Boat wiring questions
 

On May 29, 8:40*am, Wizard of Woodstock wrote:
On Fri, 29 May 2009 05:20:26 -0700 (PDT), wrote:
On May 29, 6:52*am, Wizard of Woodstock wrote:
On Fri, 29 May 2009 06:13:25 -0400, jim785 wrote:
Richard Casady wrote:
On Wed, 27 May 2009 08:25:22 -0600, "SteveB"
wrote:

A knife switch is just a straight piece of copper that looks like a knife.
On one end it is bolted to two strips of copper so it rotates. *On the other
it fits BETWEEN two strips of copper. *It is usually bolted on a board or
base. *You've probably seen them in electrical panels. *Not real common, yet
still used.

The cabin at the lake has fuses and knife switches.

Casady

I'll bet it has knob and tube wiring as well.

Fireman's Friends.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Where I lived in western NY there's still a lot of knob and tube
wiring around. It's safe except that now days, people pile insulation
on it, etc. Add to that that when knob and tube was used, the average
house's electrical devices were one small light per room! So, you
overload it, then pile insulation on top of it, and it overheats.

Oh, there's no doubt about that - but fighting a fire in one of those
old stick built frame two stories is a piece of cake with knob and
tubing - Romex, not so much.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

My brother bought a foreclosure in Hornell, NY, an old railroad town.
It had natural gas lights at first. Then, they ran wiring through
parts of the natural gas piping, and there was knob and tube that
looked like some kid did it!

Boat wiring questions
 

On May 29, 9:44*am, wrote:
On May 29, 8:40*am, Wizard of Woodstock wrote:





On Fri, 29 May 2009 05:20:26 -0700 (PDT), wrote:
On May 29, 6:52*am, Wizard of Woodstock wrote:
On Fri, 29 May 2009 06:13:25 -0400, jim785 wrote:
Richard Casady wrote:
On Wed, 27 May 2009 08:25:22 -0600, "SteveB"
wrote:

A knife switch is just a straight piece of copper that looks like a knife.
On one end it is bolted to two strips of copper so it rotates. *On the other
it fits BETWEEN two strips of copper. *It is usually bolted on a board or
base. *You've probably seen them in electrical panels. *Not real common, yet
still used.

The cabin at the lake has fuses and knife switches.

Casady

I'll bet it has knob and tube wiring as well.

Fireman's Friends.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Where I lived in western NY there's still a lot of knob and tube
wiring around. It's safe except that now days, people pile insulation
on it, etc. Add to that that when knob and tube was used, the average
house's electrical devices were one small light per room! So, you
overload it, then pile insulation on top of it, and it overheats.

Oh, there's no doubt about that - but fighting a fire in one of those
old stick built frame two stories is a piece of cake with knob and
tubing - Romex, not so much.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

My brother bought a foreclosure in Hornell, NY, an old railroad town.
It had natural gas lights at first. Then, they ran wiring through
parts of the natural gas piping, and there was knob and tube that
looked like some kid did it!- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

When we bought our home in Essex it was all knob and tube. Took 4 of
us two weeks to rewire the whole house. The weird thing was there was
a 200 amp breakerbox there, apparently put in after a big truck took
the old wires and box out. Seems the old man knew the building
inspector pretty well, got it passed. What a pain in the ass but at
least I know the whole system and got to design it myself...

Boat wiring questions
 

Boat wiring questions
 

On May 29, 10:02*am, HK wrote:
wrote:
On May 29, 9:44 am, wrote:
On May 29, 8:40 am, Wizard of Woodstock wrote:

