Rewire!

Valentine has had an electrical makeover!  It all began before we had even picked Valentine up, as Peter had told us that the battery needed to be replaced.  So, after a bit of research, I found a nice shiny new battery for her:  a 22mAh mobility scooter type.  Once she was safely settled into her new home I looked at the wiring and decided that an upgrade was needed.  Salt water and copper don't mix happily, especially when electricity is added!  The solar panel cable had the tiniest of nicks in the insulation which had let water in and turned the shiny copper-coloured metal into dull black copper oxide...which does not conduct electricity!  So, starting at the stern where the solar panel is located I stripped all the cable out and replaced it with marine standard cable which has a coating over the copper to prevent corrosion.  The battery had been located well forward, which doubled the length of cable required.  At low voltages cable length is critical so I decided to relocate the battery to a safe, dry location under the junction box.  This entailed another Sketchup design to get a battery box to fit the cuddy under the junction box.  An upgraded solar charge controller, salvaged from our recently sold motorhome, completed the solar refit.  Finally, a battery monitor was added alongside new USB sockets to replace 2 of the 3 12v car sockets.