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Power in the ground?

C

Captain Randy

New member
During my last few haulout I have noticed excessive zinc consumption.
I was slow to wake up that I had a power problem but after loosing a second raw water pump I was head first into troubleshooting. My pump was green which describes errant current. My problem is why now?
I put a new volvo engine in 8 years back and apparently was unaware that I had stray current. It wasn't until second waterpump that I realized it wasn't an anomaly but sum tin wong.
The only new addition to the boat is a new radar. How can I narrow down the search? Anyone elect minded?
 
look at shore power first. Pick up an outlet tester. It plugs into any 110v outlet & lights will tell you if it is wired correctly. Something as simple as the white & black wires being reversed can cause all kinds of problems. As far as 12v. Be careful with negitive connections. They usually don't get the attention that the positive connections do. All should return to the battery usually via a buss bar. Many times an accessory will be wired to any convenent "ground" that is part of your bonding system,not a good idea. Battery chargers also cause problems. Automotive chargers are bad news on a boat. They do not isolate the 110v shore power from 12 v as well as marine chargers do. There is a reason a car charger cost much less than a marine one. Look at your dock neighbors. Could be the boat next to you has a problem that is affecting you. The zinks are doing their job. Keep after them. You may want to add one of those zink fish that hang over the side. Just be sure it has a good electrical connection to the bonding system.
 
I haven't thought of hanging fish. That certainly can't hurt. It is odd this just got worse. I'm heavily zinc ed now. Only thing added is radar and dont know why that would change anything. I appreciate the reply and will get started down the list. My bonding system is very clean as I have ham radio on board and it is crucial to operation. Perhaps a disconnect switch in ground to engine may help.
 
Based on the first post, I'm concluding the issues has been around for a while and the radar addition is completely uncorrelated....

The only way to figure out where/what the issue is is to make measurements with a reference electrode, in the water....you can probably still buy one for less than the cost of a competent individual's service charge...but you don't get their experience that way....

Finally, a clean bonding system is great but you need to verify it is 'complete'....and you'll get different lists depending upon who you ask....I've always used the AB&YC guidelines as that is what most reputable surveyors use as well as the 'higher end' insurance providers...
 
Great advice. Yes. It has been around awhile but has always been managable. Zincs are usua)y half gone but nothing serious. For some reason this year's haulout was much much worse. Zincs still half 2/3rd gone but lead keel shows several spots abysed. No way to repair this short of melting in lead. The prop was trashed and had to be replaced.
The batteries were past shot and so replaced them too this year. Dont know but perhaps there is a correlation between bad batteries and hot ground. Shore power tests good and 2 years back I installed a new charger. Same as first one, just new. It does appear engine is hot so ground break switch is next. No comfort in not knowing if I'm on the right path or not but will start reading ab&yc thanks for any and all advice
 
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