Marina electrical connections

Hi,

In Europe you are getting 50 Hz Power from the normal supply no matter if it is 3 phase 400V or single phase 230V.

Single phase power is normally one phase of the three phase supply and the neutral.

Previously the 3 Phase power here in Europe was 380V if you divide this by 1.732 ( the square root of 3 ) you get the sngle phase voltage. Inthis case 380/1.732 = 219.39 or what would normaly be called 220V Single phase.

400/1.732 = 230.94 or 230V Single phase and for the Australians and New Zealanders where the 3 Phase is normally 415/1.732 = 239.60 or what is commonly referd to as 240 Single phase

what is the common max current available though. is above 50 amps to be expected?

Hi,

That's not an easy one to answer.

You will find vaiation in marina to marina ad even sometimes in diferent loation in the same marina the current and plugs differ.

I a talking about Eurpoean Power here:

Single Phase is normally 16 or 32 Amp

ThrEe phase can vary but would normaly start at around 32 then jump to 63 and then it s all over the place up to about 600 Amps on a couple of berths.

mm74:
Check with your local electrical shop.
There are devices that will convert anything that the dock supplies to what can work safely for your vessel.

Although in some cases this may mean plugging into two or more outlets to get adequate supply. (I am currently plugged into two 220v 50 amp outlets to get the min 75amps I need!)

The energy companies are happy if you use more power. So in europe the acceptable voltage is between 180 and 240 volts. Mostly you get the 240 because the used energy depends from the square of the voltage and so you pay more to the companies. :-(

for 3 phases you have then 240 * 1.732 = 415 volts ...

Hi,

The US is a whole different ball game.

From what I remember you can get up to 100 Amps of Single Phase, 220V is often referred to as Two Phase.

Your best bet would be to ask a few marinas where you pans to cruise to get an idea of what they offer. Tell them you want to book a berth when you are in the area and you are checking the facilities.

Originally By Ju52:

"The energy companies are happy if you use more power. So in europe the acceptable voltage is between 180 and 240 volts. Mostly you get the 240 because the used energy depends from the square of the voltage and so you pay more to the companies. :-("

I would be very surprised if the Energy Companies could supply you in Germany or anywhere else in Europe at 180V ( 311V 3 Phase)a lot of Under voltage protection devices would be tripped well before this and there would be a lot of blown fuses and or damage in and to appliances drawing much more current than they are designed to do. When Voltage Drops Current rises and vice versa.

I stick by what I said about 400 being the norm here in Europe( I am in Germany), I just measured two single phase sockets 1 in my Office and 1 in a workshop using a recently re calibrated Fluke 87 DMM.I found 230.4 in the office and 230.9 in the workshop proving the info I posted earlier 400/1.732 =230.94

As I wrote in my first post on this subject.

The biggest thing to check when setting up a system on board yourself is phase balance, Don't take all your single phase loads off the same leg of 3 phase.

This is especially important for setting up generators for parallel running. If the heaviest loaded phase has the CT that senses Genset load you will be plagued with starts and stops with underloaded gensets.

I'm working in a bigger IT area ... 180V is a theoretical minimum what you should get from the power lines. I never measured less 210Vin Germany.

If you have a static restistance R then the power is U * I = U * U / R. In practice an enginge sucks more current to deliver the needed power...

Hi,

I would like to see the contract to supply where the Power company states that a 230V Single Phase supply can go as low as 180 V even theoretically.

If you are measuring the power out of any type of power supply, power conditioning, soft start, drive unit then your numbers can vary greatly momentarily.