Electric

Donald Tyson · Joined: 24 Jul 2023 Posts: 439 Photos: Thistle

Electric Is Scary to me. I hate it. But I can't really be comfy without it.
That being said I do clearly see that the previous owners of our boat really put it together in a dependable fashion and I'm thankful. It's pretty trustworthy.

I could use some understanding though. Up until now I would plug the boat into the house and the GFI would blow immediately. We even traded out the 20 amp GFI for a 30 and it still blew right away. As a check, or control, we plugged into a non GFI protected wall outlet. It ran just fine and is still running now...several hours now. Do I just leave it plugged in or do I remove it when it slows audibly.

How do I know when the charging is done? There are no meters or gauges to refer to like with a gas engine.
Do I just leave it? Does it slow and automatically become just a trickle?

I meant to buy Nigels book but didn't get that far yet.

ssobol · Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2025 7:54 pm Post subject:

To charge the batteries, you need to have a charger installed in the boat. Simply plugging into shore power will not charge the batteries. The charger may need to be switched on. There should be indications on the charger when charging is complete and it has entered float mode. Some chargers have a current meter on the output. When this current drops to a very low number, charging is complete.

Find the brand and model of the charger and look up the manual online.

TyBoo · Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2025 7:58 pm Post subject:

The most likely cause of your GFI tripping would be that the neutral and ground are bonded in the boat wiring. The two should each connect to its own bus. The AC on my boat was wired with the neutral and ground connected and it worked fine for years but somewhere along the line the GFI outlets were changed and when I added a modern upgraded outlet to the garage the boat would kick it out. Separating the ground and neutral in the onboard AC panel fixed it.

As for the charger it depends on the model and type you have. You should be able to find the manual for your charger by Googling the model number.

Foggy · Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2025 8:15 pm Post subject:

All of Mother Nature is deadly. Sometimes She is enjoyable. Often not.
Part of Mother Nature is electricity. It's extra scary and deadly being invisible.
Like the Sea, She just waits for the innocent but actually stalks the unprepared,
the careless and the arrogant. Do not mess with Her unless you know what you
are doing (boat DC < shoreside AC - if this doesn't make sense, stay away).

Aye.
Dirty Harry said, "A man has to know his limitations."

Punkin Drublic · Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2025 4:06 pm Post subject:

Bonded neutral and ground on the boat. GFI connected to GFI will result in one or the other tripping as well, so even if the neutral/ground bond is removed, if there is a 120v gfi receptacle on the boat and you plug into a home exterior gfi you'll get a trip.

Personally, I'd leave the boat wired as is if done at a reputable shop and simply connect the boat at home to a non-gfi cct in the home. A cct in the home may be protected by a gfi breaker covering multiple receptacles, or a gfi receptacle may have several 'normal' receptacles connected to its load terminals achieving the same protect.

In my home I have several 20A receptacles in the garage, each on a dedicated breaker (15A) and use 12gauge extension cords for battery chargers and block heaters outside.

check local building codes, consult your preferred marine service provider and you'll be good, happy, safe.

I'm a red seal electrician in Canada, my set up is a bit over kill but it works for me.

Punkin Drublic · Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2025 4:20 pm Post subject: Re: Electric

thataway · Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2025 9:59 pm Post subject:

Punkin Drublic:

Donald Tyson · Joined: 24 Jul 2023 Posts: 439 Photos: Thistle

I apologize for letting this thread hang all day, I was away.

Punkin I did find my instruction manual for the charger the charger is a Zantrex TC 40 and seems to be of good quality. Furthermore, the surveyor said that it was installed correctly so since I don't know anything about electricity, I'll have to take his word on that. When I plugged it in overnight, it was running pretty hard when I went to bed, and now it's quiet so I assume that it does elevate or diminish, charging as necessary to maintain the battery. These batteries are five years old and they're in a very high percentile of performance.
So now I'm going to take time to read the manual and cross reference your advice online and try to get at least a small amount of mastery on the subject so that I'm not flying in the dark so much.

Of course Dr. Bob's question is will I be able to operate safely with modern or recent upgrades to marinas pedestals? I guess I'll have to wait and see and test it.

I called the previous owner yesterday and he said during the three or four years that he owned it he didn't do a thing to it. He would just plug it in to a 15 amp circuit at his house and the battery stayed up and everything worked when he needed it too. Just like a car for instance. So I'm going to do the same thing as I learned more about it. The surveyor said I should replace my batteries at the end of the year whether I want to or not. Thank you so much for the thoughts everyone..