Conception Fire and Electronics

[0bnxshs]

After reading this article in the LA Times, I wonder what the response, if any, from the cruise line industry will be.  I know many of us use lots of electronics that need charging.  I'll be interested to see if they might begin more strict enforcement of their current policies on extension cords and such.

Edited September 20, 2019 by 0bnxshs

[3rdGenCunarder]

Cunard asks you not to leave devices charging when you're not in your cabin. I don't know how many people follow this, and I doubt that a lot of devices on chargers will overload the ship's electrical system. But they do get warm, and if you leave it on the bed instead of a hard surface that can be a fire hazard.

 

On HAL's Pinnacle class ships, I think the outlets are turned off when you take your key card out of the slot, but I've seen lots of posts saying that you can use a library card or something like that to keep the power on when you leave the cabin. So if that was intended as a safety or conservation measure, it's easy to bypass. 

[kazu]

1 minute ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

Cunard asks you not to leave devices charging when you're not in your cabin

 

Good policy.  We never leave our devices charging when we are not in the cabin.  DH is very (overly?) cautious about fire hazards 😉 

 

[canadianbear]

I’m paranoid about fire.  We never leave anything charging when not home or during the night-same as on the ship.  

[3rdGenCunarder]

At the risk of being accused of "virtue signaling," I don't leave devices charging when I'm not home or not in my cabin/hotel room when traveling. I didn't give it much thought until I was on QM2 and heard the warning about chargers in the safety video. 

 

To get back to OP's comment, ships may give more warnings, but it's very difficult for them to monitor use of extension cords, multi-outlet plugs, or people leaving devices on chargers unattended.

 

[TiogaCruiser]

With the entire crew asleep as reported in one of the articles that means there was no one standing anchor watch.

[chengkp75]

It is hard to say, without knowing the electrical system on the dive boat. Was it a 24v DC system that converted to 120v AC? Was there the "silent killer" a surge protector? 

Cruise ships are inspected and built to different standards than a small passenger vessel like this.

[Aquahound]

33 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

 Cruise ships are inspected and built to different standards than a small passenger vessel like this.

 

And in this case, VERY different.  Trust me on this one. 😉

[chengkp75]

42 minutes ago, Aquahound said:

 

And in this case, VERY different.  Trust me on this one. 😉

Yeah, I've been on launches in the Gulf with outlets simply screwed to the bulkhead, no box.

[Himself]

HAL has always advised not powering up devices when you are not in the room.  I have no problem with that. If I am leaving the room I always disconnect the lap top or Phone.

[rkacruiser]

I would not be surprised to learn that the charging of some tech items may be mentioned as the cause, or at least a possible cause, of this disaster.

 

Is there a safer substitute for the kind of batteries now being used in these devices?

[Mary229]

I have had the room steward unplug unattended charging devices - my bad.  I don’t recall which cruise line.   I don’t think unattended chargers are a good idea at home either. 

[TiogaCruiser]

6 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

It is hard to say, without knowing the electrical system on the dive boat. Was it a 24v DC system that converted to 120v AC? Was there the "silent killer" a surge protector? 

Cruise ships are inspected and built to different standards than a small passenger vessel like this.

Are surge protectors generally no-no’s on ALL boats? Or are there some *common* marine wiring /electrical systems that they are safe on?  

 

(I realize they do not belong on cruise ships, thanks to your previous posts.)😀

 

And thank you for all your contributions to our forum over the years.

[chengkp75]

24 minutes ago, TiogaCruiser said:

Are surge protectors generally no-no’s on ALL boats? Or are there some *common* marine wiring /electrical systems that they are safe on?  

 

(I realize they do not belong on cruise ships, thanks to your previous posts.)😀

 

And thank you for all your contributions to our forum over the years.

Nearly all boats should be wired "delta" or with the floating ground that cruise ships have, because it keeps the ground separate from the neutral to prevent galvanic corrosion.  Older boats and fiberglass boats may be wired "wye", which is okay for a surge protector, but unless you take your voltmeter with you, you won't know which it is.

 

Especially small boats that don't monitor their grounds, anything like a light fixture filled with water could very easily cause a reverse voltage through the ground that would cause the surge protector to go into thermal runaway and catch fire.

Edited September 20, 2019 by chengkp75

[sevenseasnomad]

A good rule of thumb is not to leave any item charging if a passenger isn't in the cabin.

 

I would think that the newer ships, especially the Pinnacle Class, have systems which can withstand hundreds of technological "marvels" charging at the same time; however, I still believe passengers should unplug them when they leave the cabin.

[jagsfan]

10 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

Cunard asks you not to leave devices charging when you're not in your cabin. I don't know how many people follow this, and I doubt that a lot of devices on chargers will overload the ship's electrical system. But they do get warm, and if you leave it on the bed instead of a hard surface that can be a fire hazard.

 

On HAL's Pinnacle class ships, I think the outlets are turned off when you take your key card out of the slot, but I've seen lots of posts saying that you can use a library card or something like that to keep the power on when you leave the cabin. So if that was intended as a safety or conservation measure, it's easy to bypass. 

Most people leave the old credit card, library card, whatever, in the slot when they leave, but pull it up part way. You know if it’s right because the lights go off. 

When you come back in, push it down, and the lights will come back on. 

Using something besides your key card is just for convenience. 

In either case, I don’t believe outlets are affected by the card either way. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

19 minutes ago, jagsfan said:

Most people leave the old credit card, library card, whatever, in the slot when they leave, but pull it up part way. You know if it’s right because the lights go off. 

When you come back in, push it down, and the lights will come back on. 

Using something besides your key card is just for convenience. 

In either case, I don’t believe outlets are affected by the card either way. 

 

I'm one of the rare passengers who likes the card slot system. I always know where my key card is, and I can grab it on the way out. No accidentally locking myself out of the cabin.

 

 

Edited September 21, 2019 by 3rdGenCunarder

[TAD2005]

The use of plug strips with built-in surge protectors is one cause of fires, but so are the lithium-ion batteries used in every phone, tablet, or laptop.  Just about every passenger has one or more of these battery powered devices in their cabins, many times, on charge, either through an AC power adapter, or directly charged by the HAL provided USB charging ports at the desk and next to your bed.   Sometimes the lithium-ion batteries get overcharged and they start to heat up.  This heating can cause runaway heating to the point where the device melts and catches nearby items on fire.

[jagsfan]

On 9/20/2019 at 9:21 PM, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I'm one of the rare passengers who likes the card slot system. I always know where my key card is, and I can grab it on the way out. No accidentally locking myself out of the cabin.

 

 

That’s great except for the passenger reading when the lights go out!!

Namely me! 🤯

That’s why we use an old Blockbuster card!