Using 16 amp cables on Leccy pillars

[Hockham Admiral]

John,

I suspect the clue is in the diesel electric conversion. Would like to know how many and what type of battery, but I suspect quite a few. The recent review of The Barnes hybrid boat that Robin did had some hefty chargers if I recall. They were powered when needed by the onboard  diesel generator which was used just for generation. The actual drive was all electric. Mind you with that kind of load Q might need more than just one electric card and will probably not be leaving any credit behind  

That's stll a lot of amps at either 12V or 24V,  Keith.  Approximately 200A or 100A

There must be some wiring involved to transmit that current!

[TheQ]

Initially there is a 48V 500Amp hour Traction battery pack (the minimum recommended by the electric motor manufacturer) which maybe doubled later. There are 24 2V Cells at the moment.

.However the chargers I have are all singing, all dancing, dong all sorts of thing to keep the batteries ok. I may in the future change to AGM odyssey batteries (especially if I decide to double the Amp Hours) which can take a high charge rate, are low maintenance, and take up a lot less space.

 So my allowances are for the absolute maximum I may use, Plus a bit for safety ( I don't like running things at MAX power).

[dnks34]

I was thinking along the same line of a inline fuse inside the 32amp plug.

I have never actually used a 32amp socket but do have an adapter in the event I needed to.  I will definately be fitting it with a fuse now, could anyone recommend the gubbins to do it with,  I had a quick scan for 240v inline fuse holder but nothing useful came up!

[littlesprite]

Time for me to get myself in trouble again with the electrical bods.

I understand the concept of 16a rated cable carrying 32a if something goes wrong but when in Europe I plug in a table lamp with 2pin plug and no fuse? if the boat is protected with MCB's is the cable risk really that high? should there be a fault on board, the MCB's would trip, if the cable was faulty and leaking current the RCD in the post would trip.

Am I missing something or is the risk really that high.

Edited August 28, 2015 by littlesprite

[kfurbank]

It is part of the regulations in this country and therefore should really be followed. As I mentioned earlier on, my boat has 2 x 16A trips feeding different circuits. I could in theory draw 16A through each breaker and neither would trip, BUT I would be attempting to draw 32A down a 16A cable and 16A fittings. I'll repeat it again. A fuse or trip only protects the devices or circuits in front of it, not behind it. The 32A trip on the post wouldn't trip, the 16A cable or fittings may well get hot and melt. Therefore they HAVE to be protected by the appropriate trip or fuse.

[Viking23]

Time for me to get myself in trouble again with the electrical bods.

I understand the concept of 16a rated cable carrying 32a if something goes wrong but when in Europe I plug in a table lamp with 2pin plug and no fuse? if the boat is protected with MCB's is the cable risk really that high? should there be a fault on board, the MCB's would trip, if the cable was faulty and leaking current the RCD in the post would trip.

Am I missing something or is the risk really that high.

In the UK we wire our sockets in what is called a " ring main" many sockets daisy chained together protected by usually a 30 amp fuse.

Some times you need several, ring mains, imagine a washing machine, tumble drier, and dishwasher all on together, then you plug in the kettle and toaster then you are well over the 30 amp limit. 

In europe, many installations are individually fused as a limited number, point to point, protected with a much lower rated fuse, sometimes 10 amp, so a table lamp should use wire that can carry that current.

 

 

[dnks34]

Well as nobody has suggested a method of fusing the non fused 32amp plug here is what Im intending

I have located a 16amp semi conductor fuse with a metal tab on each end, im thinking carefully solder a piece of wire to the tab on either side of the fuse then one end to the plug live and the other choclate boxed to the cable making it easy to change if needed,  seal the exposed fuse and soldered connections in heat shrink and hopefully fit neatly into the plug housing.  Make another fuse up as spare and label the plug housing 16amp fused. 

However its done its got to be small as there isnt likely to be much spare space in the plug housing. 

[kfurbank]

Dnks34,

Take a look at the following link for fuse holders. Some of the panel mount holders are 40mm long and will fit inside the 32A commando plug. Make sure you solder well and insulate all connections. A word of caution with fuses, you need to make sure you use a fuse rated for 250VAC and not DC. The AC is as important as the current rating.

http://bulgin.co.uk/Products/Fuseholders/Fuseholders.html

[dnks34]

Thanks for the link kfurbank i will have a good look 

[lurch]

IEE regulations state that any external cable is to be of suutable quality and protected at the source via a rcd of suitable rating so haveing a rcd at the socket end is ok but it must be a rcd at the point you plug into first

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

[wombat nee blownup]

Viking23,

I believe the wording on the leaflet is to stop the situation which we have all seen in the past of 3 or 4 boats all hooked up to the same outlet using a variety of splitters and connectors. This often used to happen at Loddon until they installed more posts.

Do boats really need a 32amp supply? They are getting way too posh now!

P.s.. Always check whats left on the meter as in two weeks we never paid for leccy as there was always a ton of credit on them.. Don't forget too the BA ones (And the WRC (Don't know about others) ) take the full £1 card amount and you wont use it.. So always check before you top it with your own credit. 

I don't think you'll get the chance now.  We called in a couple of times last week and the same old untaxed liveaboard brigade "minesweep" the basin now.  There are obviously not enough points at Whitlingham or Brammerton any more.