Marina Electrical Equipment

Marina Electrical Equipment



Today, most marinas and boat docks also provide shore power for their tenants. This application presents unique requirements including atmospheric conditions, receptacle versatility, rugged construction and attractiveness. Midwest Electric offers a complete line of metered and unmetered power outlets for marina applications and is the only U.S. manufacturer that offers a line of both metal and non-metallic power centers in either surface mount or pedestal configurations. All Midwest Electric marina power outlets utilize corrosion-resistant, grounding and locking type receptacles with individual circuit breaker protection enclosed in a single, easy to install enclosure. The different styles of construction in the products manufactured by Midwest Electric include:

* Non-metallic power centers - DockPro™, Dockmaster™ and Dockmate™
* Metallic power centers- Dockhand™ (featuring galvanized steel construction)

View marina requirements from the 2002 National Electric Code.

Midwest Electric is ready to provide you with just the right options to meet your unique marina needs. Click to learn more about DockPro™, Dockmaster™, Dockmate™ and Dockhand™ power centers, along with our new line of DockPro dock-lights and Firestation fire extinguisher safety pedestals. New for 2004 is our ability to incorporate a wireless remote metering option either as a turnkey package or as a field modification to our marina product line.

With so many possible combinations, it is a challenge to list them all in our e-CATALOG. Learn more about Midwest Electric's versatile marina lines in the full Marina Catalog!

Features & Benefits

Rugged Durability:

* Non-metallic models utilize virgin (not recycled) resins, which provide for a higher degree of ultra-violet (UV) protection.
* Receptacles are attached to an internal stainless steel mounting bracket as opposed to being attached with screws through the dead front. This feature eliminates areas of stress around those screws where cracks can begin to form due to the constant attaching and detaching of the shore power cord.
* All metal units are painted twice with the final coat being an electro-statically applied powder spray coat. This process also enhances the UV protection as well as providing for a more corrosion resistant product.
* All post and/or pedestal models include loop feed lugs as a standard feature.
* Receptacle configurations from 20 amp to 100 amp single and 100 amp 3-phase cover all of your electrical requirements.

User Safety:

* Dead front construction prevents accidental contact with live parts
* Marina models are UL listed in their entirety, not just shown as using "UL approved" components. This ensures that you have the safest product available.
* Midwest sources only the highest quality components and materials which are used in the manufacturing of our marina products. Safety is never compromised with the use or substitution of inferior products or cheaper materials.
* Optional GFI circuit breakers can be incorporated in the DockPro, Dockmate & Dockmaster product lines offering a higher level of personnel protection.

Installation Ease:

* All components factory wired and assembled, reducing installation time
* All terminals accept copper or aluminum wire for added installation flexibility
* Non-metallic units are designed to allow for easy receptacle change-outs. As your electrical requirements change our units are designed to be modified to grow with you.
* Units are multi-listed for several major brands of circuit breakers including those from GE making it easy for replacement should it be necessary.
* All internal metal components are of a stainless grade which aides in the prevention of corrosion.
* External components are relatively maintenance free thus reducing labor costs to the marina.

Circuit Breakers

The circuit breaker is a popular and most important electrical device to ensure safety in the modern world. The circuit breaker is used to cut the power supply when an electrical wire has too much current flowing through it. Without these simple devices, household electricity would not be possible because of the chances for fire and short circuit resulting from simple wiring problems and equipment failures.

The device serves in the course of normal system operation to energize or de-energize loads. In case of conditions where excessive current develops, a circuit breaker opens for protecting equipment and surroundings from possible damage due to excess flow of current.

This automatically-operated electrical switch, unlike a fuse, can be reset (either manually or automatically) for resuming normal operation. These devices are made in varying sizes, right from small devices for protecting an individual household appliance up to large switchgear designed for protecting high voltage circuits feeding an entire city.

Circuit breakerCircuit breaker

Types of Circuit Breakers
There are different technologies being used for manufacturing different circuit breakers and it is difficult to categorize them into distinct categories. Different circuit breakers are used in domestic, commercial and light industrial applications at low voltage (less than 1000 V). These include:

* MCB (Miniature Circuit Breaker): The rated current of the device is not more than 100 A. These have thermal or thermal-magnetic operation... more

* MCCB (Moulded Case Circuit Breaker): The rated current of the device is up to 1000 A. These have thermal or thermal-magnetic operation.

Circuit Breaker Variants

* Magnetic Circuit Breakers: These are a type of circuit breakers that make use of a magnetic actuator to trip the circuit. These circuit breakers allow the current to flow through the electrical device and then pass through an electromagnetic actuator. When the current flow reaches a preset or pre-determined level, the magnetic field in the electromagnet is strong enough to trip the breaker and allow the contacts to open. A magnetic breaker needs to be manually set.

* Hydraulic Circuit Breakers: These are a popular type of circuit breakers designed for those applications requiring higher amperage and voltage handling capability.

* Thermal Circuit Breakers: A simple thermal circuit breaker allows the current to flow from a battery terminal, through the bi-metal strip and then to the other terminal. The bi-metal strip is made of two different types of metals, having different coefficients of expansion. This results in one metal expanding more than the other, in case of same rise of temperature. In this circuit breaker, when one metallic strips expands more than the other, and thus disconnects the contacts.
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* Auto Reset Circuit Breakers: These circuit breakers re set automatically in case of a faulty load or circuit. These circuit breakers are widely used in case of leakage, short - circuit, surge or overload etc. Auto reset circuit breakers do not require manual assistance for re setting and cut off power supply in case of power trip. This power is than again restored after auto resetting.

High Voltage Circuit Breakers
There are electric power systems requiring the breaking of higher currents at higher voltages. It is such systems that high-voltage AC circuit breakers are used.

* Vacuum Circuit Breaker: The rated current of the device is up to 3000 A. These specialty circuit breakers interrupt the current by creating and extinguishing the arc in a vacuum container. These devices can only be practically used for voltages up to about 35,000 V, which corresponds to the medium-voltage range of power systems. These circuit breakers have longer life expectancies between overhaul than do air circuit breakers.
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* Air Circuit Breaker: The rated current of the device is up to 10,000 A. Some of them are electronically controlled, while others are microprocessor controlled. These circuit breakers are used for main power distribution in large industrial plants.