Fellow sailors,
I have been reading posts here for many years. Rarely have I ever posted (maybe never). I am trying to clear up some contradictory information I keep getting. I am in the process of rewiring my 1985
Tayana 37 Hull #450. I am working on finalizing my
electrical drawings and need help with a question... Before I ask the question a little background on me. I am a computer
engineer who previously was a component level
electronics engineer. I also worked for the Cable TV company for many years and held every technical role in the company you could. I have done whole house
wiring and know the building code around residential
electrical and have also read the ABYC standards for
marine electrical.
My plan... I am installing a simple AC system on my
boat. 30A 120V
service. I have no plans for an
inverter. I am simply going to have a 30A 120V SmartPlug on my
boat. That will go to an isolation transformer and then to my AC panel. The AC panel will simply feed the
water heater,
battery charger and 7 outlets. That is it.
My question... Reading the ABYC standards they call for ELCI protection for the boat. I have been told by a
surveyor and
marine electrician that I
DO NOT need an ELCI breaker between the
shore power inlet and my isolation transformer as long as it is 10' or less. A simple 30A breaker between
shore power and the isolation transformer will do. Again, that breaker needs to be installed at, or less than, 10 feet from the outlet. But no need for ELCI. This seems to make sense to me.
Others have told me that I
DO need the ELCI no matter what. Even if it is only protecting a 5' run between the shore
power inlet and the isolation transformer. I have a hard time wrapping my
head around that since it is such a small distance. Do I really need an ELCI for a 5' section of earth ground that runs from the shore inlet
power to the isolation transformer?
Oh, and you may want to steer me towards the Tayana Owners Group. I am very aware of hat site as I am one of the site admins for the TOG News site. :-)
Thanks for any advice!
Phil