108. Can’t sleep? Watch this! Narrowboat electrics explained

[@andyince]

Being an electrical and mechanical engineer, I must say you explained ohms law very well there my friend!

[@keithmarr8759]

These vlogs you do jamies are very helpful to everyone who watches them. The information you put out there will help future boat builders like you. And you might think this is boring stuff but your a good teacher in explaining what you have to do next. Good job mate👍

[@pjhue6607]

As a carpenter i want to thank you for easing my mind on my greatest weakness Electricity

[@ChrisHawkswell]

Wow James, I’ve just bought my first ‘project’ boat, although thankfully it isn’t as much of a project as yours has been, but your channel is so amazingly helpful. Things like electrics scares the hell out of me and this has so helped explain it all to me in very simple language. Thanks mate, hopefully bump in to you in and around the London canals at some stage

[@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt]

Fantastic news Chris - great that some of this stuff is being useful / music to my ears mate. Always get in touch if you need anything and if I can help I will. Would be great to see you on the cut some day

[@lesgill8490]

Nothing dull about that, very informative, really enjoyed that. carry on and stay safe.

[@MsBluemoth]

That was actually really really interesting and useful to know with diagrams ect to help visualise so thank you for sharing this! A good tutorial 👍

[@robg3545]

No not too boring James, its interestesting seeing how you were planning that out. The water pipe analogy is good when explaining electrics. The Volts being water pressure, the current is the pipe diameter and resistance is the valve partially blocking the water, and the power is the ultimate flow rate. The thicker the wire, the lower the voltage drop, and the thinner your wallet.

[@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt]

Yes that analogy does work. The wallet thing is easily overcome by going nowhere near a marina or chandlery to buy cable

[@chrisabbott7458]

Not boring but a brilliant simple lesson in boat electrics. You should be given a slot at Crick boat show!

[@keithweybury5212]

Well done on the stove and the sound of your excitement when you lite the fire last vid was so good. Keith & Helen Melbourne Auzz.

[@neilbroome4941]

Hi James, worth fitting a single 240v socket inside the boat, you will find many uses for it even if you have no intentions of visiting a marina. Always better than a wire through a window!. Best Wishes. Neil and Anne.

[@susanleadbetter8639]

Not boring, don't apologise. Learnt and understood more than I did at school in the sixties 😂 . Hubby Dave new it . Sue

[@rotinkerbell]

It wasn't dull. I just watched you draw a big knob!!! It has made my day.

[@casaia]

Welcome to the narrow boat tha..zzzzz. Cheers for the content, James. Much love from Berlin.

[@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt]

Lol - love from England

[@mranthonye]

Very well put across James. Sounds like you have this in hand. Stay safe

[@helenhall3705]

Greetings from Australia . Your explanation of P=VI etc, warmed the heart of a retired physics teacher

[@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt]

Holy cow - that’s a compliment !!!!!!!!!!! I hope you guys are all well “down under” - btw way does that phrase annoy you - do you refer to the UK being “up over” ??

[@helenhall3705]

@@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt Hi James We are very well down under. 30+C and blue skies, how could we not be well 😉We are blessed that our geographic isolation has served us well over the last year. Never offended by the down under reference- that’s where we are relatively speaking. Keep well yourself and keep up the great work and entertainment

[@TheDaf95xf]

Morning James. Love the class room tutorial as it all makes perfect sense 👍🏻 You’d make a fantastic teacher as I even listened to it all lol 😆 Take care and thanks for a thoroughly informative video on wiring 😎

[@musictube250]

My wise uncle Ohm 🥸once told me ... “Always remember in life, that with great power ⚡️ comes current squared times resistance” 🤷‍♂️

[@cskeise]

That was very helpful information James... No need to be sorry. 💙👊😎

[@miketipping1583]

Have you considered going 24v and saving on the need for using thicker cable. Presumably, you'll have at least 2 pleasure batteries so they just need to be connected in series rather than parallel. Pretty much everything that is 12v can run on 24v and voltage drop isn't as big an issue. 24v means you get to use parts for the trucker market too which are often cheaper and better made. Who wouldn't want a huge truck horn on their boat!

