Smaller Water heater element

[britinusa]

For the first time, this weekend we ran our Honda 2000i generator to power the boat's 110v AC.

We were able to run our 16000 btu Air Conditioner just fine, but running (on it's own) the Water heater would pop the Overload circuit on the Honda.

So I'm wondering if we can get a smaller water heater element, perhaps in the 750Watt range.

Any ideas? (The water heater element is pretty new) We're not worried about the time to heat the water, so I figure that a smaller element will draw less power, it will take longer to heat the water, but that's not a problem.

No, we don't have the engine - water heater connections, that will come later.

Paul

[Stu Jackson]

Sure you can.

In my never ending efforts to save C34 skippers BOTH $$ and WORK, you may want to consider this:

Turn your AC off for 15 - 20 minutes, heat your hot water with your 1500 watt element, turn it off, and restart your AC.

Your Honda 2000 should be able to work without tripping anything for just the water heater.  If it doesn't, you have other problems.

[Ken Juul]

Don't forget to turn off the battery charger too.  Lowes or Home depot usually have a good selection of heater elements if you decide to go that route. IIRC the element is shorter than standard.  May want to pull it first so you don't get one too long.

[KWKloeber]

A boat buddy got a replacement for his from the local  (non big box) plumbing supply house - no problem.

kk

[britinusa]

I'm betting it's the starting load when the heater is turned on.

During the test, I ran the Air Conditioning in cool mode and it worked great.
Then I turned that off and let the genny settle into the new no load state
Then I turned on the water heater, it quickly overloaded the Honda.

I'm heading down to the boat on Wednesday and hope to get a chance to measure the element to earth resistance.

later.
Paul

[KWKloeber]

Why would there be a 'starting load'?  It;s just a resistive load, not a motor with a heavy starting load.   I would imagine the amperage would remain constant, no?  Or might it increase (load drop) as she heats up?

kk

[Stu Jackson]

I'm betting it's the starting load when the heater is turned on.

During the test, I ran the Air Conditioning in cool mode and it worked great.
Then I turned that off and let the genny settle into the new no load state
Then I turned on the water heater, it quickly overloaded the Honda.

Yup, no starting load.

Does it work on shorepower?

[BillG]

I'm not sure I saw where you told us the watt rating of your heater, assuming it is 1500 watts and that  should be within the capabilities of the honda generators if it is the only thing that is turned on.  Have you taken a volt meter and checked the resistance of the element and have you checked whether you have a short to ground?

[Noah]

I believe he wanted to run BOTH the A/C and WH at same time with Honda.

[KWKloeber]

Note this from C30 forum.   Might be an issue why the current is high?

I got a letter from xxxxxxxxxxx Harbor telling me my boat was leaking current and that I needed to fix it or remove the boat from the harbor. They gave me a relatively easy way to check on how to tell if the boat was leaking current.
Unfortunately, I don't recall exactly how it works but I remember having wires hanging in the water and connecting it to ground on my boat.  And yes it was leaking current.

At the time I went back to my wiring diagram and saw what I thought was a possible problem and that was the water heater, I disconnected the water heater and there was no more stray current. 

kk

[Mike and Joanne Stimmler]

And the heating element could be the leaky culprit.

[Sailing Steve]

For reference, I run my 1500 watt hot water heater and 20 amp battery charger simultaneously routinely and my Honda 2000 watt generator never complains - runs full blast though if the hot water tank is calling for heat.  The hot water heater is a pure resistive load, but the A/C would certainly draw more current each time the compressor fires up to cool.  I would be surprised if you could run them both together; One at a time.

[britinusa]

We only run 1 major 110v service at a time. eg. Air Conditioning -or- Outlets -or- Water heater.

I'll check the wiring and look for leakage, not sue (don't recall) the kw of the element that we only installed a short while ago.

Paul

[KWKloeber]

We only run 1 major 110v service at a time. eg. Air Conditioning -or- Outlets -or- Water heater.

I'll check the wiring and look for leakage, not sue (don't recall) the kw of the element that we only installed a short while ago.

Paul

The element is listed as 1500 watts, per but the Seaward installation manual "The electrical supply shall be
permanent wiring, armored cable or conduit, per national electrical code NFPA 70, with a minimum capacity of 1500 watts."

So, that tells me that the element might be somewhat less -- maybe 1200w or 1400w?,

kk

[Indian Falls]

If you do have a water heater element problem I got mine at McMaster Carr... about 10bucks plus shipping.
And it would seem there are no elements under 1500watts.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#water-heater-heat-elements/=11ra837