psneeld
Guru
New info for all the shore power worry warts and smart plug enthusiasts....
Boat Fires - Seaworthy Magazine - BoatUS
Boat Fires - Seaworthy Magazine - BoatUS
boat fires
- Thread starter psneeld
- Start date
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O C Diver
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Lots of good information in the article. Some wishful thinking also. They recommend not using electric heaters on boats when nobody will be on board. Think the PNW contingent may take exception with that.
Ted
Ted
caltexflanc
Guru
Be interesting to see the same statistical breakdown separated for gasoline and diesel powered boats. Certainly nothing in the report dissuades me from taking the shorepower system seriously.
OP
OP
psneeld
Guru
I wonder how many electric heaters actually catch on fire or like o many issues on a boat (or home) is it mismanagement of the actual use?
An example would be plugging the heater into an extension cord, multipl4 socket expander, or power strip not rated for the current draw or is damaged.
Often safety statistics are skewed by mislabeling the root cause....I think I see that a lot in the boating safety statistics.
You mean like this ?
I love my job. I get to see this stuff all the time
11 outlet multipliers with 29 items plugged in, 22 extension cords and a propane locker in the bilge !
You can't make this stuff up.
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Capt Kangeroo
Senior Member
Interesting article but the graph may be skewed somewhat or perhaps I misinterpreted how they arrived at the percentages. All categories except "Off Boat" would be indicative of individual fires. If 26% are "off boat fires" and 70% of these are marina fires, it stands to reason "Off boat fires" would be higher by percentage as it often involves multiple boats burned. ie: a single marina fire could destroy 20 boats.
Nonetheless, I am surprised that DC fires exceed AC. Something I will pay more attention to in future.
Nonetheless, I am surprised that DC fires exceed AC. Something I will pay more attention to in future.
SailorFromRI
Veteran Member
You mean like this ?
I love my job. I get to see this stuff all the time
11 outlet multipliers with 29 items plugged in, 22 extension cords and a propane locker in the bilge !
You can't make this stuff up.
What? No good?
Capt Kangeroo
Senior Member
"Stoves. The incidence of fires due to stoves has decreased with the gradual replacement of alcohol stoves with propane stoves and electric ranges. "
Lets start the old alcohol vs. propane argument again
Clearly alcohol is the "smart boaters" choice. We use 20yr old scotch, a bit stubborn to light and rather expensive but it tastes good. In order to avoid spills and fires I carefully meter it out, one for the stove..... two for me.
I've got thousands of photos like those. You might find Stoopid Boat Owner Tricks entertaining.
caltexflanc
Guru
That's why I asked about a breakdown between gas and diesel. The source of a gas boat going boom is going to be DC 99% of the time.
But yes, even with diesel bad DC cabling and connections and batteries are dangerous. Some people actually think, "oh it's low voltage, what me worry? "
FF
Guru
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Most hassles with electric heat is caused by the nature of the portable heaters and their wiring.
There are dirt home systems that mount against a wall., and are hard wired in.
OF course when the dock electric goes down for a week or two , it can get chilly.
A big snow storm will usually have power restored at hospitals , police stations , skools , apartments ,,,,marinas are low on the totem pole.
There are dirt home systems that mount against a wall., and are hard wired in.
OF course when the dock electric goes down for a week or two , it can get chilly.
A big snow storm will usually have power restored at hospitals , police stations , skools , apartments ,,,,marinas are low on the totem pole.
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My boat was pretty much one owner, by a guy who owned some car dealerships. He had car guys do a lot of stuff on the boat over the years, and also did work himself. Everything worked but not much complied with standards of any kind, or in many cases common sense. Boatpoker could have created a couple of extra photo albums had he been aboard.
I knew at first glance there would be quite a bit of electrical work to be done. Beyond the tangled spaghetti under the helm and in the ER, when looking closely it was readily apparent there were some items without fuses, and wire colour codes were semi-random. I intended to fix the 12V myself. Then I took stock and realised it was better to get it done by pros. I am happy that we put in new switchpanels (part of that was that I was adding 230V AC 50Hz into the system) and we re-did everything in the ER as well. Not a full re-wire: we used a lot of existing wiring, but renewed terminations and most stuff at both ends of the wiring.
Really scary things on boats are DC and propane faults - either might start a fire that could kill you. One I got a chuckle out of was an pair of AC circuit breakers within the propane locker, an owner mod for a pair of dual voltage portable fridge/freezers on the boat deck. The propane locker was on the boat deck, but had a hole in one corner for wiring/piping leading down into the galley and stateroom. Any propane leaks the circuit breakers didn't ignite was going to fill the interior of the boat for something else to ignite it. At the end of all the work, which did cost a lot, I now sleep with full confidence in the quality of the systems on board. That's priceless.
I knew at first glance there would be quite a bit of electrical work to be done. Beyond the tangled spaghetti under the helm and in the ER, when looking closely it was readily apparent there were some items without fuses, and wire colour codes were semi-random. I intended to fix the 12V myself. Then I took stock and realised it was better to get it done by pros. I am happy that we put in new switchpanels (part of that was that I was adding 230V AC 50Hz into the system) and we re-did everything in the ER as well. Not a full re-wire: we used a lot of existing wiring, but renewed terminations and most stuff at both ends of the wiring.
Really scary things on boats are DC and propane faults - either might start a fire that could kill you. One I got a chuckle out of was an pair of AC circuit breakers within the propane locker, an owner mod for a pair of dual voltage portable fridge/freezers on the boat deck. The propane locker was on the boat deck, but had a hole in one corner for wiring/piping leading down into the galley and stateroom. Any propane leaks the circuit breakers didn't ignite was going to fill the interior of the boat for something else to ignite it. At the end of all the work, which did cost a lot, I now sleep with full confidence in the quality of the systems on board. That's priceless.