[@MsVanorak]

that is my question - why are boats 12v at all? why not be the same as a house because household aqqliances are half to two thirds cheaper than 12v boaty things. does it drain more from the battery? does it need a greater expanse of solar panels? why - just why?

[@miketipping1583]

@@MsVanorak because the power needs to be stored in batteries that are DC and usually 12v so you need an inverter to convert to 230v AC and loose power in the conversion. Pumps and lights work well at 12v or 24v but the wiring is a lot cheaper at 24v

[@Slow-Will]

Thanks for posting this. I was wondering what you were up to. My two pennyworth is how about some reading lights in the bedroom? Easy access switch etc. Just a thought.

[@stevestrange2004]

Great explanation James Thanks, looking forward to the installation

[@makinganarrowboatwithnannyandg]

Well explained James. Not boring at all.

[@gary.lee.galbusera.butcher]

I think you deserve a Blue Peter badge for that explanation James 🤭🤣

[@steveroperfilms]

Good electrics refresher. Nice simple presentation style. I'm now waiting for the gasman to call. Cheers.

[@quebot1111]

Actually I understand this. My step father was a certified commercial electrician and he taught me all he knew so I’ve been able to rewire our house when needed.

[@clivew9207]

Very well put across James. I enjoyed it, but then it did take me back to early days at tech. college. That would have been when Noah was a boy. 😊 Must admit to being curious as to where you're going to site the Whale gulper switch as I though you said in an earlier vlog it wasn't automatic. Stay safe mate you're doing a great (or should I say grate job - no that job's finished.)

[@stevengoddard9185]

Very well done 👏

[@milliehillie931]

very useful stuff. Its one of the areas of NB owning i want to get to grips with so thank you

[@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt]

Oh good - I’m glad it’s been useful for someone !!!

[@theworth123]

That was not boring at all James, just what I was waiting for. Now lets see it put into action, without blowing a fuse or four.. Great vid..

[@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt]

If a fuse is blown straight off then that is a very bad sign

[@bigKDL]

Hi James enjoyed the school lesson on electrics thought I might say that you should wire your nav lights and tunnel lights to your starter battery through the ignition switch as they are only used when running so they take no power out of the leisure batterys that's how most boats are done and you can't forget to switch them off once you turn off the engine also I always fit thr horn in the engine bay saves loads of wire and you can still hear it

[@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt]

I’m using a handheld air horn - no where good to mount a horn on bow - couldn’t have it in stern as it would be mucked about with by the kids and one would deafen one no doubt. That will get me in a lot a trouble with the mother !!! No way - tunnel lights will be wired to leisure batts. These will occasionally be used in tunnels but will be mostly used for external lighting displays for amusement purposes - lol

[@bigKDL]

@@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt the boss made me get rid of my handheld air horn I have no idea why🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣👍

[@earlelf3142]

Quite a good explanation of ohms laws for DC. I can pass the test !

[@markkasprzak995]

Excellent job. I still think you should run three ac outlets down the port side. They could be hidden up with the water pipes. Glad to hear the gas man is on the way. Your moving right along

[@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt]

But then I would need an inverter which I don’t want. Also, why? Just so it would be easier to plug in a hairdryer or power tool - to be honest that’s not even worth it. One of the drawbacks of my system is obviously I can’t just charge my DeWalt 18v stuff but as an off-grid liveaboard then that’s exactly the kind of stuff I’ll need to plan for and work around. The other time to use 3 sockets is if I was on shore power but I could run an extension lead through the bulkhead for that purpose. Cheers Mark 👍🏼

[@markkasprzak995]

Not hooked to an inverter. It’s to plug directly into shore power. Then you can charge your DeWalt battery and other corded tools. There will be maintenance down the road. Use an extension cord from the shore power to the male end, in a waterproof box. Much like you do now, only permanent. Use cheap galvanized boxes and covers as they will be hidden. Just a thought for the future. Thanks for the reply James. Stay safe

