electrical connection

A forum for discussing topics relating to MacGregor Powersailor Sailboats
User avatar
magnetic
First Officer
Posts: 286
Joined: Wed Jun 20, 2007 4:39 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
Location: Hong Kong

Re: electrical connection

Post by magnetic »

I think there are maybe 3 gradations of risk here

:arrow: If the boat is indoors - a warehouse or large garage - then the main dangers are trip hazards rather than water. A plug-in RCD may be a sensible precaution

:arrow: outdoors on the trailer, water starts to be a problem because of puddles, bilges, condensation and rain; in these circumstances an RCD is surely a bare minimum, and a lot of thought needs to go into the socketry and keeping the connections free of corrosion

:arrow: on the water is a whole different ball game, due both to the inevitable motion of the boat, the proximity of other boats, and the presence of a large amount of water all around - and potentially inside - the boat. I have just installed a 240v 30A shorepower rig on my :macm: and this includes a bipolar RCD between the inbound socket and the 4-way distribution panel, circuit breakers on each branch (fridge, battery charger and aircon) and the 4th branch off to a line of plug sockets with individual 30mA RCD's for each of the devices which are not permanently hard-wired (kettle and chargers for vacuum cleaner, lantern, mobile phone, laptop, GPS and handheld power tools).

At the present time I do not have a Galvanic Isolator, as there are no metal parts permanently below the water line, but I do have the DC Negative strapped across to the AC Ground wire, mostly to avoid fire hazards but also to protect all of the 12v devices on my DC circuit if the battery charger arcs or shorts, causing a bridge between AC and DC circuits.

By far the biggest day to day risk in a Marina is that any failure in your boat's AC rig will probably trip the entire Pontoon; my Marina Manager is not easily persuaded to come to my assistance by resetting this if the incident happens outside of office hours :?

I really don't think that this is overkill and I will try to take some photos next week; the RCD's are inexpensive and the most pricey piece of kit was the AC distribution panel.
Kelly Hanson East
Admiral
Posts: 1786
Joined: Sat Apr 19, 2008 2:35 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Kelly Hanson Marine........Mac 26M Dealer......Freedom Boat Works

Re: electrical connection

Post by Kelly Hanson East »

At the present time I do not have a Galvanic Isolator, as there are no metal parts permanently below the water line,
are you sure your motor mount isnt in water?? It will be tied to the DC ground most probably....
User avatar
magnetic
First Officer
Posts: 286
Joined: Wed Jun 20, 2007 4:39 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
Location: Hong Kong

Re: electrical connection

Post by magnetic »

Good point! I was wondering what to do when I go down to the boat tomorrow - now I know! :D
John McDonough
First Officer
Posts: 421
Joined: Thu May 26, 2005 8:57 am
Location: pittsburgh pa..2000-26X--Honda50

Re: electrical connection

Post by John McDonough »

phil0044 wrote:If I want to connect my 26M to house electrical outlet can I just buy a 30 amp female to 15 amp male adapter plug and connect it to an extension cord?
In the past I have simply bought a 30-amp female Cord end, and using a regular extension cord I cut off the Female end and installed the 30-amp female cord end.

Working Construction, I have many extension cords laying around with broken or burnt ends.
Post Reply