Electrical - Page 3 of 17 - Practical Sailor

A New Spin on Dependable Crimps and Splices

Electrical November 15, 2016

Our test focused primarily on the small-wire connections tensile strength, with and without solder, but we also looked at their durability under tough environmental...

Small Wire Connections: Part II

Electrical November 11, 2016

Connecting two standard-size wires is pretty straightforward: Grab a ratchet crimper, adjust it to fit the crimp connector, strip the two wires to fit...

Monitoring Your Marine Battery Bank

Electrical September 16, 2016

Two recent tests graphically demonstrated the importance of monitoring state of charge in a boats batteries: Tracking Batteries, in the May 2015 issue and...

Testing Marine Battery Monitors

Electrical September 15, 2016

Our test gear comprised a ProMariner ProNautic 12-40P battery charger; West Marine-branded, flooded-cell, deep-cycle battery with a 75-amp hour rating; and two 120-volt, 70-watt...

A Smart, Easy Way to Rewire

Electrical June 15, 2016

Running the wires for new electronics requires your best cursing vocabulary, lots of sweat, twisting body contortions, luck, and the occasional bandage. For tips...

AGM Batteries Test Update

Electrical July 16, 2015

In our recent test of absorbed glass mat (AGM) batteries, we cycled five different batteries through 30 deep cycles to 11.7 volts but only...

Watering Batteries

Electrical July 16, 2015

Our May 2015 report on absorbed glass mat (AGM) batteries got us thinking about wet cell-batteries. While it is easy to find distilled water...

Whats the Voltage for Charging Gel Cells?

Electrical May 14, 2015

I just received the latest Waypoints e-letter about gel batteries, where you state they must be charged at no more than about 14.1 volts....

Heart Replacement

Electrical March 17, 2015

Sixteen years ago, contributing writers Joe and Lee Minick equipped their Mason 43, Southern Cross, with a Heart Interface Freedom 20 charger/inverter and a...