[@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt]

@@markkasprzak995 oh ok I get ya. Yep that’s not a bad idea - I’ll consider

[@markkasprzak995]

An extension it is then. Crack on

[@markkasprzak995]

Kind of like running a permanent extension cord. I’m at work so sorry for the delay

[@foghornleghornish]

I've always wondered why there is so much cabling . Now I know. Candles are good, as are cold showers. Keep on truckin'. PS Those stove fans are lethal but very efficient. As my Dad would say, unforgiving, like concrete.

[@markphillips2076]

I've rewired the electrics in my sailboat, although at 19ft long I didn't have much of a issue with voltage drop. And the battery is in the middle of the boat. Electrical bliss compared to running 12v from one end of a 40, 50 or 60ft boat to the other.

[@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt]

You wouldn’t have much of an issue with batts in the middle of 20ft ! I’m not so fortunate

[@aj_bovangles_adventures4430]

How can something be so interesting but boring 🤣🤣🤣 great explanation I now understand that I dont understand electrics 🙃🙏

[@mat7671]

Thanks for the content, I've been binging on it during lock down. Is it not possible to have a common earth? Maybe even the boat body to return the charge? Could you not run a big positive cable to the front of the boat maybe with another fuse box and run smaller cables from that to the appliances?. Thanks again for the content I'll be up to present day soon 😊

[@davidtebbitt5537]

Hi. I've been looking on lots of forums, and most seem to agree that 2.5 to 3.00 mm cable will be ample for a pump as it is generally only used in short bursts..dont you think using 9.00 mm is rather overkill as most seem to think the extra cost is wasted. Thanks. Love the build.

[@philbrooke-little7082]

The point is that pumps use a lot more current as they build up pressure to the switch off point, if the cable has too much resistance then the voltage drops right off and, if the volts are a bit low in the batteries, the pump can either stall or struggle for ages to reach cut off pressure, it is this that leads to burnouts. It is a particular issue in pumps that claim to not need an accumulator as they have a built in ‘leak’ which further reduces their efficiency and leads to them failing to shut off if the volts at the pump are insufficient.

[@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt]

David, It makes no difference the length of time it’s on for. A kettle is not used for long either but draws a vast amount when it’s on. 9mm maybe a touch big, but it will certainly not be a waste. Ask them in a years time if their pump works perfectly.......

[@DEmma1972]

ahhhh....the neg to pos or pos to neg debate. From what I recall, military uses neg to pos and non military uses pos to neg. I dont think it matters for the most part as long as your whole system is wired the same way. I thought all the lighting would be on the same circuit as such and not individual pos and negs back to fuse box. In a house there will be a circuit for all the upstairs and a circuit for all the downstairs with 5-10 individual switches for the various rooms. The way you explained the intentions, it looked like you would be using 3 times as much cable. I obviously havnt fitted a boat out (yet) but glad to see you doing this. My thinking was the 12v battery bank fed into a 12v DC - 240v AC sine wave inverter which powered general plug sockets. Fridge and bilge pumps would be on a direct 12v ring. I really need to look into this lol.

[@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt]

Well there are many ways of doing boat electrics - this is one way. The 2.5mm2 cable for lights and most of the stuff is 23p a metre so one strip of the boat is £2 neg and £2 pos to the bow which is cheap to make sure it’s right

[@DEmma1972]

@@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt fair enough. I guess using your wiring plan you are also able to isolate each light ring individually from the back of the boat (fused area). I also thought marine wiring was a lot more expensive so your system makes more sense.

[@andyince]

@@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt you will find with leds if its switched on the neg it will still show a dull glow when off..... im not sure why this happens, i think its somthing to do with the cathodes in the leds.....

[@sarkybugger5009]

@@andyince Capacitive coupling between the + and - legs.

