Marinco GalvanAlert

V

VF84Sluggo

.
Jan 10, 2015
130
. . Pensacola, FL
Been a few threads recently about AC connections while in the slip, galvanic corrosion, stray currents, etc. Just wondering if anyone has any thoughts about this gizmo:

http://www.westmarine.com/buy/marin...tor-with-reverse-polarity-indicator--10066827

...and, if it really does anything. Seems kind of pricey if all it does is just 'alert', but provide no protections. What if all looks good when you plug in after a mooring, but then you're not there later to see the 'alert' if a problem arises?
 
justsomeguy

justsomeguy

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Feb 20, 2011
8,062
Island Packet 35 Tucson, AZ/San Carlos, MX
And will it fit my Smartplug, or do I need a $100.00 adapter? :laugh:

(I'd wait until the reviews come in from the schmucks who buy one, and then not buy one.)
 
justsomeguy

justsomeguy

.
Feb 20, 2011
8,062
Island Packet 35 Tucson, AZ/San Carlos, MX
The reviews didn't load the first time I tried, but did the second time. Someone supposedly bought one in '11, and gave it 5 stars.

I guess if you've spent the money, you'd have to try to justify it, somehow.
 
Delezynski

Delezynski

.
Jan 22, 2008
551
NorSea 27 Az., Doing the To-Do list
VF84Sluggo said:
What is it?
Click to expand
A small tester I keep in my tool box and use BEFORE I plug in our shore power. Cruising foreign ports makes it a GOOD item to have.

It has 3 LED lights on it and how they light up lets you know;
1. Open ground
2. Open Neutral
3. Open hot
4. HOT/Ground rev.
5. HOT/NEW rev.
6. Correct

And also does a GFCI test.

I also have a screwdriver that tells me with a light & tone if a circuit is hot by just getting close to it. Also a BIG help.

Greg
 
rgranger

rgranger

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Jan 19, 2010
12,935
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
Greg is right... I have one also. You can get one at Lowes or Home Depot. I used it at home as well and also at work (I tested all of the lab outlets).

Twice I have found outlets with floating grounds and once I found an outlet that was wired backwards. So far, none of the marinas I've tied up to had faulty outlets.

Just hook up like you normally would and then plug it into one of your boat's outlets in the cabin. If all is good... you will know right away.
 
Delezynski

Delezynski

.
Jan 22, 2008
551
NorSea 27 Az., Doing the To-Do list
rgranger said:
Greg is right... I have one also. You can get one at Lowes or Home Depot. I used it at home as well and also at work (I tested all of the lab outlets).

Twice I have found outlets with floating grounds and once I found an outlet that was wired backwards. So far, none of the marinas I've tied up to had faulty outlets.

Just hook up like you normally would and then plug it into one of your boat's outlets in the cabin. If all is good... you will know right away.
Click to expand
In one marina that was very new in Mexico, I found the dock power was wrong by testing it before I plugged in using that small device. It gave me the time & knowledge to open my shore power plug and re-wire it so the lines were correct when I plugged in!

Can't say anything happened, but that's the way we like it, cure it BEFORE it becomes a problem! ;)

Greg
 
Maine Sail

Maine Sail

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Feb 6, 1998
11,759
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
Not a huge fan of the Galvan Alert.. While nice to see idiot lights that tell you if you have voltage on the ground it adds 6 more connections / points of failure (three male>female connections on each side) in an already piss-poor plug standard.... :doh:

Keep your shore connections to a bare minimum.... If you plug into a dock the bare minimum you'll want is a galvanic-isolator...
 
V

VF84Sluggo

.
Jan 10, 2015
130
. . Pensacola, FL
Thanks for the input, gents! I picked up one of the outlet testers today, along with a digital multimeter.
 
V

VF84Sluggo

.
Jan 10, 2015
130
. . Pensacola, FL
Checked the AC outlets yesterday with the circuit-tester gizmo. All checked ok...but, none of the outlets are of the GFI type....seems like this is not a good thing.
 
Maine Sail

Maine Sail

.
Feb 6, 1998
11,759
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
Bob 04 H260 said:
Could you please elaborate how you would connect some LEDs to indicate if an isolator is working or not.

Thanks, Bob
Click to expand
You buy a "Fail Safe" GI if you want to meet the current safety standards.....

I have seen far too many failed GI's due to lightning strikes etc. that the owners had no clue were dead. Not a safe situation to lose your protective Earth wire and not know it.
 
Bob 04 H260

Bob 04 H260

.
May 16, 2007
1,509
Boatless ! 26 Ottawa, Ontario
Maine Sail said:
You buy a "Fail Safe" GI if you want to meet the current safety standards.....

I have seen far too many failed GI's due to lightning strikes etc. that the owners had no clue were dead. Not a safe situation to lose your protective Earth wire and not know it.
Click to expand
If a fail safe GI fails I assume it maintains the ground connection. They do not seem to have an indicator that you no longer have galvanic protection. So do they need to be manually tested as well the same as a GI that is not fail safe ?

I have two 30A Promariner GIs, they test fine. The monitors for them started alarming, appear to be malfunctioning because both GIs test fine on my Fluke. I installed a small panel with terminals going to the GIs makes testing the easy. If I had an LED indicator it would be even better.

Bob
 
Maine Sail

Maine Sail

.
Feb 6, 1998
11,759
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
Bob 04 H260 said:
If a fail safe GI fails I assume it maintains the ground connection. They do not seem to have an indicator that you no longer have galvanic protection. So do they need to be manually tested as well the same as a GI that is not fail safe ?

I have two 30A Promariner GIs, they test fine. The monitors for them started alarming, appear to be malfunctioning because both GIs test fine on my Fluke. I installed a small panel with terminals going to the GIs makes testing the easy. If I had an LED indicator it would be even better.

Bob
Click to expand
Yes they fail safely, in that you retain protective Earth, but you may lose galvanic isolation. Anytime you've had a strike in your marina is a good time to test your GI...

They used to make GI's that had lights but they were costly and always had a phantom load so when DEI came out with the Fail Safe isolators the industry moved in that direction.
 
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