Wiring in a fishhouse and generator usage?

[BLACKJACK]

I'm not a sparky by any means and have some pretty dumb questions.

Looking at getting a wheel house that is just a trailer and shell, wondering how much and what kind of wiring to run (run both heavy electrical wire and light for 12 volt?), what kind of lights (12 or 120) that I should install, etc. Will probably get a generator someday, which means installing, an outside plug but from there not sure what I need/should look for?

People talk about running a generator all night, what are you running in the fishhouse that needs power all night? I might get a TV some day but not much else, but want to be prepared.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[3pronghook]

I bought a shell and finished myself. I wired it for both 12v and 110v. I have outlets and lights all over. I wired 12v for hole lights, couple ceiling lights and one outdoor light. I use generator all the time. Runs all night. i have a ceiling fan in house and nice to keep on all night. I also use a bubbler(aerator) for the minnow bucket that keeps the minnows alive and lively. As for lights i dont think you can have enough. I have the 12v and a 110 v double flood on the outside. I put these on side and vee. I wish I would have put on the back of the house too. heres a list of what i plug in. 2 tvs, dish receiver, aerator, stereo, 12v battery charger, camera charger, walkie talkie charger, xbox, dvd player, video game charger, nite lite, under cabinet light. sounds like alot, but if you plan on extended stays, especially with kids, you'll need it.

[svonasek]

I have 5 dome lights, 8 hole lights, 2 outside lights and furnace all of 12 volt. I also wired in 4 12 volt accessory outlets (cig lighter). I have (5) 110 volt outlets in the house that run off a plug in on the outside for the generator.

We run the generator pretty much just to power the battery charger.

[randerson]

you can never have enough lights or outlets go over board you won't regret it. I have had a 8x16 lodge and I helped build one for a buddy there is never too much its easier to do now then to try to add later like I did on my lodge I would even put a outside 110v outlet just because you will need it one day

[landscaper]

when you have a generator HOW do you plug it into the fish house and Charge your deep cycle batteries that you have in there.

thanks not big on generators

[Pat K]

when you have a generator HOW do you plug it into the fish house and Charge your deep cycle batteries that you have in there.

thanks not big on generators

I have a one bank on board charger hooked up to my 12v batteries with the plug going out the wall to plug into my generator. The lights & fan are 12v.

I have one 110 outlet that also has a plug outside the house to hook up to the generator.

[svonasek]

when you have a generator HOW do you plug it into the fish house and Charge your deep cycle batteries that you have in there.

thanks not big on generators

I put an receptacle on the outside of the house. It has male prongs on it. I bought mine from milaca, but I wouldn't be surprised if home depot carried them.

I put the generator outside by the receptacle and run an extension cord from the generator to the receptacle. Inside the house I have an outlet by the batteries. I leave a battery charger plugged into the outlet and hooked up to the batteries. When ever the generator is running the battery charges powers on and charges the batteries.

[randerson]

Depot doesn't carry the generator male outlet plug and menards use to but don't know they will order you one if you want to pay for 6 its a load of [PoorWordUsage]

[MJBaldwin]

Check out a hardware store they might have them or you could always search the internet for stuff like that....

[dukhntr]

No sparky here. I have an 8 x 16 with 4' V. Outside, I have an entry light by the door, and another over the back doors for loading and unloading, and another over the propane tanks. Inside, I have 7 12v hole lights, 3 12v overhead lights, plus 1 in biff, and 1 over stove (total of 5) plus 6 12v outlets. I also have 2 110 halogen overhead lights, and 8 110 v outlets. I regret not putting in an outside 110 v outlet on each side. Might do it this summer. I use an RV power distribution center (w/ breakers (110 v) and automotive fuses for the 12 v). It also has a battery charger built in. This unit is wired to the generator plug on the side of the fish house. I think this unit made it easier to wire all of the 110 v and 12 v circuits. I got the outlet for the generator and most lights and outlets from Fish House Supply. As one poster said, over wire now, before you finish the interior. It is much better to have an extra outlet than it is to put one in later.

Hope this helps

dukhntr

[Grainbelt]

I just rebuilt the inside of my wheelhouse and went with LED lighting this time. I have two strips of 30 LEDs in the center of the house. They put out 540 lumen burning at 6.6 watts each. I broke a third 30 LED strip into 5 strips of 6 LEDs each and soldered + and - to them. 1 strip mounted over each of my 4 holes on the ceiling swithed by a button style toggle switch mounted in the wall by the hole. The other short strip lights up the underside of my lower cabinet in the v. When I turn them all on (except cabinet light) it is like daylight in there using around 20 watts. I also installed undercabinet lighting for the top cabinet, 3-1watt LED pucks. I got all of these in warm white.

I also got a LED replacement bulb for my outside light which is just a single filiment tail light. This LED bulb comes with the standard base and you just push it into the socket and twist. It puts out 600 some lumen in coolwhite.

I run 3 deepcycle batteries size 31. One for lights, one for furnace and one for entertainment w/inverter. I only run my generator at night before bed to charge batteries. I use 2 smartchargers that start out charging at 25 amp if the battery needs it and slowly reduces that to 0 amp as the battery reaches full charge.

[DIESELDAN]

To plug in you generator I just put a standard outlet on the outside and then just modified my extension cord to have two male ends, those ends you can get anywhere. The thing to remember is to plug in your cord before starting the generator or watch yourself so you don't touch the male end because you'll bet a little shock, (speeking from experance). Works great though and you don't have to special order a overpriced plug in.

DieselDan

[Minnie_sota_Mike]

NOT a good idea to use 2 male ends!

[slammer]

quote=Minnie_sota_Mike]NOT a good idea to use 2 male ends!

[Minnie_sota_Mike]

Safety. you can find the same type of receptacle for the outside of wheel house as mentioned but male, so the correct extension cord can be used.

A cord that has a male on each end is too dangerous to have around.

The 12volt wire can be a 14 or 16gauge,18 or 20ga would work also if you are using LED's. a molded pair is the handiest, (looks like lamp wire)

Just my 2cents

[bikeoutback]

Guy I know that has a hunting shack powered by generator has the same setup as Dieseldan with the extension cord with 2 male ends. The cord stays at the hunting shack and is the generator cord. I guess I never knew it was a safety risk but after 9 years of going up there have never had a problem with it. We plug into shack while generator is warming up then plug into the generator.

[schwendy]

u can buy those plugs at the big G mountain store.. About 20 bucks

[Minnie_sota_Mike]

In the right hands, doing it the way you do, it will work. Its just not an acceptable wiring practice. I don't mean to knock the way your doing it. In my case, my kids may be the ones at the fish house or anyone else, I would hate to have someone else hook the generator first and have the hot ends exposed. -Mike

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

2 male ends are a REALLY bad idea. All it takes is a kid, or someone who doesn't know.

For about $20 you can get the right outlet and not have any worry or liability. I got mine from Fish House Supply.