Question About Best Practice -- For Electricians

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

Voltmeters are installed in parallel to those circuits they are measuring. Those circuits are (or should be) already fused.

How does fusing a voltmeter connection do anything?

Serious question.

SmartGauge is very insistent that the sense wire goes directly to the battery post.

I attach all other sense wires directly to the battery post also.

This is to avoid any distortion of the data.

[Littlechay]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

My Smartgauge sense wire is fused, as suggested in the instructions.

And all other connections to the battery (sense wire for charger/inverter, etc.).

But what we are talking about here are the very short, very fine wire for AC power voltage, not DC.

Yes sorry about the drift responding to something further up.

You can get no-crimp ferrules to use with standard terminal blocks too, Bootlace ferrules. They simply slip over the stripped wire and have an insulated cuff that meets and covers the wires insulation. The metal is soft and deforms as the terminal screw is tightened down.

Haven't bought any for a long time but I saw bags of them in ACDC in Cape Town last winter so they are still around.

[undercutter]

Some questions;

1) Was the RCD also the main breaker or is there another main breaker before or after the shore power switch? Not sure whether these RCD's can function as a mains breaker like the NA GFCI's.

2) Is there a separate RCD from the inverter circuit to the main panel? I realize that this circuit was existing and you just reused it.

3) Can you provide a simple wiring schematic including shorepower inlet, power supply to inverter/charger, main AC circuit from inverter and inverter circuit showing locations of switches, RCD's and main breaker if separate. No need to see anything downstream of the panel.

I installed a MV 4000w Inverter charger in our boat and had some of the same issues so I am curious to see how yours is configured with the RCD(s).
It seemed to me at the time that a 2nd RCD would be required on the inverter supplied circuit.

Also would your installation provide residual current protection for the Inverter/charger itself or do you rely on a dockside device? If so, what about power supplied via the generator?

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by undercutter

Some questions;

1) Was the RCD also the main breaker or is there another main breaker before or after the shore power switch? Not sure whether these RCD's can function as a mains breaker like the NA GFCI's.

2) Is there a separate RCD from the inverter circuit to the main panel? I realize that this circuit was existing and you just reused it.

3) Can you provide a simple wiring schematic including shorepower inlet, power supply to inverter/charger, main AC circuit from inverter and inverter circuit showing locations of switches, RCD's and main breaker if separate. No need to see anything downstream of the panel.

I installed a MV 4000w Inverter charger in our boat and had some of the same issues so I am curious to see how yours is configured with the RCD(s).
It seemed to me at the time that a 2nd RCD would be required on the inverter supplied circuit.

Also would your installation provide residual current protection for the Inverter/charger itself or do you rely on a dockside device? If so, what about power supplied via the generator?

Good questions.

The power comes in from the shore power inlet to the main panel, to an solenoid transfer switch which selects shore or generator. The output from the transfer switch originally went to the RCD, but the cable between the transfer switch and the RCD is what I cut. Now the output from the transfer switch is connected to input at the charger/inverter. Output of charger inverter goes back to the other cut end of the cable and so directly to the RCD.

The output from the RCD goes to the AC distribution panel.

So the RCD protects all the consumer circuits but does not protect the transfer switch nor charger/inverter, which rely on shore power podium.

[undercutter]

Not sure what model you have but went looking at the Victron site. They say that all the models above 3kva have 2 AC outputs. One switched and one unswitched. Do you use both AC outputs from the inverter?

I assume not as you haven't mentioned this.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by undercutter

Not sure what model you have but went looking at the Victron site. They say that all the models above 3kva have 2 AC outputs. One switched and one unswitched. Do you use both AC outputs from the inverter?

I assume not as you haven't mentioned this.

I do have two AC outputs, but one of them is a "load shedding" circuit which gets switched off on inverter power. It's intended for immersion heaters and the like.

I'm not using that one as I have so many heavy loads that it's not really worth the trouble to create this whole separate circuit.