Posted by reedjayt2004 (reedjayt@…>)
Has anyone had any experience with galvanic Isolators? I replaced my
zincs twice last season on my 35 in Rock Hall MD. That was compared
with hardly any wear in Georgetown MD the prior two seasons.
Georgetown is fresher water, so that probably has something to do with
it, but I’m leaning toward installing a galvanic isolator to resolve
any issue.
Posted by Lorman, Alvin J. (ajlorman@…>)
I installed one. It will not necessarily solve your zinc problem, as that could be due to a “leaky” marina electrical system.
Al Lorman
F30 Ab Initio
-----Original Message-----From: freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com [mailto:freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of reedjayt2004Sent: Monday, March 26, 2007 1:24 PMTo: freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.comSubject: [freedomyachts2003] Galvanic Isolators
Has anyone had any experience with galvanic Isolators? I replaced my zincs twice last season on my 35 in Rock Hall MD. That was compared with hardly any wear in Georgetown MD the prior two seasons. Georgetown is fresher water, so that probably has something to do with it, but I’m leaning toward installing a galvanic isolator to resolve any issue.
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Posted by svfantasy@… (svfantasy@…>)
The purpose of a galvanic isolator is to protect your wet metal parts aboard the boat from the shore power in an effort to prevent or reduce electrolysis. Your DC and AC systems should have a common ground, including your boats bonding system. The galvanic isolator blocks low voltage current (less than 1 volt) from seeking ground through your shore power ground wire. However, should you have an AC short on board, the galvanic isolator will allow the high AC voltage to pass to ground, preventing potential electrical shock to us humans. Galvanic isolators work utilizing diodes. The best protection is obtained by using an isolation transformer instead of the galvanic isolator. They are quite a bit more expensive though.
Jay Glen
sv “Fantasy” Freedom 40 CK
San Francisco Bay
Posted by Dave_Benjamin (dave_benjamin@…>)
Actually the price of isolation transformers has come down quite a
bit in the past few years. Believe it or not Hunter one of the other
manufacturers has them as standard equipment and there is talk of
ABYC doing more to encourage their use.
While not as big and buly as before they are still a bit,
well,…big and bulky. Probably not an issue on a 40 footer but the
guy with a 30 may not find room.
— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “svfantasy@…”
<svfantasy@…> wrote:
The purpose of a galvanic isolator is to protect your wet metal
parts aboard the boat from the shore power in an effort to prevent or
reduce electrolysis. Your DC and AC systems should have a common
ground, including your boats bonding system. The galvanic isolator
blocks low voltage current (less than 1 volt) from seeking ground
through your shore power ground wire. However, should you have an AC
short on board, the galvanic isolator will allow the high AC voltage
to pass to ground, preventing potential electrical shock to us
humans. Galvanic isolators work utilizing diodes. The best protection
is obtained by using an isolation transformer instead of the galvanic
isolator. They are quite a bit more expensive though.Jay Glen
sv “Fantasy” Freedom 40 CK
San Francisco Bay
Posted by svfantasy@… (svfantasy@…>)
Dave,
I did notice recently that the price has come down substantially. They used to run about 2 - 3 thousand dollars, now they are in the upper hundreds. When I was a young electronics junkie I used to have numerous transformers that would have been suitable for this purpose. But, that was a long time ago.
Jay
Posted by Jay Glen (svfantasy@…>)
— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “reedjayt2004”
<reedjayt@…> wrote:
Has anyone had any experience with galvanic Isolators? I replaced
my
zincs twice last season on my 35 in Rock Hall MD. That was compared
with hardly any wear in Georgetown MD the prior two seasons.
Georgetown is fresher water, so that probably has something to do
with
it, but I’m leaning toward installing a galvanic isolator to resolve
any issue.
Also, I should have been clear in my previous post, an galvanic
isolator or an isolation transformer, we block stray currents from
poorly grounded boats near yours in the marina. So, they do provide
some protection. You might also want to hang a “guppy” zinc over the
side and clamp the cable to your shaft.
Jay Glen
Posted by michel.capel (michel.capel@…>)
I just bought a 3000 watt transformer as a voltage converter from 120v
to 24v vice versa for EUR 264/$380. It’s chinese, from the biggest
producer of converters and adapters, Minwa. It’s not galvanically
insulated, however. It has just one transformer. Quality is so-so,
when I got it, I unscrewed the top of the housing to find 2 loose
connections. Easy to repair, dangerous if not discovered.
— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “svfantasy@…”
<svfantasy@…> wrote:
Dave,
I did notice recently that the price has come down substantially.
They used to run about 2 - 3 thousand dollars, now they are in the
upper hundreds. When I was a young electronics junkie I used to have
numerous transformers that would have been suitable for this purpose.
But, that was a long time ago.Jay
Posted by michel.capel (michel.capel@…>)
the best protection for the shaft, and for every metal part under
water, is its own zinc and NO bonding wires.
If you have a zinc directly on the shaft, a guppy won’t work to
protect the shaft because there is more resistance in the guppy
connection to the shaft then in the schaft zinc connection to the
shaft.
If you have bronze throughhulls in a glassfiber boat and there are
no metal parts in the hoses touching the bronze, the throughhulls
won’t corrode because there cannot run a current through the
throughhull because it’s completely isolated from other metal parts.
If you bond, you create a path for a possible current, and the
throughhull will start corroding.
There is an interesting booklet from designer of aluminum yachts
Michael Kasten called Corrotion, Zincs and Bonding. Look at
http://www.kastenmarine.com/articles.htm#Downloads
— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “Jay Glen” <svfantasy@…>
wrote:
— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “reedjayt2004”
<reedjayt@> wrote:Has anyone had any experience with galvanic Isolators? I
replaced
my
zincs twice last season on my 35 in Rock Hall MD. That was
compared
with hardly any wear in Georgetown MD the prior two seasons.
Georgetown is fresher water, so that probably has something to
do
with
it, but I’m leaning toward installing a galvanic isolator to
resolve
any issue.Also, I should have been clear in my previous post, an galvanic
isolator or an isolation transformer, we block stray currents from
poorly grounded boats near yours in the marina. So, they do
provide
some protection. You might also want to hang a “guppy” zinc over
the
side and clamp the cable to your shaft.Jay Glen
Posted by Dave_Benjamin (dave_benjamin@…>)
I try to avoid Chinese stuff whenever possible. There is a missing
ethics component in the Chinese manufacturing sector. Very few can be
trusted. They just want to get product out the door and are
relatively unconcerned with liability because it’s not that easy to
sue someone over in China. A number of Chinese anchors have failed
due to poor metallurgy and vessels have been lost. But you still see
those same manufacturers exporting. That’s why my anchor is from
Belgium.
There is an isolation transformer brand here in the US called Henry
that seems pretty good and the prices are reasonable.
— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “michel.capel”
<michel.capel@…> wrote:
I just bought a 3000 watt transformer as a voltage converter from
120v
to 24v vice versa for EUR 264/$380. It’s chinese, from the biggest
producer of converters and adapters, Minwa. It’s not galvanically
insulated, however. It has just one transformer. Quality is so-so,
when I got it, I unscrewed the top of the housing to find 2 loose
connections. Easy to repair, dangerous if not discovered.— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “svfantasy@”
<svfantasy@> wrote:Dave,
I did notice recently that the price has come down substantially.
They used to run about 2 - 3 thousand dollars, now they are in the
upper hundreds. When I was a young electronics junkie I used to
have
numerous transformers that would have been suitable for this
purpose.
But, that was a long time ago.Jay
Posted by michel.capel (michel.capel@…>)
I think I just bought a chinese anchor… It’s a Kobra from
Plastimo (French brand) but I think made in china. It had good test
results though.
— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “Dave_Benjamin”
<dave_benjamin@…> wrote:
I try to avoid Chinese stuff whenever possible. There is a missing
ethics component in the Chinese manufacturing sector. Very few can
be
trusted. They just want to get product out the door and are
relatively unconcerned with liability because it’s not that easy
to
sue someone over in China. A number of Chinese anchors have failed
due to poor metallurgy and vessels have been lost. But you still
see
those same manufacturers exporting. That’s why my anchor is from
Belgium.There is an isolation transformer brand here in the US called
Henry
that seems pretty good and the prices are reasonable.— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “michel.capel”
<michel.capel@> wrote:I just bought a 3000 watt transformer as a voltage converter
from
120v
to 24v vice versa for EUR 264/$380. It’s chinese, from the
biggest
producer of converters and adapters, Minwa. It’s not
galvanically
insulated, however. It has just one transformer. Quality is so-
so,
when I got it, I unscrewed the top of the housing to find 2
loose
connections. Easy to repair, dangerous if not discovered.— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “svfantasy@”
<svfantasy@> wrote:Dave,
I did notice recently that the price has come down
substantially.
