Drilled the first hole in my boat today! <installed USB charger port and fuse block>

[Julian]

I installed the fuse panel on the aft wall of the head/storage compartment on the port side.

Ahhhh....now I get it! That would be a shorter run!

 

[zipper]

@Julian Ya sorry no pic., at the moment, It would have said it all without all those words.

 

[Eric Ballard]

I finally added a 2 port USB charger to my side of the boat.

I cut a little more than i needed to on part of the dash. I'll fix that though; no one will sew it but me.

 

[DavisAR195]

I finally added a 2 port USB charger to my side of the boat.

I cut a little more than i needed to on part of the dash. I'll fix that though; no one will sew it but me.

How did you wire the plug?

 

[Julian]

How did you wire the plug?

Best thing to do is add a fuse panel behind the helm.

 

[Jmland]

I went with a blue sea 6 circuit with negative bus and cover just so I dont have to mess with it again!

Hi I have a question. I need to add a USB connection on the port side of my boat also. There is a light inside the bathroom of my boat that already has 12 volt can't splice into that for power source to USB USB draws little power as it is and it still will be fused Thank You

 

[Julian]

Hi I have a question. I need to add a USB connection on the port side of my boat also. There is a light inside the bathroom of my boat that already has 12 volt can't splice into that for power source to USB USB draws little power as it is and it still will be fused Thank You

Depends on how confident you are that the circuit in question is wired to handle the additional load. My dual USB port I added is 4.2 amps (2.1 X 2) - which is not a light load, but nothing like an inflator. I prefer to add my own panel with fuses so I know its wired right, and I HATE splicing wires. To me this is easier and safer.

 

[Jmland]

Depends on how confident you are that the circuit in question is wired to handle the additional load. My dual USB port I added is 4.2 amps (2.1 X 2) - which is not a light load, but nothing like an inflator. I prefer to add my own panel with fuses so I know its wired right, and I HATE splicing wires. To me this is easier and safer.

Thank You

 

[YamahaForMe]

4.2 amps at 5V.......should be less than half that at 12V, give or take the efficiency of the converter.

 

[dels]

Depends on how confident you are that the circuit in question is wired to handle the additional load. My dual USB port I added is 4.2 amps (2.1 X 2) - which is not a light load, but nothing like an inflator. I prefer to add my own panel with fuses so I know its wired right, and I HATE splicing wires. To me this is easier and safer.

@Julian , I am headed in that direction and this is my very first electrical mod on 12v. I have done a lot of electrical work at home and understand current, fuses and load, but I was wondering where you would tap the power for a fuse box? I know the safest bet would be to run a fresh cable run with a big amp fuse (60-100a) from the battery itself, but it feels a little overkill for which should not be more than a few lights, a VHF and a phone charger ultimately.

Also, between the charplotter, minn kota and the OLAS Guardian, the installers used the two ACC switches that were available on the boat... Any recommendation on how to proceed for that? I believe I will ultimately have to replace the switch panel, but at the moment I only want to add the phone charger, do you think it would be safe to add it on the same switch as the OLAS Guardian if I add an inline fuse?

Thanks for the help!

(Also, the pictures from this awesome post are now lost in time, I would have liked to see them )

 

[HangOutdoors]

@dels I would run the fresh run and get it out of the way. It is not bad. Run both positive and negative. If you use the duplex, it fishes through the boat clean and easily. Then you have room to grow rather than take apart. At least this is what I did a few weeks ago. Have everything labeled and clean. Make sure your Fuse Block has a negative terminal. You could also move some of your existing accessories if you like to it. For mine I put in a 60 amp circuit breaker back by the battery, about a foot away. Than ran everything under the helm. Different boat, same principle.

ANCOR Flat Duplex Wire by the Foot | West Marine

Amazon.com: YMHTD 60A Reset Fuse 20-150AMP Inline Circuit Breaker Reset Fuse Holder for Car Audio Marine Boat Inverter Replace Fuses 12V-24V DC Breaker Switch Overload Protection Fuse: Automotive

Amazon.com: Blue Sea Systems 6 Circuit Blade Fuse Block With Negative Bus 100 Amp Max Per Block 30 Per Circuit: Automotive

 

[Julian]

@dels I fixed the broken images (we lost 2 days of images a while ago and I keep finding and replacing them!)

I would do what HangOutdoors said....run a wire now and then you are ready when you want to add something else.

You could tap in, I'm just not a fan of doubling up on them.

 

[dels]

Excellent, thanks guys!

 

[Julian]

Excellent, thanks guys!

If you do decide to piggy back them....this is the sort of thing I would use:

Glarks 140pcs 22-16/16-14/12-10 Gauge Semi-Insulated Piggy Back Spade Quick Splice Crimp Terminals Connectors Assortment Kit: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

Glarks 140pcs 22-16/16-14/12-10 Gauge Semi-Insulated Piggy Back Spade Quick Splice Crimp Terminals Connectors Assortment Kit: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

www.amazon.com