Let's get back to the 'real boat heating system' for a second. I keep a Mermaid on my boat, and consequently rarely use it, I call it "Big Bertha". Noisy damn contraption that I dislike intensely.
The space heater. I hear an awful lot about these things. On here mostly. Are we talking about the millions of heaters used worldwide in nasty ass trailer parks everywhere? While eliminating these things has its own particular appeal, from a personal standpoint of view, if these things are THAT hazardous, why are they still for sale?
In an age where WD-40 is not even worth the weight of the can anymore because of its ineffective product being sued out of existence, walmart on the other hand seems to have little trouble selling these small heaters by the truckload. And while the average trailerpark dwellers' mean intellect will rarely be in question, these honey boo boo'ers don't seem to have a problem much burning their houses out from under themselves.
So why should WE??
This is not a miracle of modern machinery, it's a PLUG UP ELECTRIC HEATER!
Despite not being approved by, once again, the yacht people, we live in fear. Fear of a heater. Or our own intellect..
Myself, I would rarely consider putting a small heater unattended around anything that would burn, but a twenty dollar space heater doesn't strike the feeling of foreboding like some other, and obviously more dangerous things on a boat.
In conclusion of my morning rant: The heater did not burn down the boat. The heater was an instrument of a dumbass, no more so than blaming the auto that ran down your dog. It is not the fault of the auto, nor of the dog.
Chris,
On land we do not have a measly 30A service that in reality can only handle 20A SAFELY!!! On land we usually have a 100A or 200A service. On land we also have good connections that are physically bolted to the electric companies service drop. On boats we use an antiquated left over plug design from 1938. It was NEVER designed nor intended for marine use, yet we use it for that.
The problem is not the heaters, unless someone sets a fleece coat on it, as happens about 10X per winter here in Maine, but rather the high loads imposed by them on your boats usually piss-poor and already unsafe corroded electrical system.
I am amazed that even someone who works on boats such as yourself can even see the real issue...?
How about some math:
1500W heater = 12.5A
2000W Domestic Water Heater = 16.6A
Right there alone, with just ONE 1500W space heater and the water heater kicking in we have grossly overloaded the safe zone for a marine 30A service!! Now keep in mind that many owners supplement reverse cycle heat, when it gets cold with more electric in the form of a space heater..... D'oh....! You would be amazed at the sheer number of boats who reset a main breaker multiple times per week and are then shocked to find a melted shore power inlet or plug... !
I caught this one just in time.. Was still hot while taking that photo...... TWO SPACE HEATERS ON A 50A SERVICE, PLUS THE WATER HEATER... Main breaker had never tripped because it was running at about 83% of 50A........
Even on-land no outlet or breaker should be run at more than roughly 80% of its rating. This is why you see most space heaters max out at 1500W because people WILL plug them into 15A outlets. A 1500W space heater is close to 80% of the load for a 15A breaker.
On a boat, with an old twist-lock 30A shore cord running anywhere above 21A or so, is simply ASKING FOR TROUBLE...... It is Darwin award level.....
Space heaters are one of the biggest
contributors to pushing boats electrical systems into the danger zone. It is not usually the heater but the SAFE working limit of your boats system. The little ceramic disc heaters are pretty darn safe it is what you are connecting that massive AC load to that makes it an unsafe situation.
You want to run electric heat safely add a second dedicated 30A or 50A service and use a SmartPlug when you do....
Beyond that many folks begin tripping main breakers in the winter so they go out and buy an extension cord and 30A adapter for the dock pedestal to power their extra heaters. They are now trying to "protect" a 14GA or 12GA wire with a 30A pedestal breaker.....D'oh......
This sort of thing would never be allowed under land based code but because marine use does not fall under NEC or NFPA standards, after the shore pedestal, Marinco, Hubbell and others feel the need to sell products that can create these blatantly unsafe situations that would NEVER, EVER be allowed on-shore. When was the last time you saw a pre-made adapter that went from a close dryer or range outlet to a 15A plug...????? Sounds stupid right? Sadly it is done every day
after dock pedestals because we really have no
hall monitors protecting us from ourselves.........:cussing:
Sorry for my rant but heaters are a MAJOR contributor to overloading shore circuits beyond the max safe working rage on boats with twist-lock inlets and cord sets.
