Smart Plug -- Wow!

[jmschmidt]

Water on the ground, the floor or other surface will provide a seal to ground a part of your body which can produce a shock or even electrocution, but clean fresh water will not conduct electricity. Try it an see. Cut one wire of a lamp cord, strip and place the stripped ends into a container of clean fresh water with few inches of separation. Plug the lamp in and turn on the switch. I think we did this in seventh grade general science.

If water conducted electricity lightning in a rain storm would electrocute everyone within miles. You and Ben Franklin have to be hooked to a kite by a silk to get a shock from lightening.

[rbk]

Originally Posted by unbusted67

Actually anyone know if they make a female fixed end with a male cable end? I was just down on the dock today fixing my kiosk because my 30 amp plug corroded and over heated. Anyone know if they make a kiosk side?

At least no one would be stealing your cord

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by jmschmidt

Water on the ground, the floor or other surface will provide a seal to ground a part of your body which can produce a shock or even electrocution, but clean fresh water will not conduct electricity. Try it an see. Cut one wire of a lamp cord, strip and place the stripped ends into a container of clean fresh water with few inches of separation. Plug the lamp in and turn on the switch. I think we did this in seventh grade general science.

If water conducted electricity lightning in a rain storm would electrocute everyone within miles. You and Ben Franklin have to be hooked to a kite by a silk to get a shock from lightening.

This is false ! DO NOT try this.
Pure distilled water is dielectric however,
the stuff that comes out of your tap is not that pure and differs significantly from different municipal water sources with various levels of minerals and chorine which make the water conductive.

You may want to look into ESD (electric shcock drowning) in fresh water if you have any doubts.
or ..... drop your hair dryer in your bathtub

[Bleemus]

Originally Posted by jmschmidt

Water on the ground, the floor or other surface will provide a seal to ground a part of your body which can produce a shock or even electrocution, but clean fresh water will not conduct electricity. Try it an see. Cut one wire of a lamp cord, strip and place the stripped ends into a container of clean fresh water with few inches of separation. Plug the lamp in and turn on the switch. I think we did this in seventh grade general science.

If water conducted electricity lightning in a rain storm would electrocute everyone within miles. You and Ben Franklin have to be hooked to a kite by a silk to get a shock from lightening.

Somebody skipped science class.

[rbk]

Originally Posted by Bleemus

Somebody skipped science class.

He forgot to mention to dip one hand in the electrified water while grabbing your kitchen faucet

[boat driver]

pure fresh distilled water is a dielectric- but tap water etc. is not pure.
The reason GFI is utilized in fresh water surrounded environments (bath, kitchen) is because the lack of volume of the water permits the body to become a preferred route.
In the ocean the water is of such volume to dissipate the charge.
That is how the Chicago fish gates and other methods of stunning fish work.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by 406Columbia

thanks guys, going to get myself a 30amp version. Just bought a nice stainless marinco but will return it and get a smartplug

That is a really good decision

[transmitterdan]

Originally Posted by jmschmidt

Water on the ground, the floor or other surface will provide a seal to ground a part of your body which can produce a shock or even electrocution, but clean fresh water will not conduct electricity. Try it an see. Cut one wire of a lamp cord, strip and place the stripped ends into a container of clean fresh water with few inches of separation. Plug the lamp in and turn on the switch. I think we did this in seventh grade general science.

If water conducted electricity lightning in a rain storm would electrocute everyone within miles. You and Ben Franklin have to be hooked to a kite by a silk to get a shock from lightening.

Do not try this experiment ever. The premise is completely false. Tap water is conductive. People require minerals in drinking water so that's why in stores you can buy distilled water and drinking water. They are not the same thing. Drinking water is conductive.

Also, water has a very high dielectric constant (80 times more than air) which means it will conduct some AC current. So even pure distilled water can allow you to be shocked under the right circumstances.

Rain water is very low conductivity but once it hits the ground it absorbs minerals and becomes very conductive People are often shocked by lightning a long distance from the actual strike location.

[rbk]

Originally Posted by transmitterdan

Do not try this experiment ever. The premise is completely false. Tap water is conductive. People require minerals in drinking water so that's why in stores you can buy distilled water and drinking water. They are not the same thing. Drinking water is conductive.

Also, water has a very high dielectric constant (80 times more than air) which means it will conduct some AC current. So even pure distilled water can allow you to be shocked under the right circumstances.

Rain water is very low conductivity but once it hits the ground it absorbs minerals and becomes very conductive People are often shocked by lightning a long distance from the actual strike location.

Most people are unaware that drinking distilled water is bad for you short term and long term it will kill you. Also consuming huge quantities of regular drinking/tap water over a short period can also kill you.

[jmschmidt]

Rain water is distilled water.

[jmschmidt]

Don't drink the yellow snow up there in Whitehorse.

[wrwakefield]

Originally Posted by transmitterdan

If you parallel 2 inlet connectors I am pretty sure that is a safety code violation. It would effectively create a Jesus cord/connector by exposing the mains to fingers.

Transmitterdan, I agree this is a big safety concern.

I don't know if it is covered in the ABYC guidelines, but I tend to err on the side of caution regardless, and would never allow more than one inlet to be 'hot' at a time. And, I want them all off when I'm not using shorepower so my generator or inverter cannot supply voltage to unused shorepower inlets...

Our boat came with two 50A shorepower inlets for convenience [port and starboard- use the most convenient— but only one at a time.] The first thing I did was check to make sure the lazy inlet was isolated. [i.e., only one inlet at a time was hot to avoid shocking anyone who touched a hot connector in an unused inlet...]

This is covered on our boat by using paired, safety interlocked breakers [one 3-pole breaker per inlet; two in our case] A physical lockout on the paired breakers prevents more than one breaker being on at a time. And they can both be 'locked' off when using the generator or inverter for the same safety reasons.

This would not be difficult to retrofit for anyone needing to do so using breakers with safety interlocks, an appropriate rotary switch, etc.

In case this is useful to anyone contemplating multiple shore power inlets [or forgetting to turn their inlets off when not in use; e.g. when creating AC power onboard which is independent of the shorepower inlet(s).]

Cheers! Bill

[boat driver]

Originally Posted by jmschmidt

Rain water is distilled water.

not after it passes thru the atmosphere- acid rain? particulate? etc.

[transmitterdan]

Originally Posted by jmschmidt

Rain water is distilled water.

Not always. In Texas we would sometimes got muddy rain when dust from out west would be washed down during a storm. Cars were covered in red dirt after such a rain.

[rbk]

Originally Posted by jmschmidt

Don't drink the yellow snow up there in Whitehorse.

Ya but it Tate’s better than the brown snow