120v/12v system ground

[PaulC]

Ok say your frame is not grounded to the 120v.some how a 120 hot wire rubs through the insulation and is touching the frame.it will not trip the breaker on the shore power.and whith rubber tires and most people using a wood block under the toung this will insulate the frame from the ground.you come walking up with your feet on the ground and touch any metal on the trailer.zap.that's why it is written in the electrical safety codes.ask any electrician they will agree.always bond the frame.

Finally an explanation that makes sense. Thank you. I still don't see the need for mains power on one of these little jiggers, but, you Americans always do things differently

Cheers
Paul

[Engineer Guy]

Yah, and we even use 'weird' Mains wire colors here vs. your Blue, Brown & Yellow/Green striped, right? The only problem I see with your 240 VAC Mains is that, if you get electrocuted there, you're twice as dead as would be the case with our 120 VAC here. That, and your Solar Panels all have to face the 'wrong' direction!

[PaulC]

Yah, and we even use 'weird' Mains wire colors here vs. your Blue, Brown & Yellow/Green striped, right? The only problem I see with your 240 VAC Mains is that, if you get electrocuted there, you're twice as dead as would be the case with our 120 VAC here. That, and your Solar Panels all have to face the 'wrong' direction!

[absolutsnwbrdr]

Ok say your frame is not grounded to the 120v.some how a 120 hot wire rubs through the insulation and is touching the frame.

Isn't this exactly why you should use a GFCI?


"If an appliance is working properly, all electricity that the appliance uses will flow from hot to neutral. A GFCI monitors the amount of current flowing from hot to neutral. If there is any imbalance, it trips the circuit. It is able to sense a mismatch as small as 4 or 5 milliamps, and it can react as quickly as one-thirtieth of a second." - HowStuffWorks.com

[eamarquardt]

The more I read, the less inclined I am to even think about 120 volts. Never had it on the boat and never missed it.

I don't quite understand why the neutral is grounded. Why don't we keep all power isolated from ground just like a portable generator? In theory you'd be hard pressed to conduct stray juice to ground if there was no potential there???????

Cheers,

Gus

[86bigred]

gfci are great,but it could fail. i have seen new breakers fail.grounding to the frame is extra precaution.

bonding the neutral to ground is only done at the main service panel,your house panel,or the main breaker box for shore power.