[@andyince]

@@sarkybugger5009 ahhhhhhh........ that makes sense! thanks mate :-)

[@gareysherrod3886]

Greetings, curious? what is your daytime job? Just started watching this Vlog , might cover that question....Winging it, Boating on a Budget is also doing a rebuild....You both bring this whole NB experience to life. Brilliant! Cheers, TTFN

[@edenfieldwarrior]

Might as well take a look, can’t quite get myself into the land of nod.

[@miketipping1583]

I know your water pump is in place so this is too late but I always wonder why the water pump is always by the tank in the bow. As you say the cabling to get power there is expensive but generally, the closest pressurised water need to the tank is the bathroom which is half-way down the boat. To my mind, it would be worth putting the pump and accumulator tank in the bathroom and on a larger boat save about 18 - 20ft of cable. In your case, you'll only save about 8ft so no big deal but... I guess there must be a reason beyond tradition.

[@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt]

There are some points in there - I reckon noise is a factor to consider. The bathroom is nearer the middle of the boat and the pump is annoying so having it as far away as possible will be quieter in the main cabin.

[@kilgoreds8749]

You had me at "Hello". You lost me at "Volts". Sadly, my school physics passed me by many moons ago.

[@spudgun9315]

🤯 mind blown, that vlog was "SHOCKING"......I know I know,that was a bad dad joke sorry. Keep up the good work James 👍

[@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt]

Good bad joke - keep ‘em coming

[@dmacisaac9382]

This is the sort of thing that makes husband excited , not so much me 😂 he's a military lineman

[@MsVanorak]

I liked it! I think in qictures so I can understand it from your lesson rather than it being in the same realms as medieval alchemy. Saved it to a qlaylist in fact! :)

[@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt]

Oh that’s great to know - thanks 🙏

[@Steve-ul6pe]

By the way, the stove looks great!

[@malcolmmagee3195]

Can you use relays on your boats 12V system. That will cut down on the cable sizing.

[@richardharvey4013]

Too many adverts for me during a very interesting conversation.

[@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt]

Noted - thanks

[@zackmacloud6214]

Hi James Have you got a launch date?

[@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt]

March the 1st

[@suecox2308]

Very clear explanation of things I've believed in the past to be basically operated by magic. (Not dull at all.) One question--Budget allowing, are there upper limits to the size of cable that's safe to use or can you just use the largest cable you can find?

[@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt]

There’s no limit as such apart from space and connectors. A thicker cable flexes less so for bends etc it’s harder. Also the connectors used to attach to stuff has heat shrink over them and the connectors are fairly small so your cable would need to fit snuggly inside the metal connector - so a really thick cable would either fit in or would require much bigger and bulkier connectors which again would pose issues.

[@TairnKA]

Unless you own an early MG (positive ground) ;-) The package (FedEx) is my first of several chores tomorrow.

[@J1mbo888]

"Top Electrifying" Young James.

[@EnyawYorlig]

I remember Ivy Watts. IxV=W

[@hereward6771]

That was a shocker. I thought the idea was to keep adding batteries until it works.

[@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt]

Oh yeah that would work too - just a pricey way of doing it

[@hereward6771]

@@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt I thought I was joking! It's good to know, though. Great channel; engaging and informative.

[@meettheparents3489]

Wow, James ... don’t remember you ever getting A+ for Physics at school! What happened?

[@nateuk2542]

Brilliant 👍

[@sarkybugger5009]

Hi James. I'm still up. ;o) Is there such a thing as 9mm cable? I think standard sizes are 1.5, 2.5, 6, and 10mm. 10 mil cable is going to sting. Don't forget that the tunnel and running lights will only be on when the engine is running, which should give 13.5+ volts at the battery, if your alternator is up to snuff. LED lights are generally happy with 12 volts. All the best, mate.

[@jimm7165]

Don't apologise for the Geekfest. I love a good geekfest!

[@brusharp]

Do you need to use marine cable? Do you ground (earth) negative to the hull? At the dist. panel or throughout? Are your switches different for 12 volt than for home? Geeks want to know!

