Yachtsinking Ex-wife Jailed

[Sandyman]

The only possibility of an arc on a 12v light switch would be if the fitting was fluorescent with a capacitive start.
Of course the claims were wrong. Possible yes, highly unlikely, but not definite as was claimed. Doubt defence team even realised he was talking rubbish.

 

[Rigger Mortice]

If you really believe that then I hope that your boat is well away from mine if you have a gas leak and start switching on lights to try to find the source.

 

[graham]

The only possibility of an arc on a 12v light switch would be if the fitting was fluorescent with a capacitive start.
Of course the claims were wrong. Possible yes, highly unlikely, but not definite as was claimed. Doubt defence team even realised he was talking rubbish.

I wouldnt like to be near a boat with butane / air mixed inside. maybe the switches are "unlikely" to initiate an explosion but that small possibility of sudden catastrophe would be enough to worry me. Difficult to see what point you are making, this woman deliberately endangered other peoples lives and property and deserves what she got.

 

[Seajet]

I happen to think she got away very lightly for attempted murder, and sabotaging a bloke's boat should carry an automatic trip to 'the chair' anyway !

I also have grave doubts re.Sandyman's assertions, 'slight chance but unlikely' is good enough for me to consider it worth avoiding seeing as the explosive proof would either spoil one's day or cancel it entirely...

Anyway who says shore power wasn't connected ?

 

[Rigger Mortice]

Anyway who says shore power wasn't connected ?

Good point.

Mind you, nobody seems to have picked up on the fact that most boat cookers are likely to have flame failure devices so the gas probably never filled the boat anyhow.....unless the mad woman had sabotaged it somehow.

 

[Lakesailor]

She drilled holes, who's to say she didn't cut pipes?

Whatever the actual risk, I think she was convicted and sentenced on the intention.

 

[grumpy_o_g]

Well, you could have used them to go climbing in the foothills?

Brilliant

 

[CreakyDecks]

The only possibility of an arc on a 12v light switch would be if the fitting was fluorescent with a capacitive start.
Of course the claims were wrong. Possible yes, highly unlikely, but not definite as was claimed. Doubt defence team even realised he was talking rubbish.

Not true. A 12V lighting system will carry 20 times the current of an equivalent power 240V lighting system. Breaking current into an inductive load is what causes a spark and any wire has some (admittedly small but non-zero) inductance, so switching off a 12V light WILL cause a small spark across the switch.

 

[Sandyman]

Not true. A 12V lighting system will carry 20 times the current of an equivalent power 240V lighting system..

If you say so, but would be grateful if you would do the maths to show me how.
If you are assuming that a boat has x number of 60 or 100 watt lamps then I could understand what you are saying. Maybe its late at night, had a few, no more than a few, beerrs

 

[Babylon]

A lot of gas under the bridge?

This woman clearly lacks any kind of criminal mind.

What she should have claimed is that, when going aboard to watch telly, she discovered the gas had been left on; so she rushed off to get a drill to make the holes to drain the gas because - as all responsible boatowners know - butane gas is not just highly explosive but heavier than air!

Maybe a long enough spell inside will learn her how to think like a proper crim!


PS The original article didn't make it clear whether this was her third marriage, or her husband's third marriage - poor journalism, frankly.

PPS Jeering aside, this woman is clearly mentally unwell. Prisons are no doubt filled with a lot of unwell people. This isn't to say that people shouldn't go unpunished or that society should go unprotected, but it does make one realise that a great many convicts would benefit from some kind of treatment - the kind that teaches them how to think in a less self-defeating way.

 

[snooks]

Maybe you're right. Would you care to fill your boat with propane and I'll give you a call? Then I'll know too.

We should have got her in the Crash Test Boat gas explosion which should hopefully happening this morning off the IOW

 

[nrbx]

A light switch can and very often does cause a spark inside it when you action it.

I don't get the mobile phone bit though.

 

[Lakesailor]

They (the ubiquitous "they") used to prohibit the use of mobile phones in petrol filling stations because of the risk of igniting fuel vapours.
I would have thought cranking an engine to start it after filling with fuel was far more hazardous.
The misconception lingers.

I still think it was the intent that she was punished for. Just because a suicide bomber has crap bomb-making skills doesn't make him innocent.

 

[RichardS]

Difficult to see what point you are making, this woman deliberately endangered other peoples lives and property and deserves what she got.

Agreed. We are constantly and rightly being cautioned about the well-proven danger of gas in a boat environment, whether that's hydrogen from batteries or propane/butane from cylinders.

I can't really see the purpose of trying to ridicule someone who draws attention to a real-life, albeit deliberate, example.

Richard

 

[maxi77]

The only possibility of an arc on a 12v light switch would be if the fitting was fluorescent with a capacitive start.
Of course the claims were wrong. Possible yes, highly unlikely, but not definite as was claimed. Doubt defence team even realised he was talking rubbish.

Not so almost any DC switch will draw an arc when it is being opened. That is why many switches which are suitable for AC and DC have a lower raating at DC, and those suitable for higher voltages/currents have special anti arcing devices added. hen switching AC the arc is effectively self extinguishing as the voltage reverses.

Arcing switches are reforded to have caused several gas explosions on boats which is why most of us are pretty careful with our gas installations

 

[kid's inheritance]

They (the ubiquitous "they") used to prohibit the use of mobile phones in petrol filling stations because of the risk of igniting fuel vapours.
I would have thought cranking an engine to start it after filling with fuel was far more hazardous.
The misconception lingers.

IQUOTE]

IIRC the explosion in the fuel storage facility 2 or 3 years ago was caused by a tanker driver using a non-approved mobile on site
Rob

 

[Coaster]

IIRC the explosion in the fuel storage facility 2 or 3 years ago was caused by a tanker driver using a non-approved mobile on site

Where was this? Details please.

My understanding is that there is not a single proven case, worldwide, of an explosion having been caused by the use of a mobile telephone at a petrol station or similar.

P.S. Snopes has an interesting entry on this subject - see here.

 

[kalessin]

IIRC the explosion in the fuel storage facility 2 or 3 years ago was caused by a tanker driver using a non-approved mobile on site
Rob

Do you mean Buncefield? If so, the explosion occurred as a result of about 300 tonnes of petrol leaking out of storage. Even so, the investigators did not think the explosion could have been triggered by a mobile phone. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buncefield_fire#Inquiry. You'd have a job to fit 300 tonnes of petrol into the average yacht.

 

[kid's inheritance]

I did mean that one, but in my defence , I did use IIRC! The volume is irrelevant , I do KNOW that from personal and very painful experience a small amount of explosive vapour is capable of serious harm
Regards
Rob

 

[Lakesailor]

The misconception lingers.

Point proven.