Lethal electrical installation


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John Franklin
John Franklin
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Although the photo below is upsidedown it illustrates the problem.
Recently seen on a boat.

The male fitting shown is on the inboard (boat) end of a shore cable connected to a marina 230 volt supply. The conductors are therefore live and consequently lethal. The appalling thing is that the non-technical owner didn't even realise the danger! It was not the installation provided by the builder but was allegedly installed by a certified electrician.
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Dick
Dick
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Philip Heaton - 2/28/2020
Dick
Thank you for this.  When we had the boat in build we had long discussions about this issue and an isolation transformer is of course superior to a galvanic islolator.  Our thinking was that we would spend most of our time at anchor and visit marinas rarely, which has proved to be the case until the last couple of years, and so weight and cost could be a consideration.  The GI could provide the main hull protection.  It seems from what you are saying that I had better keep on checking with our trusty reverse polarity test plug and have the reverse reverse polarity lead at the ready.

Best wishes Phil

Hi Philip,
You might also check some of Steve D'Antonio's writing on the subject or the Attainable Adventures web site for more information about why an IT is really important for a metal boat: I think it goes beyond galvanic isolation, but I do not remember any details. If you do so, please report back as I am curious. My best, Dick
GO

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alshaheen - 10 Jun 2019
Dick - 10 Jun 2019
Sandy.Garrity - 13 Dec 2019
Dick - 13 Dec 2019
Steve.Houssart - 18 Feb 2020
simoncurrin - 19 Feb 2020
Steve.Houssart - 19 Feb 2020
PhilipH2 - 25 Feb 2020
Dick - 25 Feb 2020
Steve.Houssart - 26 Feb 2020
Dick - 26 Feb 2020
PhilipH2 - 27 Feb 2020
Dick - 27 Feb 2020
PhilipH2 - 28 Feb 2020
Dick - 28 Feb 2020

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