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Sailboat Electrics Simplified
  Don't Be Baffled by Your Electrical System—Handle Repairs and Improvements with Ease
With clear illustrations and simple explanations, Don Casey shows you exactly how to install wiring . . . make good, safe connections . . . match your battery bank and alternator to your needs . . . troubleshoot problems quickly . . . avoid shore power problems . . . and more—all without a lot of technical jargon.
"Don Casey's book provides clear guidance on how to create and maintain a robust electrical system. Don's lucid explanations and numerous illustrations make what is normally mysterious and invisible--electricity--into something the reader is able to understand with confidence. An excellent addition to the sailor's seagoing library." —Chuck Hawley
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1. Safety First
Battery Acid | Containment | Spark | Explosive Gas | Fire | Corrosive Fumes | Fuse
Chapter 2. Understanding the Basics
Terminology: Amp | Volt | Ohm | Watt
Three-Part Harmony: Ohm's Law | Power | Load Calculations | Desert Algebra
Circuits: Not Like Water | Boys Will Be Boys | Polarity | Open and Closed | Series | Parallel | Extra Credit
AC/DC: Magnetism and Current | Current | Polarity | Loads | Voltage | Power Factor | Safety Revisited
Chapter 3. Battery
The Basic Cell: Fully Charged | Discharging | Fully Discharged | Charging | Gassing | Shedding | Plate Sulfation | Inefficiencies
Batteries: Internal Construction | Plate Thickness | Spongy Lead | Self Discharge | Starting or House?
Battery Choices: Automotive—Conventional Flooded | Maintenance-Free | Deep-Cycle | Gel Cell | Scales Don't Lie | Absorbed Glass Mat | Selection Chart
Capacity: Amp-Hours | Cycle Life | Weight and Amp-Hours | Cold-Cranking Amps | Marine-Cranking Amps | Reserve Minutes
Sizing Batteries: Load Calculation Redux | The Alternative to Bigger Batteries | House Bank | Starting Battery | Powering Inverters
Installation: Series | Golf-Cart Batteries | Parallel | Matching | Negative Ground | Temperature
Maintenance: Discharge | Recharging | Water | Clean and Dry | Terminal Corrosion | Voltage | SG and Voltage | Specific Gravity | Keep Records
Chapter 4. Wire
Wire Selection: Construction | Size | 10% Drop | 24 Volts | Insulation
Routing: High and Dry
Connections: Crimp Connectors | Crimping | Soldering | Tinning the Soldering Iron | Heat-Shrink | Bare Wires | Wire Nuts
Overload Protection: Fuses | Circuit Breakers | Sizing | Installing | Supply Side | Equipment Protection
Switches: SPST | DT | DP | Battery Selector
Neatness Counts: Labeling | No More Than Four | Terminal Strips | Junction Boxes | Right Angles | Spiral Wrap | Panel Location
Coax: Size | Construction | Connections | Weatherproofing | Backstay Connection
Copper Ribbon
Chapter 5. Circuits
Wiring Diagrams: Symbols | More about Ground
Circuitry Step by Step: Closed Circuit | Open Circuit | Overload Protection | Series | Parallel | Real World
Mapping Your Own Boat: AC Caution | WYSIWYG | Circuit Diagrams | Master Diagram | Layout Schematic | Signal Wires
Chapter 6. Troubleshooting
Signs of Trouble: Dimming | House of Cards | Sluggish Starting | Flickering | Blown Fuse | Ground Return | Heat | Odor | Heat Loss | Corrosion | Wet Wiring | Rat's Nest
Test Light: Make or Buy | Using a Test Light
Digital Multimeter: Digital vs. Analog | Auto Ranging | Polarity | Clamp-On Meters
Meter Fundamentals: Connecting Test Leads | Measuring Voltage | Measuring Current | Measuring Resistance (or Lack Thereof)
Troubleshooting with a Meter: Voltmeter Tests | Multimeter Connections | Zero Adjust | Checking Your Hydrometer | Extending Your Reach | Kirchoff's Law | Ohmmeter Tests | Masthead Lights | Changing Resistance | Ammeter Tests
Chapter 7. Charging Systems
Alternators: Output | Pulley Ratio | Sizing | Ignition Protection | Expecting Too Much
Regulators: Standard Regulator | Fooling the Regulator | Manual Controller | Three-Step Regulator | Equalization--The Fourth Step | Charging Gel Batteries
Alternator and Regulator Wiring: Output | Internal Regulation | Attached Regulator | External Regulation | Polarity | Excitation | Surge Protection
Alternator Maintenance: Belts | Connections | Bearings and Brushes
Troubleshooting Alternators and Regulators: Alternator Output | Regulator Faults | Excitation | Bypassing a Faulty Regulator | Diodes
Battery Switching: The Standard Way | Direct Alternator Connection | Fuse | Isolating Diodes | A Better Way
Solar Cells: Choices | Output | Uses | Installation | Turning the Panel Off for Installation | Troubleshooting
Wind Generators: Choices | Output | Mounting | Connections | Troubleshooting | Water Generators
Chapter 8. Alternating Current
Warning
AC Basics: Frequency | Voltage | Power Factor | Three-Wire System | The Grounding Wire | Wire Type and Size
At the Dock: Plug Types | Polarity | Polarity Tester
Shore-Power Connection: Inlet Fitting | Power Cord | Supply Wire | Main Breaker | Neutral and Ground
AC Circuits: Single Circuit | Dual Circuit | Breakers | Switch Panel | Polarity Tester | Routing AC Wiring | Junction Boxes | Outlets | Ground Fault Interrupt
The Green-Wire Controversy: The Danger | Testing the GFCI | Grounding the Green Wire | Cutting the Green Wire | Unplug | Galvanic Isolator | Isolation Transformer
Testing: Polarity | Grounding Wire | Isolated Ground | Green-Wire Connection | Ground and Neutral Separation | Ground Fault | Stray Current | Leakage
Inverters: Types | Waveform | Sizing | Load Realities | Battery Capacity | Connections | Location | Transfer Switch | Neutral and Grounding | Connection
Generators: Transfer Switch | Frequency
Chapter 9. Heaven and Earth
Lightning Protection: Lightning Rod | Static Dissipator | Cone of Protection | Wooden Masts | Ground | Freshwater Sailors Beware | Directing the Charge | Connections | Parallel Paths
Bonding: For Lightning Protection | For Corrosion Control | Isolating | Grounding | Testing for Isolation
RF Ground: Ribbon, Not Wire | Copper Screen | Stopping Direct Current
Lightning and Electronics: The Facts | Protective Measures
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PRODUCT DETAILS:- Publisher: International Marine — 1999
- Author: Don Casey
- Binding: Hardcover — 7½ x 9½ inches
- Pages: 176 — Over 300 b&w illustrations
- ISBN: 0070366497
Sailboat Electrics Simplified |
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