Marina Dock Safely and IIeclric Shock

Drovning
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Instructnr Bin - Chris Dn!an
Senior Applications Engineer
13 years of experience with Eaton - Marina Power and
Lighting
Oversees more than 600 electrical designs a year
Experienced in power pedestals and distribution, and
electrical safety and efficiency
Speaker at numerous industry events
Contributor to the upcoming ASCE manual for marina
design
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Instructnr Bin Ed 5hcrman
Director, Educational Programming, American Boat &
Yacht Council (ABYC)
Award winning author of multiple best selling marine
books.
Titles include: Outboard Engines, Power Boaters Guide to
Electrical Systems, 12 Volt Bible for Boats 2
nd
Edition,
Advanced Marine Electrics and Electronic
Troubleshooting, Co-Author, Fundamentals of Marine
Service Technology
Frequent IBEX speaker.
Contributor to Cruising World, Boating, Professional Boat
Builder magazines.
Owner, www.EDSBoattips.com
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E!cctric 5hnck Drnwning and thc Causcs
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What is E!cctric 5hnck Drnwning?
IIeclric Shock Drovning occurs vhen fauIly viring on a boal or
in a marina causes undervaler melaIs lo become
energized.
IxamIes of undervaler melaIs lhal couId become
energized:
oal Iros
Dock Irames
This creales an eIeclricaI heId in lhe valer.
The magnilude and inlensily of lhe eIeclricaI heId is delermined
by hov much currenl is being Ieaked inlo lhe valer.
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A svimmer enlers lhe eIeclricaI heId and comIeles lhe eIeclricaI
circuil lo ground.
The svimmer becomes a largel for lhe eIeclricaI currenl
Ieakage because lhe human body is a beuer conduclor of
eIeclricily lhan fresh valer
Iresh valer is cIose lo 70 limes more resislive lhan saIl
valer. This makes eIeclric currenl Ieakage in fresh valer
marinas a ma|or concern.
Deending on lhe amounl of currenl in lhe valer and a
svimmers Iocalion reIalive lo lhe eIeclricaI heId, a erson
may exerience eecls ranging from a sIighl lingIe, lo
comIele Ioss of muscIe conlroI, lo venlricuIar hbriIIalion.
What is E!cctric 5hnck Drnwning?
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50mA of
Leakage
20mA of
Leakage
5mA of Leakage
Undcrwatcr E!cctrica! Fic!d
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Currenl
nol VoIlage
Lighl uIb
100 mA
Current Effects
1 mA to 8 mA Tingle, sensation of shock, not
painful, muscle control not lost
8 mA to 15 mA Painful shock, muscle control
not lost
15 mA to 20 mA Pain shock, muscle control is
lost, paralysis / inability to swim
occurs, labored breathing
50 mA to 100 mA Ventricular Fibrillation possible
100 mA to 200 mA Ventricular Fibrillation occurs
200+ mA Burn marks may appear, chest
muscles clamp heart
E!cctric 5hnck Drnwning Mcdica! Facts
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Line 1 (Iack) currenl carrying conduclor
Line 2 (Red) currenl carrying conduclor
NeulraI (While) relurns currenl lo comIele circuil
Ground (Green) oers currenl anolher alh lo
comIele circuil if shorl or overIoad occurs
Basics nI thc E!cctrica! 5ystcm
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Basics nI thc E!cctrica! 5ystcm
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IxamIe:
30 ams oul on
Iine lo lhe
recelacIe
29.5 ams relurned
via lhe neulraI
Grounding
conduclor icks
u lhe remaining
0.5 ams before
il can Ieak
inlo lhe valer
Prnpcr!y Functinning E!cctrica! Circuit
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IxamIe:
30 ams oul on
Iine lo lhe
recelacIe
29.0 ams relurned
via lhe neulraI
IauIly ground onIy
icks u 0.5
ams
0.5 ams are Ieaked
inlo valer,
resenling a
olenliaI
robIem.
Inadcquatc E!cctrica! Circuit
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Tvo lhings are required for IIeclric
Shock Drovning:
1. An eIeclricaI fauIl lo ground eilher
in lhe marina or on a boal
2. An incomIele circuil caused by a
fauIly or nonexislenl circuil
back lo lhe dock's grounding
syslem.

