How to track down stray current

[mogulskibum]

So I'm going through zincs way too fast.

Old boat, same slip = no problem.

New boat = problem.

My immediate neighbors have not changed, but 2 boats down have.

I installed a galvanic isolator on the AC system last spring (and I've verified it's working with a multimeter multiple times).

Still have a problem burning through zincs.

Could anyone enlighten me on the best / most efficient way to start to track down the problem?

This is one of those things where I don't even know where to start.

Well, that's not entirely true, I do know:
Step one: get out multi-meter
...
...
Step X: get out beer.

I need help getting from step one to step X.

[lamadriver]

Fairly recent thread about this i think

I just bought Ed Shermans Advanced Marine Electrics and Trouble shooting book. He goes into detail on finding stray dc and ac current and explains the procedure really well.
\


Well worth he 30 dollars.

Id bet you have a dc leak somewhere.

I also purchase a silver/ Silver Chloride reference electrode from Boat Zinc's. Shermans book goes into detail on how to use it .

Good luck

LD

[UNCIVILIZED]

Even if your boat, nor your neighbors hadn't either, the amount of stray current in the water can still change. There's a lot more to it than the variables mentioned. And it is possible to measure the amount of current in the water in various locations, as well as making pretty good educated guesses as to where it's coming from.

There are a few threads on the subject, but I'm up late enough that I can't recall their titles. That said, think about what might happen to the current in the water when say an AC ground wire on a dock finger grows more corroded with time. We've all seen crreeping corrosion in wiring. That, or it could be any one of a hundred other things which can alter the electricity patterns in the area. Makes my head hurt just trying to ponder what but a score of them might be.