[@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt]

Tri-rated cable - some will be marine grade - stuff outside mainly. Negs connected to hull at one point only. Not throughout as it would encourage corrosion. Yes my switches are different - small but they’ll work as someone found me who makes amazing housings and displays for them.

[@Narrowboathands_]

No negs to hull. Deffo a set up for galvanic corrosion . Dc is worse than mains earth for galvanic corrosion. Use a junction box mate. .......paul

[@philneale3358]

9mm cabling for water pump ? Is there such a size .

[@dodgygeezah4707]

So, unlike a car's electrics, you can't connect the ground wire from the battery to the steel hull of the boat and then do likewise for the ground wire for any appliances you subsequently connect?

[@michaelburns6197]

It is generally a good idea to go up a cable size if in doubt but you can be limited by the size of the terminals on circuit components. You don't want to be adding any unnecessary connections or cutting out strands. I presume you are using multi-strand cable rather than solid. Are you using tinned strand cable?

[@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt]

Absolutely re: connectors. Yes multi-stranded - so lengths will be tinned but not lighting.

[@TheDemon190]

James why not have negative earth like a car for a lot of it

[@Steve-ul6pe]

Hi James, it didn’t bore me at all but then again I am a bit of a nerd (retired embedded computer software engineer) and had to play around with electronics all the time. Just a thought, don’t forget the wires for the bow horn. Will you have an inverter for some mains voltage?

[@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt]

No inverter and compressed air horn

[@terencekelly5050]

WHAT you mean you don't use 6 inch nails for fuses anymore?

[@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt]

I know - apparently there are now safer ways of doing things - who knew

[@m.ketch2282]

I stayed awake

[@lindashaw8915]

Thank you professor...will this be an open book test ?..pls !...

[@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt]

Yeah ok - you can cheat and have the book open !!

[@petehills7626]

Glad it’s not just me that knows ohms law lol

[@TairnKA]

I dropped it off at FedEx and should be delivered to you "this" Thursday. I'll try to track it to see it reaches you. ;-)

[@NarrowboatWill]

Very interesting sir James but not candy crush commercials.

[@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt]

I don’t think I have any control over the quality of the ads. If I do - please advise then I’ll just have ads about home brewing, engines and drone footage of ports

[@johncase7564]

What are you going to do about a hot water supply? You have not mentioned it in either the gas set up or electric.

[@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt]

The details are being finalised as we speak - that will be explained next week

[@midwestconcertvideo]

I told my wife that there would be a quiz. She said that she didn't care as there would be no consequences if she failed.

[@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt]

We need to find something that she likes to view......hook her in......let me know

[@midwestconcertvideo]

@@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt Oh she's a dedicated viewer, every evening when we sit down to watch stuff, she says "Is there a new James?" But in spite of me having done electrical and electronics since long before we met 39 years ago, I've utterly failed in getting her to understand watts, amps and volts. On the other hand, I'm happy to know it's not just me.

[@chromdom9301]

I am not very familiar with composting toilets, but I thought that they needed the fans to run pretty close to always on. Does the fan need a switch?

[@bigKDL]

Firstly they are dry not composting toilets to compost it takes a minimum of a year the dry toilet is just to collect the waste you can compost it at a later date but not in the dry toilet as for a fan some have one fitted but in reality they are not needed.

[@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt]

What big said. Fan maybe a little bit but not much

[@chromdom9301]

@@bigKDL Ah, I think I understand better now. Thanks!

[@mrPaullau]

Resistance............ Is futile.

[@Hornerslovechild]

Dude it's 2 o'clock go to sleep

[@stevefrost3509]

What’s with all the adds

[@TheCarpentersDaughterUK]

Happy to see ads if it means James is monetized for sharing free content.

[@pocketchange1951]

👍👌🇨🇦❤

[@5tevec368]

yawn, get a grip pal, far too much time wasted on Google.