Dougal
Well-Known Member
Is there an inexpensive way of testing for this????
Ta!
Ta!
Marina Reverse Polirity?
- Thread starter Dougal
- Start date
Tidewaiter2
Well-Known Member
Just get one of those 3 pin testers with 3x3 light combinations from B&Q etc, and plug it into a blue three pin to marina male socket. About £30/40 fo,r the two, tops, and you can use the 3 pin/marina unit for drills sanders p/washers as well
VicS
Well-Known Member
one of the plug in socket testers such as http://www.diy.com/departments/bq-230v-socket-tester/178677_BQ.prd that you can plug into a socket on your boat
or neon permanently wired between earth and neutral
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Dougal
Well-Known Member
That item is marked "This unit will not detect earth neutral reverse" !!
VicS
Well-Known Member
you only asked for a means of detecting reverse polarity....... which is normally taken to mean live and neutral reversed
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Dougal
Well-Known Member
Errrr.... so whats the difference between 'earth neutral reverse' and reverse polarity?
VicS
Well-Known Member
Normally reverse polarity means the live and neutral reversed.. Al these plugin devices will detect that.
earth and neutral reversed means just that. None of these simple plug in devices will detect neutral and earth reversed
awol
Well-Known Member
Why not just stick your digimeter probes on AC volts and a suitable scale into the socket? Neutral to earth should be nought, live to both the other 2 should be lots. You'll probably find a bit of a voltage drop from 220v - worse the further away from terra firma.
RupertW
Well-Known Member
The cheapo 3 LED one seems to show most of the combinations including L to E reverse. It sits plugged in the whole time and is the check we do when plugging into a marina or quayside electrical point and is just much easier compared to getting the multimeter out. In Europe we find about half the time the polarity is reversed, and our current home marina is well known for reversing after heavy rain (I don't know either). So we have a short extension lead in the cockpit locker which reverses polarity which we put on and off as needed.
Stemar
Well-Known Member
Apologies for the drift, but I'm curious. How would you go about detecting reversed earth & neutral? As I understand it, they both go to earth not far up the line in the UK. Also, would it matter to me on my boat?
It is, or at least was, a different story in France. I used to fix vending machines and was in a factory working on one of our machines and measured 100+v between earth & neutral. I went to the maintenance guys to tell them about the "fault" I'd discovered, only to be told that it was nothing unusual.
It is, or at least was, a different story in France. I used to fix vending machines and was in a factory working on one of our machines and measured 100+v between earth & neutral. I went to the maintenance guys to tell them about the "fault" I'd discovered, only to be told that it was nothing unusual.
Dougal
Well-Known Member
Ah, its France I need to test. I keep damaging power adapters for Dell laptops. Only happens on the boat in France though. The boat is fitted with a mains circuit and one of those trip box thingies.
Stemar
Well-Known Member
I'd be more inclined to blame spikes in the supply for blowing a power supply than reversed polarity.
Get a surge protected extension lead or one of the fancier ones that are installed in the distrubution box if you've got a lot of delecate stuff. Lightning's a common culprit, especially if the power comes through overhead lines. A mate who sold stuff at compter fairs used to keep an eye on the weather and pack a few extra power supplies after thunderstorms in rural areas.
My experience of French leccy is 30-odd years old, but it used to be pretty good at being struck by lightning 'cos so much of it was carried through overhead lines and the south especially has regular thunderstorms. When I lived in the mountains south of Carcassonne, the village transformer would trip at least once a month, leaving us without power for an hour or two and get fried once or twice a year. I saw it happen once and it was quite spectacular - big flash then flames for a minute and smouldering gently for for an hour in spite of rain that was heavier than I can get in my shower. We were on candles for 3 weeks after that one.
It was long before personal computers, but we used to leave radios & tape players unplugged if we weren't using them, just in case.
Get a surge protected extension lead or one of the fancier ones that are installed in the distrubution box if you've got a lot of delecate stuff. Lightning's a common culprit, especially if the power comes through overhead lines. A mate who sold stuff at compter fairs used to keep an eye on the weather and pack a few extra power supplies after thunderstorms in rural areas.
My experience of French leccy is 30-odd years old, but it used to be pretty good at being struck by lightning 'cos so much of it was carried through overhead lines and the south especially has regular thunderstorms. When I lived in the mountains south of Carcassonne, the village transformer would trip at least once a month, leaving us without power for an hour or two and get fried once or twice a year. I saw it happen once and it was quite spectacular - big flash then flames for a minute and smouldering gently for for an hour in spite of rain that was heavier than I can get in my shower. We were on candles for 3 weeks after that one.
It was long before personal computers, but we used to leave radios & tape players unplugged if we weren't using them, just in case.