Archive for the ‘New Products’ Category

BEP’s New Coutour Zone – State of the Art

April 14th, 2010 by Kevin Hannula and Nick Kroes

BEP Marines CZONE™ is a state-of-the-art networked power control and monitoring system it has been designed to integrate and simplify on board electrical and mechanical systems and improve the boating experience.

The system has significant benefits to the OEM
Compared to typical circuit breaker installations CZONE™ relocates the circuit control and protection devices closer to the loads thus shortening cable runs, this equates to a reduction in the cost, complexity and weight of the marine electrical/boat wiring.The CZONE™ system through its simple plug and play connection system provides savings in installation time.

CZONE™ offers an extremely high level of versatility and integration:

  • Control AC and DC loads with built in circuit protection
  • Monitor multiple Tanks
  • Monitor multiple AC and DC power systems
  • Programmable timers, dimmers, alarms, load shedding and more
  • All controllable from one of the intuative display interface

The CZONE™ system is made up of multiple input and output interfaces that are networked together on a CAN bus. CZONE™ can consist of a single interface or a multi bus control and monitoring system, CZONE™ is the only system on the market that, affordably, caters to the needs of vessels ranging in size from 25 to 100 feet in length

Configuration
The system can be modified or updated via the Display module or the extremely user friendly CZONE™ configuration program. If a module is damaged a replacement unit can simply be plugged in place of the old device the system will automatically configure the new module.

Designed to withstand the harsh physical nature of the marine environment
The design of CZONE™ was undertaken utilizing the highest quality, proven components and innovative protective circuitry providing a robust reliable on board power control and monitoring system.

CZONE™ is the only power control and monitoring system which can interface with a third party multifunction marine electronic navigational displays.

Posted in Boat Wiring, Circuit Protection, Cruisers, Gauge Panels, Harnesses, MarineAcDc Forum, New Products, Signaling Devices | Comments Off

Kenyon All Seasons Grill – Great for All Seasons

December 15th, 2009 by Kevin Hannula and Nick Kroes

The days of lugging heavy bags of charcoal or tanks of gas to enjoy grilled food are gone. The Kenyon Custom All Seasons Electric Grill provides a safe method of grilling without the hazard of open flames associated with propane gas or charcoal grills. Simply touch the On/Off circle and then raise or lower the heat setting by pressing the + or – graphic on the sealed moisture proof ceramic glass panel and you are instantly cooking. The touch control activates the concealed heating element while providing visual indication of the heat setting. The nonstick grate imparts characteristic barbeque grill markings while sealing in the flavor and juices. A concealed electric element eliminates grease flare-ups while providing a controlled heat source. The non-stick grate and optional griddle are easily removed for cleaning between grilling. Also included is a disposable grease tray. The Kenyon All Seasons Grill is constructed of 304 stainless steel and is backed by the Kenyon three year warranty.

Kenyon also offers the built in Frontier and Rio versions of the All Season Grill. Their quality stainless steel constructions makes them idea for the marine environment. Electrically, these units connect to your boat wiring similar to a normal electric cooktop. Installing one on your boat would not be the simplest marine electrical project, but not the most difficult either.

Posted in Boat Wiring, Cruisers, New Products, Runabouts | Comments Off

New Gauge System From Faria Instruments

December 12th, 2009 by Kevin Hannula and Nick Kroes

The Faria Bus system is the next generation in marine electrical engine monitoring instrumentation. This system gives the boat builder a Digital Stepper Motor driven instruments with all of the accuracy that today’s engine ECUs provide. The Faria Bus system connects directly to a wide variety of engine protocol buses. Yet the boater sees only the simple to read, streamline gauges that they are accustomed to seeing.

Tachometer and Speedometer are available in 5-inch and 4-inch sizes, with and without Warning Lights. Discrete functions are displayed on 2-inch systems gauges or can be combined into a Multifunction gauge.

Features:

  • Single twisted pair wire connects all gauges
  • Serial Bus reliability
  • Connectorized cases
  • Waterproof connectors
  • Can digitally display information
  • Available in many Faria styles
  • Simplified boat wiring
Posted in Boat Wiring, Cruisers, Gauge Panels, Harnesses, Harnesses-Dash, New Products, Pontoons, Runabouts, Signaling Devices, Switch Panels | Comments Off

Boat wiring resource for boat owners

August 27th, 2008 by Kevin Hannula and Nick Kroes

Everyone at Marine Ac/Dc is very excited about the recent launch of EzAcDc. These guys could easily become the internet’s premier source for boat wiring systems and marine electrical components. Even with just their initial offering, they appear to be an excellent resource for boat owners.