BricI Rcvicw Twn Kcys tn Rcmcbcr

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NEC 555.3 Grnund-Fau!t Prntcctinn
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Nev lo lhe 2011 NalionaI IIeclricaI Code
The main nvcrcurrcnt prntcctivc dcvicc lhal feeds lhe marina
shaII have ground fauIl roleclion nol exceeding 100mA.
Ground-roleclion of each individuaI circuil breaker or
feeder circuil shaII be ermiued as a suilabIe aIlernalive.
Ovcrcurrcnt prntcctinn dcvicc lhe device lhal disruls over
lo a circuil or iece of eIeclricaI equimenl in lhe evenl of
an eIeclricaI robIem. IxamIes incIude circuil breakers
and fuses. Circuil breakers are lhe mosl common form of
ground-fauIl roleclion devices.
There is a simiIar code lhal aIies lo oaling buiIdings aIso
requiring no Iess lhan 100mA roleclion for oaling
buiIdings NIC 553.4.
NEC 555.3 Grnund-Fau!t Prntcctinn
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Whcrc can 100mA Grnund-Fau!t Prntcctinn bc Lncatcd?
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Circuil breaker roleclion
can be Iocaled vhere
lhe incoming over
enlers lhe faciIily
from lhe uliIily
comany.
WhiIe an economicaI
soIulion, il may be
dicuIl lo inoinl
lhe exacl cause or
causes of lhe currenl
Ieakage.
Prntcctinn at thc Uti!ity Entrancc
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Circuil breaker roleclion can be
Iocaled al lhe head of each
dock vilhin a disconnecl or
dislribulion aneI.
ComaraliveIy, lhis is aIso an
economicaI soIulion.
Idenlifying lhe cause or causes of
lhe Ieakage deends on hnw
thc systcm is wircd.
Prntcctinn at thc Hcad nI Each Dnck
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Circuil breaker roleclion can be
Iocaled on each dock vilhin a
dislribulion aneI or lhrough
a ground fauIl moniloring
syslem vilh shunl lri circuil
breakers.
WhiIe lhis is a more coslIy soIulion,
il is reIaliveIy easy lo idenlify
lhe cause or causes of lhe
Ieakage.
Prntcctinn nn Each Dnck
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Circuil breaker roleclion can be
Iocaled in each over
edeslaI lhrough ground-
fauIl circuil breakers.
This is a very coslIy soIulion, bul is
very easy lo idenlify lhe
cause of currenl Ieakage. If
lhe circuil breaker lris, lhe
boal or iece of equimenl
Iugged in is exeriencing a
robIem.
Prntcctinn in Each Pnwcr Pcdcsta!
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What Can Bc Dnnc tn Lcsscn thc Chanccs nI an E!cctrica!
5hnw Drnwning?
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Do nol aIIov svimming in your marina.
Iosl signs rohibiling svimming in lhe marina.

Gcncra! Ru!cs Nn 5wimming in thc Marina

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Sel aside a vindov of lime vhere eoIe can vork on boals in
lhe valer vhen lhe eIeclricily viII be lurned o.
Iosl dales and / or limes.
Inform cuslomers and vorkers no over viII be avaiIabIe on lhe
docks.
Cuslomers need lo be avare lheir over viII be lurned o
during lhese vorking vindovs.
Conlraclors viII need lo be avare lhal no eIeclricily viII be
avaiIabIe for over looIs.

Gcncra! Ru!cs Dcsignatcd In-Watcr Wnrk Timcs

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IIeclricaI vork shouId onIy be comIeled by cerlihed
eIeclricians.
Marina vork shouId comIy vilh aII NIC and NIIA codes.
Rouline mainlenance and inseclions shouId be erformed
al Ieasl annuaIIy er NIIA 5.20 Mainlenance of IIeclricaI
Wiring and Iquimenl.
Documenl inseclions and mainlenance for IiabiIily
uroses.
oal ovners shouId have aII eIeclricaI vork comIeled by
AYC cerlihed eIeclricians.
oal ovners shouId aIso documenl inseclions and
mainlenance for IiabiIily uroses.
Gcncra! Ru!cs E!cctrica! Wnrk
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Grnund Fau!t Mnnitnrs
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If ossibIe lurn o aII over sources lhal may come in conlacl
vilh lhe valer. Area shouId be deemed safe before any
aclion is laken.
Ixlreme caulion shouId be laken vhen removing viclim from lhe
valer.
CaII 911 immedialeIy
egin arlihciaI venliIalion - viclim vilh uIse, bul nol brealhing
OR
CIR - viclim vilhoul uIse and nol brealhing
use (AID) ArlihciaI IIeclricaI DehbriIIalor if avaiIabIe
First Aid Inr E!cctric 5hnck Victims
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5igns nI E!cctric 5hnck Drnwning nr Pntcntia! Inr
E!cctrica! 5hnck Drnwning
Oflen Ieaves no bodiIy cIues lo suggesl anylhing bul simIe
drovning due lo aIcohoI inloxicalion or hearl auack.
No signs of burning due lo lhe viclim being submerged in
valer no signs of eIeclroculion.
Oflen cIassihed as eIeclricaI shock due lo evidence of greal
dislress, muIliIe dealhs.
Signs of a IolenliaI IrobIem:
TingIing sensalion reorled by anyone svimming in lhe
marina.
Ixcessive damage lo melaI boal arls in lhe valer ros,
elc.
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NFPA 303-5.20 Maintcnancc nI E!cctrica! Wiring and
Equipmcnt

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NFPA 303-5.20 Maintcnancc nI E!cctrica! Wiring and
Equipmcnt

An inspcctinn of aII eIeclricaI viring,

grnund cnnncctinns, conduil,
hangers, suorls, conneclions,
oulIels, aIiances, devices, and orlabIe
cabIes inslaIIed or used in a marina, boalyard,
boal basin, or simiIar eslabIishmenl shaII be
made al reguIar inlervaIs lo ensure a comIele
inseclion at !cast annua!!y.

