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Old 01-19-2016, 01:28 PM   #24
CaptTom
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City: Southern Maine
Vessel Model: Prairie 36 Coastal Cruiser
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 2,717
Quote:
Originally Posted by Capt Kangeroo View Post
Thanks S-Mike for the info regarding the neutral/ground. I bought the Lowes "water heater" but it appears to be wired normally without any connection between neutral and ground. Neither is there a sticker referencing such connection. Perhaps it is an issue that varies from State to State.
From the picture of the grounding strap posted earlier, it appears to me that it's a 240VAC appliance, with two hot (red and black) and one ground (white) wire. No green safety ground.

It's starting to make sense. Recently an appliance salesmen was trying to sell a 4-conductor plug for my new range. I'm guessing there's a push underway to add a safety ground to all 240VAC appliances, like we have in the 120VAC world. It's not a bad idea. I had an old range once that would give you a shock if you touched it while touching anything else that was grounded. Needless to say I replaced it.

Of course, you'd need to remove the bonding strap to convert your 3-wire appliance to a 4-wire plug. I might just do that when I install my range. Only I'll buy the cord on line for half what they wanted to charge me.

And, if Capt Kangeroo bought a 120VAC water heater, that might explain why it's wired "normally" and without a sticker. Most boats in the 30-35' range have smaller water heaters (6-12 G) that work on 120VAC, as do some "apartment size" heaters. Full-size home units and larger boats will use a 240VAC supply.
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