Generator Safety Question

[avazquez]

Originally Posted by h20man

hmm...
And you leave your charger connected to power (generator / shore power / solar) while unattended?

ANY SYSTEM CAN FAIL. With proper maintenance and care, the probability of a disaster is lessened (except for acts of god).

I would suggest that there have been MORE fires, sinking/disasters from faulty shore power connections and the resultant fire then from a Generator running unattended.

Why? How often do people check their shore power connection/cord for signs of arc and spark? At the boat end? At the shore power side?

How often are people checking their batteries and insuring there are no dead cells that, with a charger unable to sense this, result in a fire from batteries being over charged?

We can all look for sources of disaster: The whale, so magnificent, not far from the boat,

can turn into a blubbery bat on the backstay.

An interesting source of statistics for FIRES is the following from BOATUS SEAWORTHY (the insurance arm ):

(This is just a sample.. some interesting reading...... They go into details on each item. I wonder how many who are now talking about the 'danger' of running a Genset unattended have thought and checked for these items.)

Why Boats Catch Fire
One problem with a fire aboard a boat is that unlike a house where running across the street to escape the flames is an option, on a boat there’s no place to go but overboard. Unfortunately, this violates the second rule of boating: Stay with the boat. Ironically, if enough of what the boat is floating on can be brought into the boat, the fire can usually be put out. This, however, violates the first law of boating: Keep the water outside the boat.

Obviously, stopping fires from getting started in the first place is the best defense. Fortunately, the best source for learning how to prevent fires is right here at Seaworthy—our Marine Insurance claim files. The files contain hundreds of fire-related claims which Seaworthy editors have spent many hours analyzing. Here’s a rundown:

Causes of Fires Started Aboard
Click on the links below for more information:
1) AC and DC wiring/appliance - 55%
2) Engine/Transmission Overheat - 24%
3) Fuel Leak - 8%
4) Miscellaneous - 7%
5) Unknown - 5%
6) Stove - 1%

Of course I leave the shore power connected. That risk I can tolerate. It is a matter of appreciation. Of course there are more fires due to shore power chords. More people leave shore power chords unnattended than generators. Probably 10000 to one or more.