[C38] electrical leakage via ground of dock power
Les Howell
hlhowell at pacbell.net
Fri Jul 7 14:44:40 EDT 2006
The gadget is called a Galvanic Isolator or "Zinc Saver". These are
speciality devices utilizing diodes and capacitors to provide a bit of DC
isolation in your AC circuit, without compromising AC grounding.
I had a "hot boat" next to me in one marina, and was going through zincs
at an alarming rate (similar to the issue of removing the power cord). One
boat on the leg of your power can affect the corrosion protection of all
other boats on that leg. Many marinas are now installing a device called
Marina Guard to sound an alarm when leakage via AC enters the water, but I
do not know if this detects the issues posed by a poorly protected or hot
boat.
A better solution is an isolation transformer installed by an
appropriate licensed person. This can completely break the DC connection to
the dock.
I want to re-emphasize what Don stated DO NOT REMOVE GROUND. This can
create a DEADLY situation in the water for divers, swimers, and you should
your boat develop a leak.
I am still looking for the correct installation of my inverter. I do
have some guidelines from various inverter companies, but the ones I have
tried so far do not provide the appropriate solution for my inverter. I
will give up today and contact the inverter company to see what they have to
offer. Of course I will post it here.
By the way, I found the Dow Blueboard in the form that they call
"STYROFOAM DECKMATE Plus". If you are in southern California, it was at
Allied in Anaheim. The reefer surgery was successful, the patient lives and
uses much less energy (can't say the same for the surgeons, though. Standing
on our heads for two days inside the reefer messed up both our backs for a
bit.)
I also had my compass glass changed while getting the rubber skirt
changed. A gentleman from Wheelhouse compass did the work quite reasonably
and the unit looks like new. I still have to spin it in the boat to
compensate it, although with any luck, it should still be OK.
I purchased an Eagle 500C color 5" chartplotter. Boy I am one happy
camper with that device for now. It can use Nautipath (a Lowrance product)
which I purchased, or Navionics or you can get a piece of map creating
software. The Nauticpath charts for both coasts and Hawaii cost $99. A
similar but West coast only in the Navionics Gold line was listed at $299.
We aren't that adventurous, so I think the Nauticpath will do fine for us.
I am going to wire it into the pedestal today. I have made a mounting
bracket from teak, using a piece of 0.75" thick leftovers 2.25" wide and
8.5" long. I drilled it to 1", near one end then using a hack saw (for a
narrow kerf) cut through the hole along the long axis of the wood. I then
cut from one side to the kerf about 1/2" past the hole, giving me a clamp
for the pedestal. I now have tried the GPS on this temporarily and decided
I like that solution better than a Navpod, since we can turn and tilt the
GPS for best viewing while steering. Today's project is to put holes in the
pedestal guard, run the cables through it and into the deck for a wire free
cockpit. Any hints anyone? I am worried about water in the pedestal guard.
How do I ensure it doesn't build up in there once the guard has holes in it?
I did get my WP32 installed, but getting it to calibrate seems
difficult. I turned the boat 4 times but it still didn't calibrate. There
was a bit of wind and chop which may have disturbed it. However it seems
to work just fine. Do any of you have any hints on the calibration?
Regards,
Les H
Les Howell Technical Specialist, Teradyne (retired) hlhowell at pacbell.net IM:
OldETC (Yahoo) Professional Profile
----- Original Message -----
From: "Don Strong" <drstrong at ucdavis.edu>
To: "Catalina 38 Listserve" <listserve at catalina38.org>
Sent: Tuesday, July 04, 2006 5:32 AM
Subject: Re: [C38] electrical leakage via ground of dock power
> People: As per advice of an electronics engineer sailing friend, I simply
> unplug when not on the boat at the dock. Discreet Charm had the benefit of
> a professional rewire job, but she still has some leakage when plugged in,
> as described below by Les. Since I began unplugging, zinks last lots
> longer. Never disconnect just the ground; doing this could lead to
> electrocution of swimmers, someone touching the boat from the dock, or
> another boat. I am told that a device installed near the plug can prevent
> electrical leakage. Does anyone know this gadget? Tom?
> thanks, Don
>
>
> At 11:13 PM 07/03/2006, you wrote:
>>HI, All,
>> Nancy and I joke that JACE was the last one of a run. We found lots
>> of
>>5"-6" pieces of wire, and made a ball of electrical tape about 9" in
>>diameter as I went through the wiring the first time. I have a lot of it
>>cleaned up and am now getting ready for a full wiring job.
>>
>> Seriously, these boats have been through a few hands at this stage
>> of
>>their life, and as we all know repairs are seldom done in the luxury of a
>>yard. So you do the best you can and clean it up when you have time
>>and/or
>>money to do it. There are some places that we need to pay good attention.
>>One is ground, because problems there will sure mess up your hardware.
>>Another is AC because it is so much power and its ground is shared with
>>other boats in your dock area. These bits will affect your electroylsis,
>>and can have bad (BAD!!!) effects on all underwater hardware and on
>>mechanical systems as well.
