NEW STUDY PINPOINTS CAUSES OF BOAT FIRES

[chpthril]

For those that dont see a need for Proper circuit protection cause boats dont have metal chassis! Also over looked is proper wire gauge.

NEW STUDY PINPOINTS CAUSES OF BOAT FIRES


Wiring shorts #1 cause of boat fires
July Issue of Seaworthy Magazine Reports Findings

NEWS From BoatU.S.
Boat Owners Association of The United States
880 S. Pickett St., Alexandria, VA 22304

Date: June 30, 2003

As the boating season gets into full swing, a new study released by BoatU.S. Marine Insurance indicates that the leading causes of fires aboard vessels are AC & DC wiring problems, engine and transmission overheating, and fuel leaks.

"Unlike a house fire, boaters generally have no where to go but in the water once a fire breaks out, so understanding how fires start, and what can be done to prevent them, is even more important," said Chuck Fort, Seaworthy associate editor.

The study, which analyzed hundreds of fire claim files over two years and focused on fires originating aboard vessels (marina fires excluded) is highlighted in the July issue of the BoatU.S. publication, Seaworthy, the nation's only damage avoidance magazine for boat owners and the marine insurance industry.

Leading the pack, "AC & DC wiring/appliances" accounted for a whopping 55% of fires. The report further detailed the electrical sources into subcategories such as DC shorts/wiring (30%), DC engine regulator (12%), shore power (4%) and other causes. "Wire chafe is the biggest problem we see," adds Fort. "Electrical fires can also re-ignite even after an extinguisher has been emptied, so it's also important to have a main battery switch and/or AC breaker to stop the ignition source."

[da.bell]

That battery looks like it went through Huricane Ike.

[philwsailz]

For those that dont see a need for Proper circuit protection cause boats dont have metal chassis! Also over looked is proper wire gauge.

Amen Mike!

Thank you for bringing this to the group.

[TeamAllen]

Thanks Mike! It looks like a beer bottle behind the battery?

[Fast1911]

ah man, I just rewired my boat with lamp cord too

[steepz]

Can anyone expand on AC-DC wiring issues? i recently installed a DC to AC converter for powering an electric griddle. The converter is capable of 2000w. I installed an inline fuse and have wired it directly to my second battery that also powers the amplifiers. The converter does have a ground connection- where should i run this or is it not necessary.

[chpthril]

Can anyone expand on AC-DC wiring issues? i recently installed a DC to AC converter for powering an electric griddle. The converter is capable of 2000w. I installed an inline fuse and have wired it directly to my second battery that also powers the amplifiers. The converter does have a ground connection- where should i run this or is it not necessary.

Sure, no prob. Your inverter converts 12V DC to 12V AC, in order to do this, like any other 12V device, it need a complete loop. In other words, it needs both a 12V POS (+) and 12V NEG (-) hooked up. The inverters ground should be attached to the NEG side of the same battery that you attached the inverters POS.

[philwsailz]

Can anyone expand on AC-DC wiring issues? i recently installed a DC to AC converter for powering an electric griddle. The converter is capable of 2000w. I installed an inline fuse and have wired it directly to my second battery that also powers the amplifiers. The converter does have a ground connection- where should i run this or is it not necessary.

You may be talking about a bonding lug maybe? Something tells me this is different from battery ground in your installation. If I am right, the following might make it make more sense, (if I am wrong, none of it will):

In a residential electrical system, your normal 110v electrical outlets have three connectors/conductors. If you look at the wire behind the plug, you typically will find ROMEX, which will have an insulated black wire, an insulated white wire, and a non-insulated bare copper wire. I will not use "positive" and "negative" to describe, since it is AC, but put simply, the black wire is the hot wire, the white wire is the neutral wire, and the bare wire is the ground. Typically we see that the bare copper wire is attached all through the system to the actual fixtures, cases, exterior surfaces, etc. All of this is to ensure that when you walk up to the lamp, or the toaster, or the table saw and touch it that it does not shock you; the bare copper wire is the bonding wire which takes all metal parts and puts them at the same voltage potential as the copper spike that is bured beside your house in the ground.

On an inverter that is converting 12 volts DC to 110 volts AC there is a similar connection on lots of inverters and its purpose is similar to the bare copper wire ground found in a house. For complex boat installs that have 12 volts AND 110 volts, (as well as sometimes 32 volt sections, 48-volt sections) with inverters, chargers, maintainers, etc there is a desire to provide protection from shock and electrocution, as well as fires, explosions, galvanic corrosion, (due to stray electrical current and dissimilar metal materials) etc.

I am not 100% up on my U.S.C.G. and ABYC guidelines regarding bonding, but I believe that the purpose of a separate ground bonding lug on your inverter is to electrically tie it to all other electrical device cases to ensure that all metal parts on the outside of all electrical devices are at the same voltage potential.


For your installation, and if my perception of the ground connection you are talking about is correct, you might be okay leaving it disconnected. For the very simple thing you are doing, and for the very simple setup, it hopefully will cause no problem. This is not a liveaboard, with shore power, water heater, air-conditioning, etc. Do you disconnect the inverter when not in use?

Or... you might want to read A LOT MORE about bonding and/or consult with a certified marine electrician in your area to see if you really need to make this connection.

I have one simple question for you: What does the owner's manual for the inverter sway about this connection?


Again, all of this assumes that you are talking about a ground bonding connection. If you are talking about the 12v ground connection for powering up the inverter, you need to connecte it to the negative lug of the battery, like Chpthril sharaed.

Let us all know; this is a topic I personmally want to learn more about so tell us what you can!

[steepz]

Definitely not the battery ground. The inverter has lugs for + and - that i have wired to the battery but it also has a ground lug. I have included a link to the inverter below. I am pretty sure the internal battery charger has a ground line also. I am planning on using the ground lug on the inverter as i want to reduce any chance of a fire and will wire it to the same location as the charger. Any other ideas please let me know and thank you for your help


http://www.theinverterstore.com/the-...pwrinv180012w#

[chpthril]

Nothing on their site like an owner's manual, It says you get free tech support, give them a call and let us know what they say.

[larryueckert]

ah man, I just rewired my boat with lamp cord too

thats to funny there fast lamp cord