On Fri, 29 May 2009 05:20:26 -0700 (PDT), wrote:
On May 29, 6:52 am, Wizard of Woodstock wrote:
On Fri, 29 May 2009 06:13:25 -0400, jim785 wrote:
Richard Casady wrote:
On Wed, 27 May 2009 08:25:22 -0600, "SteveB"
wrote:
A knife switch is just a straight piece of copper that looks like a knife.
On one end it is bolted to two strips of copper so it rotates. *On the other
it fits BETWEEN two strips of copper. *It is usually bolted on a board or
base. *You've probably seen them in electrical panels. *Not real common, yet
still used.
The cabin at the lake has fuses and knife switches.
Casady
I'll bet it has knob and tube wiring as well.
Fireman's Friends.- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
Where I lived in western NY there's still a lot of knob and tube
wiring around. It's safe except that now days, people pile insulation
on it, etc. Add to that that when knob and tube was used, the average
house's electrical devices were one small light per room! So, you
overload it, then pile insulation on top of it, and it overheats.
Oh, there's no doubt about that - but fighting a fire in one of those
old stick built frame two stories is a piece of cake with knob and
tubing - Romex, not so much.- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
My brother bought a foreclosure in Hornell, NY, an old railroad town.
It had natural gas lights at first. Then, they ran wiring through
parts of the natural gas piping, and there was knob and tube that
looked like some kid did it!- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

When we bought our home in Essex it was all knob and tube. Took 4 of
us two weeks to rewire the whole house. The weird thing was there was
a 200 amp breakerbox there, apparently put in after a big truck took
the old wires and box out. Seems the old man knew the building
inspector pretty well, got it passed. What a pain in the ass but at
least I know the whole system and got to design it myself...

So, your home electrical system was designed by a loud-mouthed, drunken,
semi-literate nincompoop, eh?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Nope, thank God you and your union slackers were nowhere to be
found... The work got done, and done right.

Boat wiring questions
 

Boat wiring questions
 

On May 29, 10:25*am, HK wrote:
wrote:
So, your home electrical system was designed by a loud-mouthed, drunken,
semi-literate nincompoop, eh?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Nope, thank God you and your union slackers were nowhere to be
found... The work got done, and done right.

How would *you* know the job was "done right"?

Pffffttt...

Boat wiring questions
 

Boat wiring questions
 

On May 29, 10:41*am, HK wrote:
wrote:
On May 29, 10:25 am, HK wrote:
wrote:
So, your home electrical system was designed by a loud-mouthed, drunken,
semi-literate nincompoop, eh?- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
Nope, thank God you and your union slackers were nowhere to be
found... The work got done, and done right.
How would *you* know the job was "done right"?

Pffffttt...

You can "pffffttt" all you like, but it's no substitute for the cold
hard fact that you surely know nothing about wiring a home properly, or,
in fact, much about anything else, either.

Pffffttt...

Boat wiring questions
 

"HK" wrote in message
m...
wrote:

So, your home electrical system was designed by a loud-mouthed, drunken,
semi-literate nincompoop, eh?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Nope, thank God you and your union slackers were nowhere to be
found... The work got done, and done right.


How would *you* know the job was "done right"?


He probably stuck a fork into the plug outlets to test the system.

Boat wiring questions
 

On Wed, 27 May 2009 09:04:52 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

On May 27, 11:53*am, Wizard of Woodstock wrote:
On Wed, 27 May 2009 08:25:22 -0600, "SteveB"
wrote:







"Wizard of Woodstock" wrote in message
.. .
On Tue, 26 May 2009 20:06:51 -0600, "SteveB"
wrote:

"Wizard of Woodstock" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 26 May 2009 16:35:27 -0600, "SteveB"
wrote:

I feel like I live on another planet. *Our climate here is such that
corrosion and a lot of factors are not applicable. *Yes, I know it is
good
to have everything fused. *My question was the ease at which the whole
system can be turned off versus the now thing of clamping three
terminals
on
a battery lug with a wing nut.

http://tinyurl.com/pclp2f

TYVM. *The big copper knife switch clonker which had a clamp, then a knife
switch, then another battery post was $38 at NAPA.

Maye I don't fully grasp your definition of "knife" switch.

Are you talking about something like this?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knife_switch

A knife switch is just a straight piece of copper that looks like a knife.
On one end it is bolted to two strips of copper so it rotates. *On the other
it fits BETWEEN two strips of copper. *It is usually bolted on a board or
base. *You've probably seen them in electrical panels. *Not real common, yet
still used.

http://shop.vetcosurplus.com/catalog...roducts_id=726...

As you can see, this one is much more complicated than the one you
suggested.

Bad idea on several levels.

But do what you will.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I'd be concerned about corrosion eventually affecting the on
resistance of a open knife switch.

Closed body switches can corrode, and you can't clean the contacts.

Casady