The push button circuit breaker on my 89 Mark 1 for the house plug outlets at the AC panel (swtich "b" in the C36 users manual), has given up the ghost.
I called Seaward for a replacement and they asked: "What is the Amp rating for this breaker?" I'm not sure, my boat is a 3 hour drive away, but what I am concerened about is that when I use a 1kw+ heater on shore power through the port salon outlet, the cabling behind the electrical from the AC neutral bus to this swtich in question gets REALLY hot.
[B]Questions:[/B]
1. Could this be an amp sizing issue - in which case what would be the size I should request from Seaward?
2. Is this possibly just that the breaker - which should have interrupted the circuit - didn't, becasue it was malfunctioning.. and thus created the dangerous overheat situation?
3. I shouldn't use such a watt-hungry domestic heater?
Triatica (GlennF)
s/v Blown Away
Sammamish, Wa
Hull #971
1989 Catalina 36
Universal M25xpb
I had the same issue...i replaced it with a 15 amp seaward thermal ac/dc breaker..it fit in the same space but i had to tweak the terminals a bit to work.It no longer gets hot either...The problem with the Seaward is you cant switch off the circuit by pressing on the button as with the old breaker..so far this hasnt been a problem..I also dont know why we can run a 30 amp shore power cord but the outlet circuit is only 15 amps??
"Sailing Still" 1990 C36 M25 wing
Sail Canada/Transport Canada training
Gibsons Harbour BC
www.landsendbc.ca
It's the wire size. It's only suitable for carrying 15 amps. You have 30 amps coming in but that also goes to the water heater which is a big draw, the battery charger and whatever other A/C circuits you've got. 30 amps is a small pie to cut up into pieces.
Thanks guys... just want to confirm: with the old push button style breaker that came with the boat, I should be able to press it again once "ON" and it should switch off??
When I do this, it stays "ON", which makes me think it's busted. If this is the "as designed" functionality, then I may not need to purchase a new one.
Comments?
Triatica (GlennF)
s/v Blown Away
Sammamish, Wa
Hull #971
1989 Catalina 36
Universal M25xpb
My original breakers,when pushed in,would pop out and kill that circuit...the new one i have does not...the problem is the overheating when under a light 900 watt load(small heater)..my new breaker does not overheat...if its hot when not overloaded,replace it.
"Sailing Still" 1990 C36 M25 wing
Sail Canada/Transport Canada training
Gibsons Harbour BC
www.landsendbc.ca