Engine room/bilge electrical receptacle

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V1rowT8

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Hello Surveyors,

I posted this in the engines, electric forum section, but perhaps it is better suited here. Your expert insights would be appreciated:

I bought an Xtreme Heater 600 watt bilge heater for my boat in order to extend my boating season somewhat. When it gets really cold, I intend to fully winterize.

For informational purposes, there is no reasonable way on my boat to just run the heater's cord into the cockpit area to plug it in, as the only receptacle there is a GFI type, which is not suitable for this application. Also, I would then not be able to close the engine hatch all the way, which would impair the heater's abilities anyhow.

That said, I would prefer to not hard wire the heater if possible. Preferably, I would like to have a receptacle somewhere in the engine room to plug this thing in. That would allow it to be easily removed during off-season, or moved to another boat should I sell. (FYI, we are dealing with gas engines.)

Here's my questions......

Is there a safe and proper way to wire a receptacle into a gasoline boat's engine compartment? If so, what are the considerations? Specifically, how high in the bilge should a receptacle be placed in order to not be in the mix of any latent gas fumes, but still not be too close to any potential standing water at the bilge's keel. This circuit would have to be of slow blow type (15 amps+), as the LRA rating for this unit at startup is 11 amps. Within a nano-second though, the draw is nominally at 5 amps.

I envisioned a dedicated receptacle in the bilge area, wired and mounted properly, with a dedicated circuit breaker somewhere outside the bilge. (Also, there are no extra A/C breaker slots at my main panel, so I assume an individual breaker could be placed anywhere reasonable.) This type setup would allow me to have power off at the breaker while plugging and unplugging, as well as off season, but still allow for the convenience of not permanently mounting the unit.

If there is a safe and legitimate way to do this? If so, and if done properly, in your opinion would this reduce the boat's resale value or appeal upon resale/survey?

Advice appreciated, and thanks in advance.

JW

Homeport: Virginia Beach, VA
 
JW, We have covered this issue in the past. Im sure if you look back far enough in the forum topics youll find it. Long story made short= If its not ignition protected, it doesnt belong in your bilge. Hard wire any ac components in the bilge area of a gas powered vessel.
 
Al's got it. No safe way. Of course, lots of folks follow the advice of no outlet in a gas engine room and just put an extension cord down there so they won't have an unsafe outlet. Of course, the extension cord is no better than the outlet!

At a minimum, hard wire enough cordage to get the connection out of the engine area.

After many years of being anal retentive, yet still suffering the occasional close calls. Anything that draws significant amounts of amperage while I am not around gets hardwired with tip top quality wire, connectors and any related material. It's hard enough to avoid a fire even when you do it right. Don't overlook your shore power connection either and tabulate the power draw along with everything else that is running on your boat at the same time. A common mistake is to forget cycling loads like the extra heater in your salon, or the frig etc... At some point while your not around, they will ALL come on at the same time.
 
Not sure how they do it but Tiara installs a duplex on the bulk head that separates the ER from the salon on its express models with gas engines. They probably do this on all of the boats they build. It does have a cover you have to lift open to use. The risk seems small to me as it is useful to have plug for certain tools and trouble lights. When you are down there working the whole floor is in the up position and any fumes would be immediately detectable. Their boats meet all known saftey standards and there are no recalls regarding this issue so there must be a correct way to do it.
 
quote:
Originally posted by sbw1

Their boats meet all known saftey standards and there are no recalls regarding this issue so there must be a correct way to do it.

Click to expand...


Bad assumption. Nobody is more of a cheerleader for Tiara than me, but technically this is not correct.

While I agree that for a knowlegeable and cautious owner, it is possible to operate an outlet in a safe manner (no different than occasionally using AC tools on a gas boat). Just don't leave an unattended plug down there live when you are not there and verified safe vapor conditions.

Just think about it, there is no possible way to keep a "plug" from moving and therby having the risk of arcing. That's why you hard wire and that's why I know that Tiara is bending the rules on this one.

The likelyhood of somebody blowing themselves up over this? Pretty small. Hell the likelihood of having an active leak is damn small all by itself. But that doesn't justify it!

bp
 
I just bought a 31 open. Is there a outlet located in the engine bilge on a 31?
 
You can get an explosion proof outlet and plug from any good electrical supply store. Good luck
 
All,

Per ABYC E11.15.3.5 "If installed in a head, galley, machinery space or on a weather deck, the receptacle shall be protected by a Type A GFCI. NOTE: GFCI receptacle devices are not necessarily ignition protected per E11.1.5.1.3.1." In fact there is no such thing as an ignition protected GFCI receptacle. Therefor, on a GASOLINE boat, there is NO safe 115 VAC receptacle in the engine compartment, NONE! I see standard household receptacles jury rigged into bilges all the time and write them up as a safety violation.

Regards,

Gary Shorrel
Marine Surveyor
SAMS SA
 
Thanks guys for all the valuable input. It has helped me with my decision on how to proceed.

Thanks again,

GW
 
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