Marina with GFI

[hooligan6a]

Every time I plug in my shore power in a marina with a built in GFI myboat trips the circuit breaker and I can not use shore power. Is there anyway I can bypass
The GFI?

[benkay]

Darwin Award contender #1

Please don’t do that. If the GF I is tripping there’s something wrong on your boat that needs looking at and fixing.

GFI is there for a reason, preventing you from potentially killing yourself. Don’t bypass it.

[Maine Sail]

Originally Posted by hooligan6a

Every time I plug in my shore power in a marina with a built in GFI myboat trips the circuit breaker and I can not use shore power. Is there anyway I can bypass
The GFI?

Unfortunately your boat is the problem, not the marinas GFCI. This is only going to get worse as more and more marinas come into compliance with the NEC/NFPA regulations. The new land based regulations are exposing years and years of dangerous boat wiring. Think of this as a good thing not a bad one..



Have a competent electrician go through the AC system and find the problem. It could be something as simple as a neutral to ground bond on your boat while plugged into shore power.. Incorrectly wired AC systems on boats can be dangerous.

[hooligan6a]

You know where you can stick your award. This marina has been here for over 25 years and they never had a GFI's until last month. If they are so necessary why didn't they put them in 25 years ago?? Most marinas do not have GFI's why is that, if you are so damn smart.

[hooligan6a]

Maine Sail I did have an electrician look at my boat and he thinks it is my inverter/charger that is causing it to trip. I was at this marina a few months ago before
they put in the GFI's and i had no problem. It is not dangerous situation that benkay, in his great wisdom thinks it is.

[chris95040]

Originally Posted by hooligan6a

You know where you can stick your award. This marina has been here for over 25 years and they never had a GFI's until last month. If they are so necessary why didn't they put them in 25 years ago?? Most marinas do not have GFI's why is that, if you are so damn smart.

OMG. Where to begin. I'm glad you weren't in the cave when folks were inventing fire.

The fact that you are tripping GFIs means you have a ground fault. That means current is returning by the wrong path which can be a lethal problem.

Most folks would want to root cause that, to make sure they weren't at risk of electrocuting any kids swimming around their boat, but I can tell you are not that sort of guy.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by hooligan6a

This marina has been here for over 25 years and they never had a GFI's until last month. If they are so necessary why didn't they put them in 25 years ago?? Most marinas do not have GFI's why is that, if you are so damn smart.

GFIs first became widely used in the 1980s. The requirements to use them have been phased in over time. Marina electric wiring is governed by state law, and code adoption varies from state to state.


Typically nusiance GFI trips are caused by a short between neutral and ground. Sometimes neutral and ground are shorted together deliberately, for various reasons. In other cases it occurs unintentionally due to an uninsulated neutral wire contacting a grounded metal component, or due to excessive moisture in wiring devices.


Whether or not the connection is intentional, it does pose safety risks. Correcting the problem gives you a safer boat.



Such problems are usually not difficult or expensive to find or fix, for people who are good at electrical work.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by hooligan6a

Maine Sail I did have an electrician look at my boat and he thinks it is my inverter/charger that is causing it to trip.

Could be. Sometimes the surge protection devices (MOVs) internal to an inverter/charger will fail in such a way as to create a path to ground.


Some older inverter chargers that incorporate a transfer switch, are wired deliberately to connect neutral and ground together even when in "charger" (shore power) mode. If present, this connection will have to be removed to eliminate the nuisance trips.


Some older transfer switches do not switch the neutral and do not have "ground lift" provisions, and would have to be replaced. There's an article here that covers the requirements in detail:


https://gilwellbear.wordpress.com/20...ding-on-boats/

[SV Bacchus]

Hooligan you came off strong on someone that is offering advice to save your life. The Darwin comment was probably used because you asked everyone how you could bypass the safety feature that might keep you from lighting up like Sparky.

Please keep an open mind, you've been offered good advice by all who responded. Well, except me, I am not an electrical genius. That is why I do heed the advice of others.

