I have a couple of questions. If someone can help, I would appreciate it very much. My boat is a 1990 Hunter 30. Last Saturday I found my AC main breaker kept tripping. If I switched the AC main on with all other AC breakers off then the AC main would stay on. But as soon as I switch one of the other AC breakers such as outlets (I got 1 small fan plugged in), or battery charger, the AC main would tripped. I thought my AC main has gone bad. So I went to West Marine to look for replacement. But none was available. Then I found that my AC main breaker is a tripple pole type??? So I guess my first question is why tripple pole? It looks like I only have 120v circuits in my boat and the AC power cord I have has only 3 prongs. So was it tripple pole or was I mistaken? Then I started to disconnect the wires to remove the breaker in order to take it to the marine stores to find the replacement. Then I noticed something like an ic device connect diagonally across the main breaker. I didn't know what it was, but I just removed it, then connected the rest of the wires back just to see what happened. Then like a miracle, the breakers worked again. I could switched on the main, the outlets and the battery charger. And my boat is a great boat again. After that I went on the internet to research the ic device I removed. It looks like the ic device was a surge arrestor. And it may be obsolete, although I probably can still buy it. So I wonder if anyone else know what I am talking about and if I really need to replace that surge arrestor? After all, that little ic surge arrestor probably can't stop that much of a surge, and the only things that plugged into the AC circuits are the outlets, battery charger, and the hot water heater (which I normally leave it off). Thanks.
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picture?
Surprised H would install a surge suppressor in an early '90s boat but then again, I surprise easily. Sounds more like a early version galvanic isolator across the neutral but doesn't make sense based on your description. Either could be bad and removed without adverse effect at least in the short term but it would be best to find out for sure what you've got there - maybe someone else can be more intuitive then me. The triple pole switch has me baffled.
Surprised H would install a surge suppressor in an early '90s boat but then again, I surprise easily. Sounds more like a early version galvanic isolator across the neutral but doesn't make sense based on your description. Either could be bad and removed without adverse effect at least in the short term but it would be best to find out for sure what you've got there - maybe someone else can be more intuitive then me. The triple pole switch has me baffled.
my guess
is that it's a surge suppressor rather than a surge arrestor, the difference being this is the low voltage protector not capable of doing much of anything to worry about and most of us don't have them or delicate electronic equipment other than the ordinary stuff on our boats which might also indicate it's nothing crucial. You might want to talk to some expert or consult Hunter directly to hear what they recommend but I wouldn't be too concerned in the meantime.
is that it's a surge suppressor rather than a surge arrestor, the difference being this is the low voltage protector not capable of doing much of anything to worry about and most of us don't have them or delicate electronic equipment other than the ordinary stuff on our boats which might also indicate it's nothing crucial. You might want to talk to some expert or consult Hunter directly to hear what they recommend but I wouldn't be too concerned in the meantime.
bonding ground and surge arrestor
Tuyen, when shore power is connected (breaker on) the boat ground goes back to the distribution box at the shore power. At this point, ground and neutral are connected together at the shore power distribution box. The only reason I can see for three poles on the main breaker is to bond the neutral to ground when the breaker is turned off. What I think is being done is that when the breaker is on, the circuit breaker is breaking a connection between neutral and ground - this is now done at the shore power distribution box. When the breaker is off, one of the poles in the breaker is connecting the neutral of the internal wires to the battery negative (which is your boat ground). So now you have a ground derived at the boat when the breaker is off. Is there a jumper between two of the poles and is battery ground connected to one of them? The item you took off looks like a gas discharge tube and it is used for transient suppression. Was it connected between line and neutral(black and white) wires - Or - line and ground(black and bare copper)? I would not recommend replacing, use transient suppression with an outlet strip if you need it.
Tuyen, when shore power is connected (breaker on) the boat ground goes back to the distribution box at the shore power. At this point, ground and neutral are connected together at the shore power distribution box. The only reason I can see for three poles on the main breaker is to bond the neutral to ground when the breaker is turned off. What I think is being done is that when the breaker is on, the circuit breaker is breaking a connection between neutral and ground - this is now done at the shore power distribution box. When the breaker is off, one of the poles in the breaker is connecting the neutral of the internal wires to the battery negative (which is your boat ground). So now you have a ground derived at the boat when the breaker is off. Is there a jumper between two of the poles and is battery ground connected to one of them? The item you took off looks like a gas discharge tube and it is used for transient suppression. Was it connected between line and neutral(black and white) wires - Or - line and ground(black and bare copper)? I would not recommend replacing, use transient suppression with an outlet strip if you need it.
