Equipment Leakage Circuit Interrupters (ELCIs) and the more familiar GFCIs, are part of a larger family of devices that measure current flow in the hot and neutral wires and immediately switch the electricity off if an imbalance of current flow is detected. ELCIs and GFCIs that are also Residual Current Circuit Breakers (RCBO) provide overcurrent tripping protection characteristic of a normal circuit breaker. Our thanks to Ken Bloomfield for his perspectives.

Hello all,
and sorry if you are no longer interested in this info, let me know. Our marina has just implemented the much discussed ELCI electrical leakage circuit monitors with a 30 mA leakage trip point. This has caused cursing and screaming and hair tearing at our marina like you would not believe. Jim Healy has written a lot as well on this subject and is bang on. Maybe you are already ahead of me, if so I apologize.

One thing that has become apparent is that they truly will not allow a boat to have power with any on-board connection between the green safety ground and the neutral white wires of the shore-power system. This I know as my boat immediately popped the ELCI. It took me longer than I want to admit to find the issue. So, I am sharing what I found just in case you also run into the problem.

As you all know, there is a nice little “room for rent” under your lower helm station, and on the forward “wall” there is the buss bars and terminal strips for the wiring (at least on my 1984 model). There is a buss bar about central to the “wall” running vertical, and on it you will find both green wires (safety ground) and white wires and also the large welding cable sized wires from the battery negatives. All very neat, but co-mingling the AC neutrals (white) and the green grounds is a no-no for ELCI supplied power. The solution was pretty simple once found, and that was to simply move all the white wires to a separate new buss bar. Fortunately they were all pretty much together near the bottom of the buss, and I was able to mount a terminal strip (with all sections jumpered together to create a buss) and move the white wires there without the need to splice extensions on. Lo and behold, no more problems.

Hope that you don’t need to do what I did, but I suspect that Marine Trader and most other boats of that era considered that neutral and ground were the same voltage so “what the heck, ground them both”. They did so neatly and well, however despite 32 years of faithful service with no current going into the water, this no-no cropped up its ugly head.

Cheers,
Ken Bloomfield.

S.M. Stevenson is looking for crew to assist a lengthy voyage north from St. Augustine. If you are interested, give him or her a call.

Looking for a method to find cruise mate for adventure up the east coast from St. Augustine to Canada. Already underway and leaving St. Augustine shortly.
52 ft. Sea Ray
cell no. 636-751-8833

Yesterday, June 8th, was World Oceans Day and the many reports and editorials in the news give us a lot to ponder about the health of the water that surrounds us all. This article is from the United Nations.

2016 Theme: Healthy oceans, healthy planet

Plastic bottles and garbage from a nearby village wash on the shores of a river and then spill into the sea in Dili, Timor-Leste. UN Photo/Martine Perret

 

The ocean is the heart of our planet. Like your heart pumping blood to every part of your body, the ocean connects people across the Earth, no matter where we live. The ocean regulates the climate, feeds millions of people every year, produces oxygen, is the home to an incredible array of wildlife, provides us with important medicines, and so much more! In order to ensure the health and safety of our communities and future generations, it’s imperative that we take the responsibility to care for the ocean as it cares for us.

This year, the theme is Healthy oceans, healthy planet, and we’re making a special effort to stop plastic pollution.

Plastic pollution is a serious threat because it degrades very slowly, polluting waterways for a very long time. In addition, plastic pollution impacts the health of aquatic animals because animals including zooplankton mistake the microbeads for food. Scientists also fear health impacts for humans.

CLICK HERE for more.