Electrical

[gbharrington]

During the recent cold snap here in FL (and everywhere else) I managed to destroy one of the shore power 30A shotgun type fuse holders on my 43DC. I suspect it was loose wires the created enough resistance under heavy load to melt it. While Sam's has a replacement unit for $180, I felt that a modern circuit breaker would be more appropriate, reliable and less expensive. As I studied the wiring diagrams and schematics, I began to ask myself why I need this particular gang of fuses at all. They feed into the shore power master breaker that then feeds into the panel master breaker. Added to that, they power pedestal also has a set of breakers. But let's just say for the sake of conversation that the power pedestal is an unknown, so we'll take it out of the chain. I'm still left with 2 other breakers. While I appreciate the redundancy, it seems unnecessary. Am I missing something?

 

[rwappleton]

Greg,

I can not answer all of those questions without several adult beverages. However, mine fried last year also. After looking at where they were mounted and that a replacement would surely have the same problem we put circuit breakers in side the cabinet to the right of the helm. Thay take up some space but we still have room for flares and 2 PFD's which is all we had in there to begin with.

I will not be at the boat for another three weeks but I will be glad to take pictures when I get there.

Best Regards,

Becky and Russ

 

[tonytrakovich]

I had the same problem on my boat. I did the same as you, looked at schematics and said why? Mine would blow all the time. Especially in Bahamas where the voltage is a little lower and the boat was drawing more current. I disconnected mine about a two years ago. I have had no problems. In over current situations where I have all AC units on and the oven and I did not properly distribute load with selector switches, the breaker on the electrical panel trips.

 

[Pascal]

You need a breaker or fuse where shore power enters the boat if the distance between the inlet and the main panel is over 8' (I think, but may be 6'). This ensures the wiring between the inlet and the panel is protected

Marinco or Hubble make a waterproof breaker unit which looks exactly like a standard shore power inlet. Breaker is accessible after you unscrew the standard cap. If you don't have room for another one next to the other ones, you can probably yank the outdated tv and phone inlet and out the breaker there.

 

[rwetherington]

Paschal is correct. This is an ABYC electrical standard. You might want to check with insurance company before you do away with it. Any reason they can find not to pay a claim they will use it. All the new Hatteras have 60 amp breakers to protect the wiring and so that you do not blow fuses and breakers on the boat. That way the burden is put back on the dock.

 

[Boatsb]

While you at it change to a 50 amp cord and connector but leave the breakers at 30. I've never melted a 50 125/220 amp end on a boat with 2 x 30 systems.

 

[gbharrington]

Thanks for all the replies. I suspected that there was a valid purpose other than Hatteras excess, so now I know.

 

[Boatnut]

To answer your question, yes you can use breakers in place of the fuses, be sure you get quality parts, not some cheap home despot junk. That's a lot of money for a couple of fuse holders.

 

[GJH]

To get the right kind of breaker to replace the fuse holders is actually about the same price. I made the switch (two 250/50A) over on the starboard side because I could put the breakers in an interior panel immediately behind the inlets). We used Blue Seas 50amp. They seemed to trip a little faster than the fuses which was OK with me. There wasn't a good place inside to mount the breakers on the port side, though now, as Pascal notes there is a solution that might work on the exterior.

Out of curiosity, how are boats that replace the inlets with Glendinning CableMasters set up, fuse/breaker wise?

 

[gbharrington]

Just to clarify, the $180 is the cost one 1 fuse holder, not a pair or a foursome.

 

[GJH]

Just to clarify, the $180 is the cost one 1 fuse holder, not a pair or a foursome.

Yes, I am very aware of that! For a minimally proper triple pole 240vAC 50 amp breaker, cost is about $125 bucks, yes, that is way below the initial cost of two holders, but then there is the time/expense of converting. The "best" solution costs around $350. I'm sure a 30 amp 120 is a lot cheaper starting cost-wise.