Welding on narrowboat

[Narrowjack]

Sorry about this, I'm sure this question's been asked [& answered] a hundered times in these forums, but what are the basic do's & dont's associated with arc welding on boats, e.g. in the water/out the water; isolation of circuitry etc. I've done a search but I'm not seeing what i'm looking for. Thanks for any advice.

[Gary Peacock]

Sorry about this, I'm sure this question's been asked [& answered] a hundered times in these forums, but what are the basic do's & dont's associated with arc welding on boats, e.g. in the water/out the water; isolation of circuitry etc. I've done a search but I'm not seeing what i'm looking for. Thanks for any advice.

 

Different components vary in what you can get away with but best practise in the unknown is to disconnect everything, for the time taken it can be a far cheaper option than just crossing your fingers.

[Lesd]

It will never be proven but shortly after having some welding done on our bot our Victron combi packed up as did a bunch of LEDs. I'd play safe and disconect evrything before going ahread if I were you.

[DavidL]

I'm afraid I may just be adding more confusion here (or articulating some existing unknowns?), and recognizing that not everyone knows every detail of their boat's current (pun intended) systems, but...

 

I've recently welded on my 1904 dutch barge (btw is it iron or steel?), and I generally disconnect the batts from the main 12v distribution panel, but once I forgot (doh!), and found no problems afterwards (thanks!).

 

Moving it forward/onward/upwards:

What's a good (simple-ish) source of info for how the electrical systems should be set up? Shouldn't everything (all "loads" i.e. lights, pumps, etc) be grounded (I think you brits say "earthed") back to the batteries, rather than the hull or engine block? Therefore (if everything is properly "earthed") what risk would there be welding to the hull if it's electrically isolated from the systems? (and I agree if there's any uncertainty about how things are grounded/earthed, better to disconnect than buy a new thingamajig or three!)

 

I plan a lot more welding in the near future (once I can get the steel delivered), so it's one of many things I'm eager to learn more about as soon as possible.

Edited November 26, 2007 by DavidL