I was hoping other Hunter owners can confirm
Guy & Don, thanks for your input. I was hoping that other Hunters owner can check their crow nest and confirm what I had. I guess I will try to contact Hunters today and will report what I found. I guess if the ic device was either surge arrestor or suppresor, it was a little too small (and also obsolete - maybe because it was too small
)) that there's no harm in not replacing it. And the tripple pole breaker, I just want to understand it more so that if I need to replace it, I would know exactly what to do.
Guy & Don, thanks for your input. I was hoping that other Hunters owner can check their crow nest and confirm what I had. I guess I will try to contact Hunters today and will report what I found. I guess if the ic device was either surge arrestor or suppresor, it was a little too small (and also obsolete - maybe because it was too small
)) that there's no harm in not replacing it. And the tripple pole breaker, I just want to understand it more so that if I need to replace it, I would know exactly what to do.
Surge Arrestor
The CG75L is a surge arrestor but it might be being used to trip the main breaker in the event that hot and neutral ever get changed over. In this case it should be wired between neutral and the ground (or earth) wire and, should the shore supply ever have the full AC voltage on the neutral line, it will take the breaker out. ie. just what it is doing. In which case it is providing a valuable safety service. My 376 (1996) has a similar device linked to a neon lamp and a test button. Is there any chance that either you or the marina has switched hot & neutral?
The CG75L is a surge arrestor but it might be being used to trip the main breaker in the event that hot and neutral ever get changed over. In this case it should be wired between neutral and the ground (or earth) wire and, should the shore supply ever have the full AC voltage on the neutral line, it will take the breaker out. ie. just what it is doing. In which case it is providing a valuable safety service. My 376 (1996) has a similar device linked to a neon lamp and a test button. Is there any chance that either you or the marina has switched hot & neutral?
Good point donalex.
I looked up the specs for the cg75l and it is rated at 75V. So there is no way it could be connected up to line to neutral since that is 120V. That device is protecting from reverse polarity. I agree with Donalex. Whats odd though is the way his system is behaving. If the polarity was reversed, one would expect the ac main breaker to trip as soon as the main was closed. This would happen under any condition. His system allows him to turn on the main as long as the other breakers are turned off. As soon as he turns another breaker on, the main trips. Take out the cg751 and problem disappears. There is something else going on here. Tuyen, I would measure all the voltages at the ac receptacles. line to neutral and line to ground and neutral to ground. They should be 120vac, 120vac, and less than 1 vac respectively. The line is the smaller blade, the bigger blade is the neutral and the ground is round. You may have another problem besides the device you removed. You may have a loose connection on the neutral or ground side.
I looked up the specs for the cg75l and it is rated at 75V. So there is no way it could be connected up to line to neutral since that is 120V. That device is protecting from reverse polarity. I agree with Donalex. Whats odd though is the way his system is behaving. If the polarity was reversed, one would expect the ac main breaker to trip as soon as the main was closed. This would happen under any condition. His system allows him to turn on the main as long as the other breakers are turned off. As soon as he turns another breaker on, the main trips. Take out the cg751 and problem disappears. There is something else going on here. Tuyen, I would measure all the voltages at the ac receptacles. line to neutral and line to ground and neutral to ground. They should be 120vac, 120vac, and less than 1 vac respectively. The line is the smaller blade, the bigger blade is the neutral and the ground is round. You may have another problem besides the device you removed. You may have a loose connection on the neutral or ground side.
Very possible
Donadex, if what you say is true, it would be the most plausible explanation I see so far. The surge arrestor/suppresor doesn't make sense with something that small. The tripping happened after I got back from an outing. So it is possible that I plugged the power cord in wrong - although I should not able to because one of the prongs has the 90 degree bend which should prevent that. And I did unplugged the power cord before I removed the device and I think I checked the plug carefully before plugged it back in. I sent in a technical question to Hunter and am waiting for their response. In the mean time, it looks like I should order a replacement and put it back. It would be an important device if that what it was for.
Donadex, if what you say is true, it would be the most plausible explanation I see so far. The surge arrestor/suppresor doesn't make sense with something that small. The tripping happened after I got back from an outing. So it is possible that I plugged the power cord in wrong - although I should not able to because one of the prongs has the 90 degree bend which should prevent that. And I did unplugged the power cord before I removed the device and I think I checked the plug carefully before plugged it back in. I sent in a technical question to Hunter and am waiting for their response. In the mean time, it looks like I should order a replacement and put it back. It would be an important device if that what it was for.
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