They used to run about 2 - 3 thousand dollars, now they are in
the
upper hundreds. When I was a young electronics junkie I used to
have
numerous transformers that would have been suitable for this
purpose.
But, that was a long time ago.Jay
Posted by michel.capel (michel.capel@…>)
Here’s another interesting link about galvanic isolators from
Yandina.
http://www.yandina.com/galvanicIsolator.htm
— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “michel.capel”
<michel.capel@…> wrote:
the best protection for the shaft, and for every metal part under
water, is its own zinc and NO bonding wires.If you have a zinc directly on the shaft, a guppy won’t work to
protect the shaft because there is more resistance in the guppy
connection to the shaft then in the schaft zinc connection to the
shaft.If you have bronze throughhulls in a glassfiber boat and there are
no metal parts in the hoses touching the bronze, the throughhulls
won’t corrode because there cannot run a current through the
throughhull because it’s completely isolated from other metal
parts.
If you bond, you create a path for a possible current, and the
throughhull will start corroding.There is an interesting booklet from designer of aluminum yachts
Michael Kasten called Corrotion, Zincs and Bonding. Look athttp://www.kastenmarine.com/articles.htm#Downloads
— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “Jay Glen” <svfantasy@>
wrote:— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “reedjayt2004”
<reedjayt@> wrote:Has anyone had any experience with galvanic Isolators? I
replaced
my
zincs twice last season on my 35 in Rock Hall MD. That was
compared
with hardly any wear in Georgetown MD the prior two seasons.
Georgetown is fresher water, so that probably has something to
do
with
it, but I’m leaning toward installing a galvanic isolator to
resolve
any issue.Also, I should have been clear in my previous post, an galvanic
isolator or an isolation transformer, we block stray currents
from
poorly grounded boats near yours in the marina. So, they do
provide
some protection. You might also want to hang a “guppy” zinc over
the
side and clamp the cable to your shaft.Jay Glen
Posted by Dave_Benjamin (dave_benjamin@…>)
Michel,
I’d use it as a lunch hook but I wouldn’t trust the boat to it. Many
fishing boats in Alaska started using Chinese anchors. A buddy of
mine does a lot of the surveys up there told me about it. Apparently
some of the anchors failed and it was due to improper metallurgy. The
only way you can get decent stuff made in China is if you have your
own QA/QC staff on site.
— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “michel.capel”
<michel.capel@…> wrote:
I think I just bought a chinese anchor… It’s a Kobra from
Plastimo (French brand) but I think made in china. It had good test
results though.— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “Dave_Benjamin”
<dave_benjamin@> wrote:I try to avoid Chinese stuff whenever possible. There is a
missing
ethics component in the Chinese manufacturing sector. Very few
can
be
trusted. They just want to get product out the door and are
relatively unconcerned with liability because it’s not that easy
to
sue someone over in China. A number of Chinese anchors have
failed
due to poor metallurgy and vessels have been lost. But you still
see
those same manufacturers exporting. That’s why my anchor is from
Belgium.There is an isolation transformer brand here in the US called
Henry
that seems pretty good and the prices are reasonable.— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “michel.capel”
<michel.capel@> wrote:I just bought a 3000 watt transformer as a voltage converter
from
120v
to 24v vice versa for EUR 264/$380. It’s chinese, from the
biggest
producer of converters and adapters, Minwa. It’s not
galvanically
insulated, however. It has just one transformer. Quality is so-
so,
when I got it, I unscrewed the top of the housing to find 2
loose
connections. Easy to repair, dangerous if not discovered.— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “svfantasy@”
<svfantasy@> wrote:Dave,
I did notice recently that the price has come down
substantially.
They used to run about 2 - 3 thousand dollars, now they are in
the
upper hundreds. When I was a young electronics junkie I used to
have
numerous transformers that would have been suitable for this
purpose.
But, that was a long time ago.Jay