Generator and Electrical systems grounding on a Houseboat

Can you have a 12 volt electrical system and a 110 volt generator system use the same grounding wires in an aluminum hulled houseboat?

It seems like it would help create electrolysis with the 110 volt green grounding wire attached to the 12 volt negative ground going to the engine and therefore the aluminum hull. Maybe I am just over cautious.



Reply - Answer
Well, that's an excellent question that hopefully someone better qualified than myself will answer. (is there a marine electrician out there?)

After years of research on the internet, I have never been able to find a concrete explanation on how & where to connect the "ground" from a generator.

The exact scenario brings be back to a situation with a neighbor that had an aluminum houseboat. He was also wondering whether to connect the generator ground (not the hot or neutral wire) to the hull or to the 120 volt ground.

He had an galvanic isolator installed on the ground wire of his 120 volt system. The negative or ground side of his 12 volt battery banks were connected to the aluminum hull.

We wondered if he should wire it to the hull, or wire it to the 120 volt galvanic isolator ground green wire side.

My neighbor ended up connecting the generator ground to hull, and used his generator for the rest of the year. Unfortunately he moved away and I never was able to get more feedback about it.

For a better answer, hopefully one of our knowledgeable Marine Electrical readers will share and post comments about their houseboat 120 & 12 volt experiences.

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IAN - from www.all-about-houseboats.com