Marine Electrical Power

Hello and welcome!

Marine Electrical specialises in the design, specification, supply and installation of a wide range of marine electrical Equipment, for both the leisure and commercial sectors. Unlike many marine based businesses, we only specialise in marine electrical systems, with engineering and other types of work being referred to specialists in those fields

As a Mastervolt Energy Shop we have access to world wide expertise in the field of mobile power solutions. From a simple plug-in inverter to a complex system with auto-start generators, we can design a system for you. Our expertise extends to the field of military specification equipment where we have designed and built power systems to the highest specifications.

We have a showroom in Beaumaris on the Isle of Anglesey, where we are ideally situated to offer our services to the thousands of vessels on the North Wales Coast. We also cover the Lake District with a number of customers on Lake Windermere.  However, our services are not limited to this area and we have customers who are located throughout the country and as far afield as Maine in the USA.

Please visit our website at www.MarineElectricalPower.com.

The World's easiest quiz

Try the following quiz... (Passing requires 4 correct answers)


1) How long did the Hundred Years' War last?

2) Which country makes Panama hats?

3) From which animal do we get cat gut?

4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution?

5) What is a camel's hair brush made of?

6) The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal?

7) What was King George VI's first name?

8) What color is a purple finch?

9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from?

10) What is the color of the black box in a commercial airplane?
 

(Remember, you need 4 correct answers to pass.)

Warning!

Don't swallow your bubble gum...  Look what can happen!

Menai Bridge Sunrise

Chris took this photo of a stunning sunrise over Menai Bridge whilst waiting for his car windscreen to defrost a couple of days ago .  Just click on the picture to see a full-size version of the shot. 

The vessel in the picture is the Prince Madog, the state-of-the-art, purpose-built research vessel owned by Bangor University's School of Ocean Sciences which is located in Menai Bridge.

Your questions answered

Ever wondered if your alternator is working?  Or what kind of battery to use?  Are you confused by the different answers you get on internet forums?

Marine Electrical can answer all your questions free of charge.  Everyday we come across unique problems on boats of all types from simple open boats to Transatlantic yachts.

Call us on 01248 811677 or email us at enquiries@marineelectricalpower.com for answers to your marine electrical questions.

We are the new SeaPro dealer in North Wales

We are pleased to announce that Marine Electrical are the new SeaPro dealer in North Wales.  We can now supply and advise on PC/Laptop/Marine PC-based navigation systems. Stay ahead with the latest in Marine Navigation - come down and see us at our showrooms at 17 Margaret Street, Beaumaris, Isle of Anglesey or check out our website at http://www.marineelectricalpower.com.

Electrical health check

Many electrical installations on boats are inadequate either due to age or to the additional demands placed on them by the addition of new equipment.

Our Electrical Health Check is designed to closely examine key parts of the electrical system and provide you with a detailed report into the condition of your boat's electrical system.

We will check all aspects of your boat's electrical system, paying particular attention to cable sizes, fusing, and some of the more interesting modifications that may have been made over the years. (A 12 volt battery and the wrong size wire or fuse can make an interesting detonator. If in doubt click here for a quick video example.)  You will receive a written report of any faults found and it may just save you from a call to the lifeboats one day.

The Fee will be donated 100% to the RNLI. In many cases the report will save you this fee many times over.

The snag?  You need to be based in North Wales, but if you are... head over to our website and book your Electrical Health Check now.

How not to go about wiring your boat...

In the course of our work we come across some boat wiring systems that are, at the least, 'interesting' and at the worst, potentially lethal.

Check out some of our favourites here...

Beat those power cuts!

What do you do when the lights go out during power cuts? Well, you could always light a candle, but is that really safe?

There's always a generator but with the best in the world only offering stability of +/- 5% do you really want to risk your TV or expensive computer system? Then there's the problem of where to run the generator... and where did you put that spare petrol?

Marine Electrical offer a range of solutions from a simple kit to get the essentials running again, to complete automatic systems which will switch seamlessly to a backup system. We have a solution to suit all budgets.

We can also supply and install solar panels and wind generators to charge your batteries saving you money and reducing greenhouse gasses.  Head over to our website to find out what's on offer...

Is your marina eating your boat?

Shore power must be one of the greatest inventions of all time. We can sit on our boats in the marina enjoying all the comforts of home - TV, heater and kettle all contribute to a life of comfort.

However, all the time we are blissfully unaware that down below the waterline our beloved boat's metal bits are happily dissolving away.  Now you may be asking yourself why there is a picture of the surface of the moon on this page...  Sadly this is not a lunar landscape but the surface of an anode fitted to a boat which was linked to shore power. The anode was only two months old and was 75% eroded. The problem here is that it was not the only anode on the boat and they were all as bad.  The cost of having the boat lifted and the anodes changed came to several hundred pounds. Imagine having to do that several times a year... Worse still, imagine what would happen if all the anodes dissolved. The next thing to go is your more expensive metal bits, like aluminium casings of the out-drives, maybe your rudder, or propeller, how about the odd skin fitting below the waterline.

Why does this happen?  Well as we all know sea water and metal don’t mix, but if your boat is built correctly, all the underwater metal bits will be electrically connected together with an earth wire.  This helps protect the metal from corrosion. That is until you plug into shore power. You then become part of a large floating battery.  Forget the 240Volts of the mains power, this does not cause any damage to your boat, it is the small galvanic voltages of this giant floating battery (usually less than 1.2 volts DC) that cause the problem.

So how do you prevent it?  Check out our website for the full story...

http://www.marineelectricalpower.com

Would you sit in a bath with an electric fire?

Would you sit in a bath with an electric fire?  I thought not...

So why sit in a plastic box in the sea with a dodgy mains wire?

Most boats in a UK marina are connected to the 240 volt mains supply via a cable. This cable is in close proximity to an excellent conductor (sea water) and has no less than six connections before it enters your boat - all of which are exposed to the effects of salt water.

OK, your shore power connection should be protected by a 30ma circuit beaker and any electric shock you may receive probably won't kill you (unless you have a dodgy heart), but it will be most unpleasant and will almost certainly fling you into the sea.

You should have your cable checked every year and if the cable shows any signs of damage it should be replaced. If you're based in North Wales, Marine Electrical will check your cable free of charge, just call into our Beaumaris showroom, and we will test it for you while you wait. Not only will we check the cable to make sure that it is safe, we will also check the cable  using an Alpha Pat tester to ensure that all the connections are correct and safe. Most faults can be repaired while you wait, for only a few pounds. Not certain what to look for? Have a look at our rogues gallery on our website.