120 ac connectors

Hello all. I've tried to get more info on this but cannot find any answers. I work for a company that builds house boats. And from what I've read and have been told wire nuts are not allowed to be used at all. So in the areas such as in a switch box where nuetrals and grounds are tied together what kind of faster is to be used? Keep in mind these structures are essentially residential structures built on pontoons parked in Marinas on the East Coast. No engines or flammable compartments at all. Thank you.

 

Crimped on ring terminals and screw terminal blocks with plastic covers.
Here's a good article on proper crimping. Marine Wire Termination - Marine How To https://marinehowto.com/marine-wire-termination/

If a houseboat is insured as a boat it should respect ABYC wiring standards, and your company should have a copy of those. It doesn't matter if the thing moves or not, the insurer wants to see multi strand copper wire and crimped terminals not solid Al wire and wire nuts.

 

The wiring we use is marine grade wiring. It's tin coated stranded wiring. We also use the crimp open spade ends when connecting to receptacles and switches. But within the switch box there could be 3-4 wires that are bundled together such as the nuetrals and grounds. So the proper way to connect these is to use ring crimp on connectors and blocks? Ok so I found out that friction type connectors can be used such as the wagon lever type if the amperage is below 20 amps.

 

Nope - not allowed.

The one and only place that neutral (ac or dc) may be connected to GROUND is in the shore pedestal. You can not tie either AC neutral to ground or DC neutral to ground in the boat. And no appliance or equipment that does so is allowed on boats, so no regular household air conditioner, fridge, battery charger, oven, freezer, microwave, furnace - nothing. They all must be marine rated, isolated ground appliances. It is normal to tie AC neutral and DC neutral together at exactly one point in the boat.

If the shore power is disconnected and there is an onboard generator, then the neutral and ground are tied together at the genset when it is running, and that connection is isolated by the switchgear when the boat is plugged in and the genset is offline.

 

I think you misunderstood what I was saying. In the switch box. We normally connect all the nuetrals together as well as all the grounds together. The hots of course connect to the switch. The nuetrals and grounds are never tied together as the panel is essentially a sub panel.

 

Would you not be better off addressing these issues with the local statutory authority? They accept or reject your work on the basis of their rules.

 

Okay, got it. That is done with terminal strips (bus bars).

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Sea-Sys...U3ng7bVLlBR4iY1auRqpA-b8fRTFN6-RoC-ToQAvD_BwE

 

Regarding the Wago (not wagon) connectors - https://www.thehulltruth.com/16414135-post4.html. And I couldn't find anything affirming their use on boats.

 

Terminal Blocks and Bus Bars https://newwiremarine.com/terminal-blocks-and-bus-bars/
quite a few options that will accept many small wires onto a lug, and provide then a single larger wire to connect to a ground, hot or neutral

 

7 Answers About Boats Electrical Grounding Systems (Earthing) | GoDownsize

 

Onboard permanent installed generator, Neutral to ground bond in the generator control box. My Onan is like that

The 120vac ONAN has its own double pole contactor disconnect, so both black and white wires when gen is off are not connected. I think it is like that, I should review it as I might be wrong about how it is wired. I did not change it from the PO or OEM setup. Could be gens white wire is joined to ground in the control box.

 

If they are open, they need to have lugs or flanges : Flanged Fork Terminals for 12 AWG - 10 AWG https://www.pacergroup.net/flanged-fork-terminals-for-12-awg-10-awg/