Boat Burns in Grenada!

[Delfin]

Originally Posted by Teknav

Some folks would look at a naval destroyer at sea, and wonder about all "the protruding" wires and the dishes that turn full circle and semi/quarter circle. Trained eyes, would tell you the frequency ranges of the radios connected to these wires (antennae) and what these "dishes that spin" are for which systems. It is not a matter of telepathy, it is a matter of knowledge backed up by years of experience.

Mauritz

And your trained eye, looking at photos of a boat fire were able to pick up the jury rigged circuits you referred to that caused the fire.

Some vision.

p.s.
And I always thought they were just spinning dishes...(with wires) - thanks!

[Delfin]

Originally Posted by Panope

If I turn my main battery switches to the off position, everything on the boat is de-energized except for the solar controller (it is wired to the house bank). This solar controller has an "off" mode but the unit is still energized and giving readouts of voltages etc.

I never liked the idea of leaving this device energized 24/7. I think I will install a switch so that when I am not on-board, the boat will be absolutely 100% OFF.

Steve

Sounds like a plan, but it is also when you are on board that fires can start. I think it is prudent to spend a moment looking at each device that uses any power and to the extent possible make sure it is fused to the level of the circuit board. Unfortunately, this isn't something that many manufacturers call out because in many cases the fuse is hard wired onto the board and requires some real effort to change. But better that than no fuse at all. I presume that was the issue with my son's Bosch dishwasher - no fuse. In the case of my propane sniffer, it had a fuse, but that was sized for the maximum load of the device - switching the solenoid, and it took a fraction of that current to get the board smoking. Amazing how fast you can remove an electrical device when it starts to flame on you in the middle of the Pacific!

[chris07732]

Delfin: Good thinking about the solar disconnect. I have a large system on my home roof. 10 to 15 amps@ 340VDC. Hurricane Sandy flooded my basement to 9'. I had turned off the solar inverters which technically had a mechanical disconnect, so I thought I was ok. When the basement flooded, the saltwater re-made the connection. The DC power fed the wiring and the flooded inverters. The resulting fire/smoke condition did more damage to the house than Sandy.

I now have a true mechanical disconnect.

[Delfin]

Originally Posted by chris07732

Delfin: Good thinking about the solar disconnect. I have a large system on my home roof. 10 to 15 amps@ 340VDC. Hurricane Sandy flooded my basement to 9'. I had turned off the solar inverters which technically had a mechanical disconnect, so I thought I was ok. When the basement flooded, the saltwater re-made the connection. The DC power fed the wiring and the flooded inverters. The resulting fire/smoke condition did more damage to the house than Sandy.

I now have a true mechanical disconnect.

Wow, I'm sorry to hear that. Hope you've recovered....

[cheoah]

Originally Posted by Delfin

The risk of electrical fires has increased with the proliferation of printed circuit boards. The problem is that fires can start on these boards at amperage draws below that which would trip the breaker. And the substrate of those boards burns quite well, thank you, generating enough heat to set the surroundings on fire. My son's house caught on fire from a Bosch dishwasher that wasn't running but had current supplied to it, lighting up the control panel. The breaker tripped long after the flames were going well enough to set the cabinets above on fire. There have been quite a few house fires from Bosch dishwashers just like this, but the problem relates to a printed circuit board short that could happen to any device containing a board under power.

I had a similar fire start in the middle of the Pacific while sailing back from Hawaii. In my case, it was the PC board for the propane sniffer. The fuse was sized for the load required to open the solenoid, and was far more amperage than needed to get start a burn on the board.

Properly tightened, and assuming all copper and no aluminum (cold flows under pressure), a fire inside a panel not exposed to salt water is very unlikely. A fire on a printed circuit board happens all the time, so my advice is to leave nothing on that can be turned off, and buy equipment that comes with fractional amperage fusing built in. Some boards have that, some don't. Buyer beware.

Just a few weeks ago my wife frantically called me in the kitchen because "something is wrong with the dishwasher and I smell something burning!" Luckily it did not catch on fire, but the main board was fried, like you said, Bosch dishwasher. Sheesh. Did your son have the power on, but not active?

