Electrical System Upgrades

[EricDavis]

It appears that I've embarked upon the never ending project. I'm sure we have all experienced that especially owning a 47 year old sailboat.

I finally replaced the old 1976 120V fuses and ceramic holders with proper breaker panels. I also replaced all of the old outlets and added a few for convenience.


I also replaced the shore power outlet and plug, added a main shutoff breaker just inside the stern locker, and installed a galvanic isolator.

Once that was completed, I tackled the install of my new Victron Multiplus 3000 charger/inverter. I then ripped out my old rotten battery box and ground out the old fiberglass tabbing. Given the poor engine access to the port side of the engine, I decided to make the new battery box removable in case I needed better access to the starter or alternator.

I tabbed in wood block mounts:


Then through-bolted the box in place:



Once that was done, I reinstalled my four 3-year-old VMAX 6V 225AH AGM batter bank. The charge wires were upgraded to 4/0 and new fuses and switches were added to ensure proper charging, functionality, and safety. There was a lot to keep straight, but I have an electronics background, so that helped a lot.

I've done some tidying up since this picture, but here's a few from inside the port cockpit locker:

I also installed a Victron Energy BMV-712 batter monitor to keep an eye on things.

Once this was all done, I found out that my AGM batteries are toast. They were sulfated, so I desulfated them, but they still couldn't handle a load. Now I'm contemplating biting the bullet and buying two new VMAX LiFePo 12V 175AH batteries with a Victron DC to DC charger to share the alternator "juice" with the new house batteries.

The upside is that these new batteries will provide more capacity in the same space as two of the 6v AGMs. I can mount the DC to DC charger and better fuses in the space where the other two 6v AGMs were.

I'm new to the LiFePo scene, so I'm open to any suggestions from my fellow Pearson owners.

Eric Davis
S/V Pony On A Boat
1976 Pearson 365 Ketch