My "newb" questions begin. :) Electronics, the panel, and related arrive/depart proceedures

[YeOldeStonecat]

So I've searched like mad for a proper owners manual for the boat we just got a few weeks ago (see sig). Apparently during the mid or late 90's...Sea Ray just made a generic "Cruisers" manual to cover a broad range of models, nothing specific to our '97 300DA.

But a lot of my questions likely aren't in a manual anyways, as I'm sure many of your experienced owners have your own preferences, I'd love to hear them and the logic behind them.

*Connecting/Disconnecting the Ship to Shore yellow power cord. Any firing order? So far I've been doing the "when connecting, power on dock side first, flip button on boats panel to Shore power last". And reverse when unplugging to take off.

**I take it leaving shore power on while you're gone is a good thing, lets the AC run.

*Speaking of the AC, she doesn't appear to work while we're away from dock under power? Guessing engines/alternator/batteries don't have enough nut for that. We do not have a genny.

*There is a button on the panel called AC Converter...so far I leave that on all the time. Good/bad? General reason/purpose for this switch?

*Button on the panel called "Waste System Control..Discharge"...I take it that's literal, pushing that button will have it pump out the septic tank overboard? (I'll remove that paddle button if that's the case..never want to see that hit by accident!).

*Those big round red battery switches behind the Captains helm, two of them, one of the left with just on/off, and one of the right with what appears to be 4 selections..Off, 1, Both, 2. So far I have been leaving those both on (and second one on both). When we had the engine worked on last week by the yard mechanic, he left them "off"..and the office told us he does that. Generally when do you use those? When swapping/replacing batteries or working on the engines I'm guessing is one reason. But otherwise...?

*We notice the fridge seems to not work well while out underway. Up at the helm there is a button for the fridge, guessing that's to turn it onto battery power but we haven't noticed it work well even when flipping that switch on. Guessing soon as we return to the dock and flip to shore power that automatically puts full 110 back to the system.

*The switch panel at the helm...I turn all off when we leave. I generally only have Water system on when we're on the boat for the weekend..at the dock.

*Dock water hose...sometimes I connect that to take the work load off the water pump, I do my best to always turn that off before I leave to head home.

 

[Lazy Daze]

As far as the use of electrical systems go, download a manual from a newer - say mid-'00's - Sundancer. They have more info in them and it's all the same. But... here's some opinions (and a few facts!):

-- Shore power... as long as you don't have any appliances "on" when disconnecting or connecting, you'll be fine. As the boats got newer, Sea Ray even started putting a "cheat sheet" for shore power use/disconnect/etc right near the electrical panel. You may be able to, if you want, order that cheat sheet from your dealer - it's not model specific... or at least, it wouldn't matter.

-- Some leave it on all the time, others don't. I leave my house AC running when I leave home...

-- Any 120V appliance like AC or microwave only works when connected to shore power (they are "120V" appliances, not "12v"). It won't work when you're away from the dock... unless you have a really long extension cord.

-- Discharge... find out, first, if you actually have a macerator or discharge pump. Panels are generic. If you do, there should be a seacock that is ALWAYS in the closed position (it "may" have an electrical interlock switch, as well) until you're ready to discharge. Plus, you can not discharge unless you're in a legal discharge zone off the coast.

-- Battery switches. There should be some info in the manual about this, but generally speaking... the on/off switch is one of the engines while the 4-position switch covers the other engine and the "house". If you have (3) batteries down there, you should see that (2) of them are wired in parallel to each other. This should be the bank that is controlled by the 4-position switch.

-- Unless you're running 12V appliances when you leave the boat, there is no reason to leave the switches ON. It's best practice to turn them off. Your bilge pump(s) and battery charger will still work. Do leave your battery charger ON when you leave, though. FYI... it may be labelled "Converter".

-- If the fridge is a dual voltage (who knows what has been done by previous owners over it's almost 22-year lifespan) it should work via 120V and 12V. But you must switch on the appropriate circuit for it to work.

-- It's best to turn off the water when you leave. No need to tempt fate and a have a water leak... it's best to keep water on the OUTSIDE of the boat!

 

[Bt Doctur]

Connecting/Disconnecting the Ship to Shore

Think about , pedestal power last to connect because you really dont want to fall overboard holding onto a hot plug in the water

Anything plugged into the outlets only works on shore power, a generator, or a high capacity inverter

Discharge, per LD, read the regs

Battery switches , depends on how your wired , most times it 1 and 1 ,

There have been more dock sinkings from AC pumps and city water input. Best to turn both off

 

[Boater420]

I'd like to elaborate on the refrigerator question.

The refrigerator in your boat runs on dual current...AC/DC. It senses what current is available and switches itself to utilize the available current. It first checks the AC by default, if there is no current it switches to DC to utilize the batteries on the boat.

There are two sections to your electrical panel, AC and DC. There should be a breaker in each section for your refrigerator. When you're using shore power (AC), you should have the refrigerator breaker in the AC section turned on, when away from the dock, you should have the refrigerator breaker in the DC section turned to the on position.

