A fire is born – Real life footage of a disturbing nature – Viewer discretion advised

If you’re a Doctor, or a Farmer, I’m sure birth is nothing new, but here’s the birth of a fire, well, a bit of smoke, but it could have cost a customer his boat and an end to the dream.

Fortunately, a good sense of smell and a smoke alarm alerted him to the problem.

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So with major catastrophe averted, what lessons can we learn?

You can’t tell from the video, but the 35mm cable that was attached to the alternators Positive terminal, should have been closer to 70mm. If you take a close look at how the wire enters the lug, it looks to me like the wires only half way in, it’s certainly not been crimped on properly, and there’s no sign of any ‘strain’ relief, the whole time the engines running, that 35mm cables vibrating like mad.

I’m not sure who did the work, it wasn’t the customer though, he thought he’d given the job to a ‘professional’.

I had a similar, but catastrophic customer experience a few years back. A customer ordered a few parts, including a charger/inverter. He employed a ‘professional’ electrician to install everything, then got a phone call from the marina in the early hours to say his boat was on fire. The ‘professional’ had installed the charger behind some seat cushions with ZERO ventilation. While charging the new batteries on the first night, the charger overheated and caught fire. The boat was completely destroyed, as was the owners dream of setting off on a 3 year circumnavigation a few months later.

So, if in doubt, or you’re not into gambling, use a  trained, insured professional.