main breaker 240v 50amp tripping

[questover]

I have a 53 classic 1980. The stove -water heater-battery charger main breaker trips at will (once a week ) with just the battery charger on. I would assume the problem would be with the charger.ANY THOUGHT'S!!!

[PascalG]

or the breaker... you may want to swap it... cheaper than replacing the charger!

pascal
miami, fl
1970 53my

[questover]

PascalG-Thanks I didn't think about breaker. Going to boat thursday- do you know what the brand of those mains. also there is a small white fault switch there that is also tripped. MORE THOUGHT'S

THANK'S , RUSS (questover)

[PascalG]

not sure what you have on the the later boats. on mine, the main 220 breaker seems fairly standard double pole...

www.boatfix.com/bypage.asp?page=145 (http://www.boatfix.com/bypage.asp?page=145)
BS7242, click on page145 link to view info.

[dshuman]

On my 1978 53MY there is no little white fault switch. There is a main 220v breaker, which I believe is like any 220v breaker for home use. It seems like if the main breaker is tripping and non of the other breakers are tripping, then the problem is either the main breaker itself or something in the electrical panel right there.

The reasoning is that every connection from the main goes only to another breaker for the individual circuits and nowhere else. Therefore, if it were an electrical problem somewhere in the boat, the individual 220v breakers would trip, not the main.

Same for the 110v circuits. The 220v is two 110v hot lines (180 degrees out of phase with each other), one common and one ground. The 220v feeds your two separate 110v circuits, which are all breakered at the panels. If the problem were in the 110's they would trip, not the main.

Last point, since I don't know what the little white fault switch is, check or replace that too?