Let's say that you have the AC breaker "on" and the DC breaker "off" while you're away from the dock. The refrigerator checks to see what power is available. It first checks the AC and sees there is no current, so it automatically switches to DC current. Normally this would keep your refrigerator working, however since you have the DC breaker for the fridge turned off, there is also no DC current available so your refrigerator remains turned off and fails to continue cooling.

This is what might be happening. You say it doesn't seem to work away from the dock. It might be because the DC breaker is off, it might also be weak batteries, or it might be the control that checks for available current that's not making the switch properly.

Check the breakers first to see if that's the problem.

 

[Steve S]

As mentioned above, for AC power the pedestal is the last to connect. I also verify the pedestal breaker is OFF before either connecting or disconnecting anything.

As for leaving the AC on, both of my boats (2000 models) had a dehumidify setting that was accessed by pressing “Cool, Heat and Fan” on the temp control panel at the same time.

Here on the Great Lakes the sea cock for waste discharge must be closed and secured with wire ties or have the handle removed. Big fines from the Coast Guard otherwise.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Thanks for taking the time everyone..much appreciated!

Here's a pic of my panel. I have no AC/DC "sides"..but when you mention DC switches..that must be the panel up at the helm?

 

[wrvond]

One thing you need to know - do NOT switch batteries while the engine is running. If you want to switch from one to both, for example, make sure the engine is shut down first. Otherwise you will damage your alternator.

 

[wrvond]

Don't worry too much about that macerator switch. Down in the engine compartment is a 'Y' valve that must be set to the "discharge" position before you can actually pump overboard.

 

[skibum]

*Connecting/Disconnecting the Ship to Shore yellow power cord. Any firing order? So far I've been doing the "when connecting, power on dock side first, flip button on boats panel to Shore power last". And reverse when unplugging to take off.

The number one thing to remember is always connect the end of the cord to the boat first and then walk the other end to the pedestal and plug it in. If you plug into the pedestal first you run the risk of dropping the other end into the water while it's hot.

Other than that there should be two switches, a breaker near where the cord plugs into the boat, and a switch on the main AC panel inside the cabin. Make sure they are both off while connecting the cord. After the cord is connected, turn on the breaker near the cord, and then the switch on the AC panel. Reverse the process to disconnect. AC panel off, breaker near cord off, disconnect cord from pedestal, disconnect cord from boat.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Other than that there should be two switches, a breaker near where the cord plugs into the boat, and a switch on the main AC panel inside the cabin.

Thanks for mentioning the breaker switch near the "shore power in"....I have not seen that yet, I'll have to lay down and look up under there better this weekend and find it!

 

[skibum]

I was using my phone and didn't see some of the previous replies before I answered. Sorry for the duplicate info. If there is a breaker near your shore power in, it might be in a little white box with a flip up cover. It can be easy to miss.

 

[Stee6043]

Don't worry too much about that macerator switch. Down in the engine compartment is a 'Y' valve that must be set to the "discharge" position before you can actually pump overboard.

That's not always the case. My '99 340 had a macerator and there was no Y-valve. The thru-hull for the macerator was 100% independent of the rest of the plumbing. If the ball valve is open all you need to do is hit the switch and you're pumping poop....for better or for worse.

 

[wrvond]

That's not always the case. My '99 340 had a macerator and there was no Y-valve. The thru-hull for the macerator was 100% independent of the rest of the plumbing. If the ball valve is open all you need to do is hit the switch and you're pumping poop....for better or for worse.

Fair enough. Whether is it a 'Y' valve or a ball valve, there should be some kind of mechanical valve to prevent the accidental overboard discharge of waste. I don't think it is necessary for the OP to go to the extreme of removing the control circuit (or breaker) for the macerator, simply identify and close the valve.

 

[bobeast]

I don't leave my HVAC running when I leave the boat, but I DO leave shore-power connected and on. This keeps the fridge running and more important, the battery charger charging. One thing not mentioned; NEVER leave city-water connected when you are away from the boat.

 

[JVM225]

I don't leave my HVAC running when I leave the boat, but I DO leave shore-power connected and on. This keeps the fridge running and more important, the battery charger charging. One thing not mentioned; NEVER leave city-water connected when you are away from the boat.

I do the same, and I never leave city water connected to boat when I’m not there. In fact, I rarely use the city water hook up at all. Instead, I use the fresh water tank and just keep filling it. There are two benefits to this.
1. You don’t have to worry about disconnecting a city water hose before I leave the boat.
2. It keeps the fresh water tank fresh. We still never drink the water from the fresh water tank, opting for water bottles instead, but we do use it for showers, washing dishes, etc., and it’s nice to know nothing funky is going on with it.

 

[JVM225]

That's not always the case. My '99 340 had a macerator and there was no Y-valve. The thru-hull for the macerator was 100% independent of the rest of the plumbing. If the ball valve is open all you need to do is hit the switch and you're pumping poop....for better or for worse.

My current boat is set up the same way. No “Y” valve.