[cheoah]

Originally Posted by chris07732

Delfin: Good thinking about the solar disconnect. I have a large system on my home roof. 10 to 15 amps@ 340VDC. Hurricane Sandy flooded my basement to 9'. I had turned off the solar inverters which technically had a mechanical disconnect, so I thought I was ok. When the basement flooded, the saltwater re-made the connection. The DC power fed the wiring and the flooded inverters. The resulting fire/smoke condition did more damage to the house than Sandy.

I now have a true mechanical disconnect.

Wow. Couldn't have seen that coming. Not sure I quite understand the size of the system but enough to cause some damage I guess. My one Kyocera puts out about 6-7 amps but at lower voltage.

[Delfin]

Originally Posted by cheoah

Just a few weeks ago my wife frantically called me in the kitchen because "something is wrong with the dishwasher and I smell something burning!" Luckily it did not catch on fire, but the main board was fried, like you said, Bosch dishwasher. Sheesh. Did your son have the power on, but not active?

Yes. It was just sitting there. I mentioned this at church and one other person said their display had gone out, they were charged $150 for a replacement, and when he removed the old one it had a charred corner. So they don't all burst into flames but these and other PCB's can. It can happen whenever there is power to the unit, which is why it is a good idea to power off everything not in use if it has a PCB, and for those things which must be left on, make sure either board level fuse protection is built in, or install one yourself if you can. Sometimes you can't, but if you can, you should.

http://www.bosch-home.com/us/support...er-recall.html

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Project boat !


(with acknowledgements to MarkJ)

appears it may have some above the water blisters..?

[barnakiel]

So that's like you go somewhere and they charge you a cruising fee, a visa fee and some other fees. Then they do not have a boat that can come along to extinguish a cruising yacht?

Apparently the cruising fees in Grenada fill the wrong wallet!

PS Very rare they could not put the fire out with onboard extinguishers and buckets. I have seen a major boat fire and it took two guys with two extinguishers plus a couple of buckets of water to stop the trouble.

b.

[Blue Stocking]

[QUOTE=foolishsailor;1261138]


I didnt realize the social class system and its conflicts had penetrated the cruising comminity to this extent - where assistance is witheld based on evaluation of wheter a boat owner is worthy of assistance.

See my post # 32.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by foolishsailor

I didnt realize there was a financial means testing for a sailor to receive assistance?

If on a stormy night in the marina or at anchor and someone who left their headsail on the furler and is now in trouble i dont measure thier boat or estimate their assets before lending a hand.

Whoever was on this boat that night - owner or skipper - deserved a hand.

They also deserve whatever assistance we would offer any other boat that was in trouble - doesnt mean financial.

I didnt realize the social class system and its conflicts had penetrated the cruising comminity to this extent - where assistance is witheld based on evaluation of wheter a boat owner is worthy of assistance.

5million or 5thousand - this boat, crew, and owner are still part of our fraternity.

You are correct.
I am seeing into some that I had not seen before.
This, I suppose is because I have not had the money to buy the boat I "want" (and probably never will) but I have a lot more now than I ever thought I would. I worked for it though by taking only 10-25 days a year off and being "on call" or working 24/7 every other day. I made some money.
And I see here someone who is just further (albeit a whole lot) down (up) the money line and has the ability (smarts?) to have a company "own" the boat. I won't make it that far but can still dream about it.
My brother in law could do that. Should some feel sorry for his sister stuck with me?
All that above to say to some - It is all points on a line that is very long and if you are not as far as someone and take offense then............well............tough schit and screw you too. Get a job.
I know where my dingy would have been at 0500. Where would yours be?

[Blue Stocking]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

appears it may have some above the water blisters..?

Nothing a fella with your skill set couldn't handle, eh Cheech ?

[Teknav]

Hiya Blue! It is like when people say that: "insurance will pay for the damage". Guess whose money insurers use to pay for the damage?

Mauritz
Going to behave now!

[bobconnie]

Ahh I remember when CO2 was the system to have ! Maybe it's a good Idea to have a co2 system for your electronics wireing bays !! We have so few electronics, and they are in different places, so we don't have a place to have a problem of this sort! I think if I had the bucks to buy a boat like this one , I would sure require a fire system to keep this type of incident from happening ! Just my 2 cents! And Connie and I hope the crew member is taken care of ! and we also hope the owners Ins Co also takes care of bizz for him !!

[Bash]

Originally Posted by bobconnie

and we also hope the owners Ins Co also takes care of bizz for him !!

Really. I'd guess that the deductible on that boat was at least $40,000 USD.