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MARINE TECHNICIANTODAY | SUMMER 2015
Do Not Kill Your Customer – Part 1
W
hether you are a professional
mechanic or an average boater,
the
Federal
Government
dictates the legalities of what you can
and cannot do concerning vessels with
enclosed gasoline engines. The Code of
Federal Regulations, Title 33, Chapter
1, Subchapter S, Part 183 applies to
recreational boats with enclosed gasoline
engines such as stern-drives and inboards,
including onboard generators and associated equipment. In typical
legalese, Part 183 is further broken down into Subparts A through M
for the different systems with each regulation given number 183.xxx.
Governmental publications make for tiresome reading, but the rules
and regulations in Subpart I – ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS are enforced
to minimize damage, injury, or death due to fires or explosions.
According to regulation §183.405, each electrical component on
a boat to which Subpart I applies must meet the requirements of
this subpart unless the component is part of an outboard engine or
portable equipment.
Gasoline is not only highly flammable, but if ignited under certain
conditions in an enclosed space, it can violently explode. It is said that
a detonation from as little as one cup of gasoline is as powerful as a
one-quarter stick of dynamite. Because of this danger, a boat’s fuel
system and electrical system are under strict governmental scrutiny
with the force of law. In the future, Part II of Do Not Kill your Customer
will address the fuel system and its related Federal regulations.
The Federal Regulations of Title 33, Part 183, Subpart I – ELECTRICAL
SYSTEMS, relate to components such as starters and alternators as
well as wiring, connectors, and batteries in an engine compartment
or in the vicinity of the fuel system. Electrical items have to be
ignition protected and pass testing by SAE (Society of Auto Engineers)
or UL (Underwriters Laboratories) standards to avoid an explosion
in the vicinity of gasoline fumes. This does not mean that starters,
alternators, distributors, etc. have to be completely sealed units, but
that they cannot ignite a flammable mixture surrounding the device
should a spark, fire, or explosion occur internally. Ignition protection
is accomplished by one or more of the following - metallic screen
flame-arrestors, baffles and seals, or by product design.
TODAY’S TECHNICIAN
Figure 1 —
Electrical components are annotated to show their associated
regulations of Part 183 in the Code of Federal Regulations (i.e. 183.xxx)
By Bill Grannis
