24 volt cabin electrics

[sleigh]

A work collegue has asked me to have a quick look at a boat he's interested in.

It's got listed in spec sheet 24v cabin electrical system.

Points for and against pls experts

[Detling]

I have never seen a 24 volt radio or telly but lots of 12 volt ones. In the days of halogen lamps putting 2 in series reduced the current for the same light output thus leading to lower volt drop on the wiring, if they have been replaced by LED lights, as they should have been, this is not really an issue. Now days most other cabin stuff is 240V ie food mixer/liquidiser, toaster etc even the charger for the vacuum cleaner. A 24 volt fridge is easier to wire than a 12 volt fridge, irrelevant if the boat has a 240 volt fridge.

[Chewbacka]

You can use thinner cables for the same % voltage loss with 24v compared to 12v, or you can use the same gauge cables and loose less power in the wiring. So the cables for big power consumers like the inverter, fridge (if DC) and pumps can be thinner and so lower cost.

LED lighting is not very sensitive to small volt drops and so dim lights are less of an issue.

Most of the advantages are related to installation costs and less bulky wires if that bothers you.

 

Disadvantages are more related to availability of 24V things like TV and radio, but if fitted with a 240V fridge the inverter will be on and a 240V tv is often used.

[Onewheeler]

Plenty of 24V gear for the lorry driver market, sometimes cheaper than consumer stuff. Look on Ebay - radios etc no problem. Some so-called 12V electronics (I'm thinking phone chargers) are fine on 24 V, but you might need to be careful if the outlets are the awful "cigarette lighter" type.

[Alan de Enfield]

Morning Keith - got your text. Have you left the 'package' with Jayne ?

 

Re your question I would suggest that (in my limited opinion) once the installation is done there are little, or no, benefits to 24v.

The downside is the ready availability of 'parts / spares'. It is unlikely that any (many) canal/river side chandlers will have 24v bulbs, TVs, pumps, etc.

 

No big problem if you are prepared with everything you may need.

[Keith M]

More and more chandleys now stock 24 and 28 lamps

 

 

Keith

[ditchcrawler]

Most, not all LEDs are something like 10-30 volt, not the ones from DIY stores, they are normally 12 volt.

[mrsmelly]

A work collegue has asked me to have a quick look at a boat he's interested in.

It's got listed in spec sheet 24v cabin electrical system.

Points for and against pls experts

 

Availablity of bits if needed quickly. As a for instance we know stuff can be got easily within 24 hrs overtinternet nowadays but out on the cut may be different.

There is a small chandlery dept in the shop attached to my caff here at the boatyard I popped in to look after your thread if you pulled up with a knackered water pump there are some on the shelf all are 12 volt also 12 volt qulper etc. There are 12 volt alternators here and funnily enough 12 v batteries non are 24 ( only kidding ) but I am sure you get the picture. On the two boats I skippered on the Trent one had 12 volt starter motors and one had 24 volt and some other 24 volt kit. The only difference we found was getting bits, there was know discernable difference between the two systems as to operating. Jump starting 12 volt needs one battery jump starting 24 volt needs two etc etc.

[alan_fincher]

You can use thinner cables for the same % voltage loss with 24v compared to 12v, or you can use the same gauge cables and loose less power in the wiring. So the cables for big power consumers like the inverter, fridge (if DC) and pumps can be thinner and so lower cost.

LED lighting is not very sensitive to small volt drops and so dim lights are less of an issue.

Most of the advantages are related to installation costs and less bulky wires if that bothers you.

 

Assuming we are talking a fairly high power inverter, it would be a fairly odd installation that didn't place the inverter close to the battery bank. If the cables feeding it are only a metre or so long, having to provide fatter ones for a 12 volt inverter than a 24 volt inverter is hardly an issue, or a major difference in expense.

 

I'm refitting a 72 foot boat, so the longest cable runs possible on a canal boat. The only cabling that I have that needs to be quite beefy is for fresh water and waste pumps, (we don't have a 12 volt fridge). If I cared about full light output then headlamp would also need fairly heavy cable to avoid volts drop. The current one doesn't use heavy cable though, and is bright enough, so although I will provide better cabling, i see no need to go for really heavy stuff. Just thank me that I will not be the one blinding you in tunnels!

 

 

[ditchcrawler]

Mine is 24 volt, it seemed a good idea at the time. If I did it again I would probably go 12 volt

[DHutch]

We're 24vdc, works fine. Bilge pumps, fresh water, lighting, fridge, inverter, usb power outlet are all very available. A lot now use 240vac fridges etc anyway. Cables become more reasonable. But them 12v also works and it more common.

 

What's the engine/alternator?

 

 

Daniel