of these. Again, these usually have UL/CSA safety ratings. You'd need to house it in a suitable AC outlet box.


Either of these will drive a LED +resistor directly. And can power other stuff when AC is present.

That sounds like a sensible solution to what he is attempting to accomplish.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Peel

I’m actually quite familiar with 120VAC systems having rewired my home, and am also comfortable with 12VDC systems, but have never interfaced the two other than installing a battery charger and inverter.

Fair enough, you shouldn't have any issue once you get a suitable relay

[Redline452]

I use a small 12V wall-wart type transformer plug to provide an “AC present” signal to my FloatHub monitor. Simpler than a relay as it never draws from the ship’s 12v system.

[Peel]

Thanks everybody. Amazon delivered the 120VAC relay this morning, and the LED is now wired up. So I finally have an indicator for when the shore power is connected. Red light in the lower right corner of panel.


FYI the LEDs are not as blindingly bright as they look in this photo. It's just the way the photographed.

[Wotname]

Looks good

And I note you only have 13 hours on the engine(?)!

[Peel]

Originally Posted by Wotname

And I note you only have 13 hours on the engine(?)!

Ha! Good eye! The old meter stoped working, so just installed this new one a few weeks ago. Currently debating whether to simply note the date of the meter replacement in my logbook, or temporarily connect it directly to the battery to let it run and catch up with where it should be (just over 600 hours). Running the meter 24/7 would mean it would be caught up around April 1st.

[dfelsent]

Originally Posted by Peel

Thanks everybody. Amazon delivered the 120VAC relay this morning, and the LED is now wired up. So I finally have an indicator for when the shore power is connected. Red light in the lower right corner of panel.
Attachment 234108

FYI the LEDs are not as blindingly bright as they look in this photo. It's just the way the photographed.

Well done!

[smac999]

is the 12v feding the light unswitched or switched? if it's from the DC panel and you shut the battery swtich off your AC light will go off. even though you still have AC..

[Peel]

Originally Posted by smac999

is the 12v feding the light unswitched or switched? if it's from the DC panel and you shut the battery swtich off your AC light will go off. even though you still have AC..

It's unswitched. The 12V goes from the battery through a 3A fuse then to the relay located next to a 120V outlet, and then to the panel. If the battery switch is off it will still light. I'm not worried about battery drain because if it's on, it means the shore power and thus the charger is plugged in.