EzAcDc offers engineered boat wiring solutions including:

We recommend their products and services without reservation.

Posted in Boat Wiring, Circuit Protection, Corrosion, Cruisers, Electrician's Log, Gauge Panels, Harnesses, Harnesses-AC, Harnesses-DC, Harnesses-Dash, Navigation Lights, New Products, Pontoons, Quality-Control, Runabouts, Signaling Devices, Switch Panels, Testing | Comments Off

Article about additional alternator

July 8th, 2008 by Kevin Hannula and Nick Kroes

“…modern cruising vessels have high electrical demands, where refrigeration, radar, laptop computers and even plasma TVs are the norm. Keeping batteries charged is a challenge…”

This all too familiar problem is the basis of an excellent and very comprehensive article about adding a second alternator to an inboard boat by author Scott Fratcher.

You can find both this truly informative piece as well as a lot of other great information about boat wiring at easyacdc.com.

Posted in Boat Wiring, Cruisers, Electrician's Log, Harnesses-DC, Harnesses-Dash, MarineAcDc Forum, New Products, Pontoons, Signaling Devices, Switch Panels | Comments Off

Cost vs Convenience

November 21st, 2007 by Kevin Hannula and Nick Kroes

A couple of days ago, we received a confused reader’s question about the operation of his boat’s battery switch. Kevin’s detailed explanation of this far too complicated procedure brought to mind a clever new solution to a related boat wiring issue.

For many years, boat builders have had to choose between locating a battery-disconnect either conveniently close to the helm or inconveniently close to the batteries. Convenience, in this case, being a measure of the relative accessibility of the switch to their consumer.BEP Motorized Battery Switch

This seemingly simple choice was complicated by the fact that putting a battery switch where it should go – close to the helm – almost always entailed a considerable increase in the amount of heavy (and expensive) cabling required for the job.

A new offering from BEP now allows builders to mount the battery switch very close to the battery, reducing cable lengths, while enabling the boater to remotely operate the switch right from the helm. Connecting or disconnecting the boat’s power can be accomplished with the twist of a key switch or the flipping of a simple on-off rocker or toggle.

With “ease-of-use” and “automotive simplicity” becoming mantras for the best and, not surprisingly, most successful boat builders, expect to see this innovative unit on many production boats next season.

Posted in Boat Wiring, Electrician's Log, New Products | 2 Comments »

Why so few LEDs?

November 16th, 2007 by Kevin Hannula and Nick Kroes

A lot of the major manufacturers are finally offering very well thought-out LED navigation lights.

As just about anyone reading this site would know, these lights offer huge advantages over their incandescent predecessors – including excellent energy efficiency and extremely long life. Some, including the new ones from Attwood, are even totally potted against water incursion. That is, these lights may well outlast the boat itself!

These obvious benefits lead one to wonder why so few boat builders offer these lights on their standard production models. Wouldn’t the slight up-charge for these highly superior lights be more than offset if even one of their boat owners could be saved the hassle of tracking down and changing bulbs – or, even more so, not mistakenly traveling after dark with a burned-out running light.

Posted in Electrician's Log, MarineAcDc Forum, New Products | 2 Comments »

VSR/Emergency Parallel combo

November 15th, 2007 by Kevin Hannula and Nick Kroes

The clever new VSR/Emergency Parallel box from BEP is a great solution to an age-old boating problem. It covers your dual battery charging requirements and emergency parallel operation in one unit.

The unit’s VSR works to combine the boater’s start and house battery so both are being charged when sufficient voltage is available. That is, it BEP VSR Emergency SwitchWill engage when the voltage on either start or house battery reaches 13.7 volts.

But, if the combined battery voltage drops below 13.0 volts and the engine is not running, after 5 seconds the contacts will open and stay open until the start or house battery voltage is greater than 13.7 volts.

So far, so good, but what makes the new unit from BEP especially useful is the addition of an emergency parallel override switch. It can be operated through a momentary button on the dash and will instigate a preset time of 10 minutes. Once this 10 minutes has passed, if the voltage is up high enough for the voltage sensitive relay to operate, it will stay engaged. If not, it will disengage.

Congratulations to BEP on a very clever and well executed design!

Posted in Boat Wiring, Electrician's Log, New Products | 2 Comments »