A2B install location

[patprice]

And again from Greece. Hot and sunny and beautiful.
But more pressing matters.
I have an A2B unit for my year 2000 Bavaria Cruiser.
The easiest place to put it is where the current splitter is located. In the engine room.
Or I could put it in the port side aft cabin where it can be seen. Would it annoy someone sleeping in that cabin? Flashing lights?
Where have you put yours?
Thanks
Pat

[Lyra]

Don't know the unit and how bright the LEDs are but I would install an electronic device outside the engine compartment.
I have a solar panel controller with 3 LEDs installed in the port cabin and it does not bother at all.
If the LEDs are too bright and disturbing one could always put a strip of translucent tape over them to reduce the glare

[patprice]

Thanks Lyra and I agree.
However I am aware some owners do put the A2B in the engine room with no ill effects. I do not like it.
Aft cabin seems good.

[markleuty]

Can I ask what the reasons for not wanting to install in the Engine compartment are?

I was thinking of installing a solar panel controller in there as it would make the wiring easier for me, but would be interested to hear why this is a ba idea.

Mark

[Yngmar]

Engine rooms can get very hot and are full of plumbing. Heat and water are both bad for electronics.

That said, PO installed a Sterling smart regulator in the engine room and it's been doing just fine there. That's however just a smart regulator (and potted against moisture), an A2B charger is likely to be much more sensitive to high temperatures and moisture (and same applies for solar chargers - some may be IPx5 rated, but still need to dissipate heat). Here in Greece even in June our engine room regularly gets above 40°C (I have a blower fan I'll be fitting this summer). Not ideal for most chargers if you look in the spec sheet.

Overly bright LEDs are easily toned down with some tape or dark nailpolish.

[Salty]

On my B36(2002) the charge controller for the solar panels is located under the chart desk. This keeps the LEDs well below and out of the line of sight, and it ensures that the lower voltage charge leads from it to the batteries are almost as short as possible, and where the shortness of those leads was a trade off against its fairly convenient location for access. Any nearer to the batteries would have meant installing the  controller either inside a cupboard or within the battery compartment itself where if overcharging occurred, it might result in the batteries giving off hydrogen gas which might result in a safety issue.

[IslandAlchemy]

I put mine in the aft cabin, against the rear wall of the engine bay.

It's not in the way, and you can just drill some holes in the bed base to pass the cables through.

[Rampage]

Mines in the port cabin at the foot of the bunk by the deck.  Our port cabin is the “shed” used for storing all the stuff we need to have on board that won’t go anywhere else, so no sleep is disturbed.  Anyhow, the lights only come on when the engine’s running so if someone can sleep with the W Inge running they’ll probably sleep with the lights....

[patprice]

Thanks all....that is it....mine is going in the port aft cabin.
Next to sort out that yellow wire business if I have to.

[markleuty]

Yellow wires are always more difficult than yellow snow...