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NFPA 303-5.20 Maintcnancc nI E!cctrica! Wiring and
Equipmcnt (cnnt.)

"#$% &'()%*+&,' -%./&-%0 &' 123425 ($677

&'*7/0% 6 +%(+ ,9 +$% :-,/'0 &'+%:-&+;
6'0 ),76-&+;2<
The use of grounding-lye orlabIe eIeclricaI
equimenl lhal is nol roerIy and
adequaleIy grounded shaII be idenlihed
and removed from use or reaired.

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Lel's Iook al severaI
suer looIs
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And a couIe of nol so
suer looIs...
A custom built meter
probe:
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A regular DVOM:
The very hrsl sle in lhis
rocess is lo delermine lhe
inlegrily of lhe viring al
lhe dock box...
Bad wiring at the dock pedestal may induce
errors to all of your readingsso, lets
begin with the SureTest tool.
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Whal viII lhe Sure Tesl
leII us`
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We will be using this tool
to determine some very
important things about
the dock wiring.
Ground, neutral and hot
wire integrity
Voltage drop, available
short circuit current
Actual resistance in ohms
for each conductor
And more.
IniliaI Iook is simiIar lo lhe
common LID lesler
In the example shown, the tool is indicating an open ground, a very
dangerous situation that should be corrected before going any further.
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The looI has a decoder charl on
il's back face........
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The false ground
feature is referring to a
neutral to ground
connection. This can be
a bit tricky depending
upon where you are
conducting the
test.i.e. on the boat or
at the dock pedestal.
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Here, ve are measuring
Iine voIlage..
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Here, ve are measuring
eak AC voIlage
Anolher voIlage reading lhe Sure Tesl can rovide is a
neulraI lo ground Ieakage voIlage..
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Anything less than 2
volts is acceptable.

Excessive reading
here indicates neutral
to ground current
leakage.
Line voIlage shouId read 120VAC +/-
10% al 60 Hz
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Here ve are lesling lhe
frequency..60 Hz
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Here ve are measuring voIlage dro..lhis
is an indicalor of inadequale vire gauge or
oor quaIily lerminalions...
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Here ve are aIso measuring voIlage
dro, bul al a higher currenl
IeveI...
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ASCC or avaiIabIe shorl-circuil currenl IeveI. Need lo muIliIy by
1000, so in lhis case ve see onIy 80 ams avaiIabIe. Nol very good and
again, indicalive of a oor conneclion or vire loo smaII.
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Here ve are measuring lhe acluaI
lri currenl for a GICI device..
Once ve have eslabIished lhal
lhe dock is OK, nov ve can
check for ground fauIl Ieakage
from boals.
Now we bring the inductive AC leakage
amp clamp into the mix..
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When using lhe AC Ieakage am
cIam, rocess of eIiminalion is reaIIy a
big arl of vhal you are doing...
Simply, this means that what goes down the hot
conductor must come back to the source via the
neutral conductor.
This would give us a zero amp reading on the
clamp meter.
Anything other than zero is a measurement of the
differential, or leakage current.
This current will always fault to ground , which
hopefully is a supplied conductor in excellent
condition on the dock.
Unfortunately we now know that this is often not the
case.
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AC is somelimes referred lo as
zero sum
Turn off the boats AC devices one at a time until
the leakage measurement zeros out.
You will have then identified the source.
If the measurement does not zero out then the
source of the leakage current is elsewhere on the
dock or a problem at the source.
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To delermine vhere lhe Ieakage is
coming from....
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To delermine vhere lhe Ieakage is
going lo...I use my dock vand
High amperage readings that keep getting higher
as on board appliances are turned on usually
indicates a neutral to ground connection at the
panel.

This is actually quite common in spite of the ABYC
E-11 directive that states not to do this.
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Olher reading ossibiIilies or
cIues...
Remember that every boat connected to the dock
wiring system is a contributor.
So, its best to test dock wiring integrity when all the
boats are disconnected.
ABYC Techs should never, ever disconnect a boat
from its dock pedestal without the boat owners
consentnot even for a few minutes!
Start at the farthest away from the shore and work
inward toward the dock source to try and isolate
problems.
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In my exerience il is besl lo lesl
docks in lhe o season..
Thank You! Are lhere any
addilionaI queslions`
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