>>
>> Checking your leakage to the ocean is a good idea. Right now I have
>>JACE down well below 1ma (I haven't checked it since my latest work, but
>>it
>>should be a bit lower now. New boats should have no problem getting to 10
>>microamps, but we do have some age and dampness in our boats, which will
>>affect some of the numbers a bit. Lower is better. To check it, turn the
>>battery switch to one or two, turn off all systems but turn on all
>>switches
>>at the power panel you can (don't use any that run automatically, such as
>>a
>>refer or autopilot) Then put an ammeter (on the highest range like 10
>>amps)
>>in the lead from the selected battery negative to ground. The meter
>>should
>>read very close to zero if not zero. The direction (+/- is not too
>>important unless you are diagnosing electrolysis issues, but that is
>>beyond
>>the scope of this note) but the value should be well below 1 milliamp,
>>preferably 0-10microamps. You can have an electrician make this check for
>>you if you are uneasy with batteries and wiring.
>>
>> Grounding and paths between hardware will also affect your lightning
>>protection. I cannot advise, but there are books on the subject. The
>>shops
>>in Florida all have good rules they follow I suspect. Here in California,
>>it is a bit more informal, and no one seems to have published a definitive
>>guide, because in all my reading, the directions seem a bit different from
>>book to book. I haven't checked ABYC on this issue yet (another one on
>>the
>>to do list).
>>
>>Regards,
>>Les H
>>Les Howell Technical Specialist, Teradyne (retired) hlhowell at pacbell.net
>>IM:
>>OldETC (Yahoo) Professional Profile
>>----- Original Message -----
>>From: "Mike and Jeannie Yount" <mandj3 at cox.net>
>>To: "Catalina 38 Listserve" <listserve at catalina38.org>
>>Sent: Wednesday, June 14, 2006 2:42 PM
>>Subject: Re: [C38] Wiring Diagram
>>
>>
>> > Hi All
>> > I too would be interested in a wiring diagram. I think my boat was
>> > wired
>> > by
>> > a high school shop class,first year students.I have slowly been
>> > re-wiring
>> > what I can. It is very frustrating trying to trace down wiring
>> > problems.
>> > The
>> > previous owner seemed to think that if he twisted the wires together
>> > and
>> > it
>> > lit up, that was good enough, after he cut a wire from somewhere and
>> > twisted
>> > into it.Anyway, please send or post a copy of the wiring diagram. Thank
>> > you
>> > Mike
>> > "Moonraker" C-38 #204
>> >
>> >
>> > ----- Original Message -----
>> > From: "Charles Finn" <charles at finn.ws>
>> > To: "Catalina 38 Listserve" <listserve at catalina38.org>
>> > Sent: Wednesday, June 14, 2006 11:31 AM
>> > Subject: Re: [C38] Wiring Diagram
>> >
>> >
>> >> Bill and Max!
>> >> Can I post these (pictures and diagrams) on our website? If so,
>> >> please
>> >> send me a copy and perhaps some explanatory text?
>> >>
>> >> Thanks,
>> >> Charles Finn
>> >> Mighty Quinn #114
>> >> Webmaster
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Bill Ferrera wrote:
>> >> > Hi Max
>> >> >
>> >> > I believe I have the wiring diagram on Freedom.....I'll try to get
>> >> > by
>> >> > there today and scan it tomorrow morning and send it to you.
>> >> >
>> >> > Your traveler risers pictures are great. Although I don't have
>> >> > problems with leaking at this time, I will store them for
>> >> > future.....
>> >> >
>> >> > Thanks
>> >> >
>> >> > Bill Ferrera
>> >> > Freedom #297
>> >> > Alameda, CA
>> >> >
>> >> > ----- Original Message -----
>> >> > *From:* Max Soto <mailto:maxsoto at hotmail.com>
>> >> > *To:* listserve at catalina38.org <mailto:listserve at catalina38.org>
>> >> > *Sent:* Tuesday, June 13, 2006 7:47 PM
>> >> > *Subject:* [C38] Wiring Diagram
>> >> >
>> >> > Hi,
>> >> >
>> >> > Do any one has a Wiring Diagram for the C38????
>> >> >
>> >> > I need to do some work on this area and it will be great to have
>> > this
>> >> > around!
>> >> >
>> >> > thanks
>> >> >
>> >> > Max Soto
>> >> > C38 #198 ESTANCIA
>> >> > Puntarenas, Costa Rica
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > _________________________________________________________________
>> >> > Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today
>> >> > it's
>> >> > FREE!
>> >> > http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > _______________________________________________
>> >> > Listserve mailing list
>> >> > Listserve at catalina38.org <mailto:Listserve at catalina38.org>
>> >> > http://catalina38.org/mailman/listinfo/listserve_catalina38.org
>> >> >
>> >> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> >> >
>> >> > _______________________________________________
>> >> > Listserve mailing list
>> >> > Listserve at catalina38.org
>> >> > http://catalina38.org/mailman/listinfo/listserve_catalina38.org
>> >> >
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> _______________________________________________
>> >> Listserve mailing list
>> >> Listserve at catalina38.org
>> >> http://catalina38.org/mailman/listinfo/listserve_catalina38.org
>> >
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > Listserve mailing list
>> > Listserve at catalina38.org
>> > http://catalina38.org/mailman/listinfo/listserve_catalina38.org
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>>_______________________________________________
>>Listserve mailing list
>>Listserve at catalina38.org
>>http://catalina38.org/mailman/listinfo/listserve_catalina38.org
>
> ......................................................................................................................
> Donald R. Strong
> Professor
> Section of Ecology and Evolution
> and
> Bodega Marine Laboratory
> Division of Biological Sciences
> University of California, Davis 95616
> Phone, 530 752-7886
> Fax , 530 752-1449
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Listserve mailing list
> Listserve at catalina38.org
> http://catalina38.org/mailman/listinfo/listserve_catalina38.org
>
More information about the Listserve
mailing list