4/6/2023 0 Comments Galvanic isolator![]() This often happens when another boat is using a cheap automotive battery charger or has a DC fault aboard.Įven if there are no faults on any boats near you, stray current can still be induced from the imbalance of underwater metals in those boats. Another boat may have a DC leak into their ground that will then flow to all boats nearby. ![]() DC voltage can sneak into this ground from other boats in adjacent slips. This ground wire is connected to all the ground wires from the other boats in the marina using the same transformer. So why would we need to block DC voltage on an AC line? To understand this it helps to understand how an AC ground wire is connected to the marina and other boats.Ī shore ground wire is connected to the ground of the transformer on shore which supplies power to your boat and all the other boats on the dock near you. It does this while at the same time allowing AC shorts and faults a path out of the boat and back to ground at the marina transformer. Isolators are installed in the shore power ground wire to block stray DC voltage from entering the boat through the ground wire and then exiting through grounded underwater metal, damaging that metal in the process. For those who like technical talk it is a blocking diode assembly in series with the ground wire. So what is a galvanic isolator and how does it work? A galvanic isolator is basically a one way valve for low voltage DC current. What is a Galvanic Isolator? A Fail Safe Isolator Most boats built after the mid-nineties would be equipped with one of these devices and many older boats have been retrofitted with one. ![]() A device called a “galvanic Isolator” can help block stray DC current from entering your vessel and possibly causing damage or reducing anode life. There is an alternative to the heavy and expensive isolation transformers that can offer some protection from the most likely sources of destructive stray electrical currents while staying in a marina. The problem is these units are expensive, bulky, generate a fair amount of heat and quite heavy making them impractical for many boats. Isolation transformers physically separate the wiring, blocking any stay currents and voltage spikes into your boat. The best defense from outside anomalies when in a marina is having an isolation transformer to completely isolate your boat from the shore power lines. The truth is if a boat is properly set up it should, for the most part, be protected from outside faults. Of course this can indeed sometimes be exasperated by, or caused by the marina or other boats nearby. The fact of the matter is that in most cases the problem is often not the fault of outside sources, but rather, is located on the boat having the problems. Often mislabeled as “Electrolysis” which is a different process, it should correctly be referred to as “galvanic corrosion.” Many are quick to blame the marina or the boat next to them if they find their underwater anodes or zincs are disappearing or worse yet their underwater metal is suffering from galvanic corrosion. There is a lot of misunderstanding about how corrosion of underwater metal happens on a boat and how being in a marina effects underwater metal corrosion. By Capt Wayne Canning, AMS Modern Galvanic Isolator
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