As I have twelve 2V 840Ah batteries on board, the obvious approach was to trickle charge them, overnight and when I'm not there, to have oodles of power when I need it.
So the priority was to construct the engine room bulkhead - a frame of 2" square ash and boarded with 14mm T&G. I had pre-made the ash components in the workshop, so it was a relatively simple matter to assemble the components and fix in place.
Next, on with the T&G boarding...
This is taken from the engine room side, after the first coat of varnish. Next job was to locate and hang the various major electrical components: inverter, consumer unit, solar controller, Victron colour display, Sterling A2B charger, etc.
An electrician friend came down for a few hours and installed an RCD in the Potter's locker (to protect the incoming shoreline), wired up the consumer unit and put in a couple of double sockets, one at each end of the boat. I feel happier now that all the AC is properly protected.
I had an issue with the big battery bank failing to deliver any useful current. It turned out to be one slightly dodgy connection on a battery interlink, now resolved.
With the basic 230V stuff sorted, it was time to turn my attention to the 24V DC cabling. At this point, it's worth explaining that the back of the engine room bulkhead forms the inside of what will be the airing cupboard. This gives a great opportunity to hide a lot of the wiring.
The 155Amp 28V alternator has been removed and wired up...
... and re-installed. This was followed by the busbars, megafuse and 24V distribution panel. This needed a little box making, due to the depth of the fuses and wiring.
With the inverter connected and the battery bank fully charged, it was time for the acid test - a full burn cycle of the Cinderella toilet, purely under inverter power. (This featured in an earlier blog, but in essence, the whole electrical system has been designed to allow repeated use of the toilet, without recourse to the generator or starting the engine.) So I unplugged the shore power and started the toilet operating.
After 50 minutes, the toilet stopped incinerating and went into the cooling phase. Success! The only evidence of its operation was the quiet fan noise and the inverter running its cooling fans during peak load. I'm delighted that the system has passed this aggressive test with flying colours!
It will now be a simple matter to install the toilet: a 13A plug and some plastic 4" pipe out through the roof vent.
I will admit to looking slightly smugly at other boaters, when they are struggling with their poo-laden cassettes, on their way to the Elsan point. I am also very pleased that I won't have to find room for a massive sewage storage tank. I have every confidence now, that this toilet system will be the gold standard of the future.
The Cinderella toilet is available from https://www.leesan.com/shop/all-toilets/incineration-toilets
I now have the hydraulic crimper for the big 70mm cables and connectors, so that's the next job...
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