09-18-2024, 11:24 AM
It 'blows the dock pod breakers'
How does it blow them? Overcurrent or RCD/GFCI? If you don't understand the difference between these, that is the first step.
Overcurrent means it is drawing more than the rated current (30A). RCD/GFCI means that there is unequal current between the hot & netural wires. These 'residual current devices' or 'ground fault circuit interrupters' go by other names as well and they are a very recent addition to US dockside power pedestals. They have been added to increase safety by decreasing the chances of death by electrocution. However, many older boats were not design/wired for to be compatible with these devices. It is likely that this is your problem. You can tell whether it is blowing for overcurrent or RCD by looking at the breaker after it is tripped. Different breakers show the 'why' differently, but you can compare the 'blown' state to how it looks when using the 'test' button on the breaker (which is testing the RCD, not the overcurrent).
My guess is that the neutral busses for your two shore cords are tied together somewhere on the boat. They should be separate. This is allowing some current from 'line 1' to leak to the neutral of 'line 2' (or vice-versa). If I'm not making any sense to you with any of this, then your best bet is to call a marine electrician and ask him how familiar he is with correcting nuisance tripping of older boats plugged into new pedestals w/RCD's. It can be tricky to track down the problem but based on what you've said, I bet it is fairly straightforward in your case.
How does it blow them? Overcurrent or RCD/GFCI? If you don't understand the difference between these, that is the first step.
Overcurrent means it is drawing more than the rated current (30A). RCD/GFCI means that there is unequal current between the hot & netural wires. These 'residual current devices' or 'ground fault circuit interrupters' go by other names as well and they are a very recent addition to US dockside power pedestals. They have been added to increase safety by decreasing the chances of death by electrocution. However, many older boats were not design/wired for to be compatible with these devices. It is likely that this is your problem. You can tell whether it is blowing for overcurrent or RCD by looking at the breaker after it is tripped. Different breakers show the 'why' differently, but you can compare the 'blown' state to how it looks when using the 'test' button on the breaker (which is testing the RCD, not the overcurrent).
My guess is that the neutral busses for your two shore cords are tied together somewhere on the boat. They should be separate. This is allowing some current from 'line 1' to leak to the neutral of 'line 2' (or vice-versa). If I'm not making any sense to you with any of this, then your best bet is to call a marine electrician and ask him how familiar he is with correcting nuisance tripping of older boats plugged into new pedestals w/RCD's. It can be tricky to track down the problem but based on what you've said, I bet it is fairly straightforward in your case.
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