If a shore power battery charger is on continuously, things can go south in a hurry: Many years ago I did this and it almost ended up very badly as in a boat fire. My float switch got stuck in the up position, which had the bilge pump running continuously, draining the batteries. My shore powered battery charger dutifully kept running to charge the battery which was being drained by the bilge pump. After x-days of charging, the Xantrex 20 (?) charger finally either overheated or somehow blew a resistor or something up internally. When I got to the boat, all batteries were dead. More importantly, there was a very visible black soot spot on the outside of the charger near where whatever blew inside was located. Fortunately, that was all that happened! However, I also realized that if the battery charger had not died in a fail safe mode, this overheating could have caused a fire. Whether designed that way or not, I decided then and there that I had used up one of my boat lives. Since then, I NEVER leave any AC powered devices on when I am not on the boat--although I do not disconnect the shore power cord. This is probably being over cautious since I see many boats pumping AC water out all the time or with AC in hatches working to defeat the NC heat. My boat and beer may be +100 degrees inside but it will still be there--assuming that it doesn't sink at the slip for other reasons! FWIW Charlie Nelson1995 C&C 36 XL/kcbWater Phantom
-----Original Message----- From: Gary Russell via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> To: C&C List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> Cc: Gary Russell <captnga...@gmail.com> Sent: Fri, May 31, 2019 11:08 am Subject: Re: Stus-List Shore Power at a Slip Hi Edd, I always kept the refrigeration and charger up and running all the time. The biggest risk is if the shore power ground is not a the same potential as the water, then you can eat zincs like crazy. You should have a galvanic isolator on you boat to protect the zincs. GaryS/V Kaylarah'90 C&C 37+East Greenwich, RI, USA~~~~~~~_/)~~~~~~ On Fri, May 31, 2019 at 11:03 AM Edd Schillay via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: Listers, The Enterprise will soon be moving to a full-time slip location — a first in my boating history. So, a question for all of your slip owners out there with shore power: Do you keep your shore power connected, your charger running, your 12V system on, fridge and other accessories on at all times, even if you’ll be away from the boat for a length of time? Are there any negatives associated with doing that? I’m used to a mooring where everything is shut down when you leave the boat. All the best, Edd Edd M. SchillayCaptain of the Starship EnterpriseC&C 37+ | Sail No: NCC-1701-BCity Island Yacht Club | City Island, NY Venice Yacht Club | Venice, FL Starship Enterprise's Captain's Log _______________________________________________ Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each and every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray _______________________________________________ Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each and every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray
_______________________________________________ Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each and every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray
