Tom

What is a ground isolator on the external power source?

Phil

>I fell into the camp of the bonders. It was factory installed on our last
>five vessels. I have pulled bronze through-hull fittings after 20 years
>service and found them as bright and uncompromised as the day they went in,
>with a bonded system--not so with the unbounded. Then there is the energy
>radiated about the vessel when transmitting on HF. It is enough to make
>lights come on. And tanks are not always free of salt water--except on the
>lakes.
>
>I noticed the bonding systems break down over time and since it doesn't run
>equipment, it is generally neglected.
>
>So, after installing new aluminum tanks in MOONSHADOW, we had the bonding
>system renewed completely and measured resistance throughout the system
>using the tanks as the main buss bringing all values to as close to zero as
>possible and balanced. The end values came to between 3 and 5 ohms.
>
>I have both a large zinc plate bolted to the hull aft and a bronze grounding
>plate central to the system.
>
>Before renovations, I was bothered by a rapid erosion of zincs. It turns out
>that our boat is moored near some metal boathouses and the zincs vanished
>within 3 to 4 months. So, in addition to balancing the potential in all
>metal, tanks and rigging included with through-hulls, we added a ground
>isolator to the external power source. Life of the zincs has more than
>quadrupled.
>
>I guess bonding is wearing suspenders along with a belt. Can't hurt.
>
>Tom
>
>MOONSHADOW Panda 40
>
>
>
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Received on Fri Feb 23 14:34:16 2007