[Maine Sail]

Originally Posted by hooligan6a

You know where you can stick your award. This marina has been here for over 25 years and they never had a GFI's until last month. If they are so necessary why didn't they put them in 25 years ago?? Most marinas do not have GFI's why is that, if you are so damn smart.

The NEC/NFPA marinas & boat yards ground fault requirements only changed fairly recently and revisions/changes were made in 2014 and 2017. Once a marina does work to the system they are then required to become in compliance. The current requirement is for a 30mA trip and this is a drop from an allowable 100mA in 2014. The new land based codes / laws are simply exposing boats that are not wired correctly, lots of them.



Your case could be worse. Some marinas are not allowing owners who've tripped the GFI to plug in until they have a marine electrician inspect and fix the boat.

[hooligan6a]

SV Bacchus. I came on strong? I came here for some advice not to be made fun of, especially by some jerk that is miles away and has no idea what is happing on my boat. and I took your remarks to be rude and not at all helpful.If you don't have anything constructive to say don't say anything. There is no danger to me or others on my boat. The problem seems to be in my inverter. What I meant to say is, how can I bypass the inverter not the GFI. I was at this marina a few months ago and there were no GFI's and everything worked fine. Now all of sudden people think if you are not plugged into a GFI you are going to kill someone. I am willing to bet that you do not have a GFI protecting your boat.

And Chris 95404, if your still there, don't get your panties is a bunch, there are no kids swimming around my boat. Same thing goes for you if you have nothing helpful to say, just keep it to your self. I'll will get this problem fixed without any of your advice. Thanks.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by hooligan6a

SV Bacchus. I came on strong? I came here for some advice not to be made fun of, especially by some jerk that is miles away and has no idea what is happing on my boat. and I took your remarks to be rude and not at all helpful.If you don't have anything constructive to say don't say anything. There is no danger to me or others on my boat. The problem seems to be in my inverter. What I meant to say is, how can I bypass the inverter not the GFI. I was at this marina a few months ago and there were no GFI's and everything worked fine. Now all of sudden people think if you are not plugged into a GFI you are going to kill someone. I am willing to bet that you do not have a GFI protecting your boat.

And Chris 95404, if your still there, don't get your panties is a bunch, there are no kids swimming around my boat. Same thing goes for you if you have nothing helpful to say, just keep it to your self. I'll will get this problem fixed without any of your advice. Thanks.

Wow! Experienced people with substantial marine electrical qualifications give you solid, correct advice and you respond with that diatribe. Why did you ask the question in the first place if you already know all the answers ?

PS. You clearly do not understand the issue. GFCI's don't protect the boat, they protect the crew.

[SV Bacchus]

Originally Posted by hooligan6a

I took your remarks to be rude and not at all helpful.

Wow, I was rude to you? I don't see it and certainly didn't mean it. But out of curiosity, how do you see your remarks to us?

[smac999]

Originally Posted by Jammer

Some older inverter chargers that incorporate a transfer switch, are wired deliberately to connect neutral and ground together even when in "charger" (shore power) mode. If present, this connection will have to be removed to eliminate the nuisance trips./[/url]

never seen that. some old inverters simply don't have the bond. I've never seen a perminate one.

what trips is if the inverter is wired wrong. the inverter loads need their own neutral bus. very common to see a single neutral bus on the boat. a single common neutral bus on a boat with inverter / charger will trip a GFI. (one of many things that can trip it)

[smac999]

Originally Posted by hooligan6a

There is no danger to me or others on my boat. The problem seems to be in my inverter. What I meant to say is, how can I bypass the inverter not the GFI. I was at this marina a few months ago and there were no GFI's and everything worked fine.

I was on a multi million dollar 2 year old boat few months ago. never had an issue. went on a trip away and was tripping GFI docks. come back home. no issues. called me to come look. showed up and measured. 7 amps AC flowing into the water. issues was right from factory 2 years ago. problem was there the whole time. luckily it was a GFI and not a dead swimer who found the issue.

just because you don't see a problem or did not have a problem in the past does not mean you don't have a big one...