Marine Applications for C-Bus

Discussion in 'C-Bus Wired Hardware' started by FPHA, May 28, 2008.

  1. FPHA

    FPHA

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    Interested to know if anyone has used C-Bus on boats or yachts. If so what is the feedback, are there any issues / pitfalls to consider.

    Cheers

    fpha
     
    FPHA, May 28, 2008
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  2. FPHA

    Duncan

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    I seem to recall the Gerards used C-Bus on a charter fishing boat up in Darwin.. I might be wrong but even the name of the boat was a play on words.. "Sea Bus"..

    No useful info for you though, sorry. :)
     
    Duncan, May 28, 2008
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  3. FPHA

    Mr Mark

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    It may be the same boat, but we have worked on one of Gerards boats in FNQ. The issue we saw was loosening of some terminals due to vibration. Apart from that, all good as the output units were still the older box style.
     
    Mr Mark, May 28, 2008
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  4. FPHA

    froop

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    Not a sea-faring vessel, but a friend of mine a couple of years ago fitted out a bus with C-bus. Did a full coastal circuit round Oz before he sold it. The trickiest part, as could be expected was using the standard dimmers. He ended up doing it by running a true-sine 240v commercial sized UPS off a bank of car batteries.
     
    froop, May 28, 2008
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  5. FPHA

    PSC

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    WOW!!!

    A Sea C-Bus and a C-Bus Bus...
     
    PSC, May 28, 2008
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  6. FPHA

    froop

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    How could I have missed that joke... dammit! :)
     
    froop, May 29, 2008
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  7. FPHA

    znelbok

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    We have seen what is sometimes called tropicalised versions of electrical equipment. These basically have a thick lacquer sprayed on them to protect against corrosion and moisture. A true tropicalised piece of gear will probably have thicker larger tracks on the PCB as well, but that will not be an option here.

    It may be prudent to either contact CIS for a special or if you can, pull the units apart and spray them with an approved lacquer (which will probably void the warranty).

    I have also noticed that my solar HWS also has a coating on it to make it more suitable for outdoor situations.

    Mick
     
    znelbok, May 29, 2008
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  8. FPHA

    ashleigh Moderator

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    What you describe is known as a Conformal Coating.

    Debate has raged in the electronics business about whether these are good or bad. If not applied properly, the minute gaps in the coating can lead to moisture being sucked under the coating by capillary action. If this happens the result is worse than having no coating at all.

    Which is better - to coat, or not to coat... this is the subject of arguments and conjecture :rolleyes:
     
    ashleigh, May 29, 2008
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  9. FPHA

    tobex

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    I would have thought that trickle current drain would be a major load on a boat. The standby current on C-Bus is not trivial. Then again I dont know the design of the system to know what the size is. Are we talking about something Bill Gates owns or something that never raises an eyebrow. Are you using bus-couplers or the whole 240V system.

    In either case you can merge an alarm panel and C-Bus to handle load switching. Then also take into consideration that C-Bus is not designed to manage batteries and inverters so you will need power regulation.

    The Greg Norman yachts were build with leading edge designs and control interfaces and those are rented out as luxury floating hotels.

    If the final value of the vessel is less than 100K I wouldnt bother.
     
    tobex, May 30, 2008
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