Hi,

I have read much on the problems encountered with marine corrosion affecting marinette aluminium boats and thought this press release may come in handy.


SEABIS
exclusively prevents electrolysis corrosion

P.O.Box 4280
Bay Village 2261 Sydney Australia
02 4333 1996
www.seabis.net

COMPANY REACHES MILESTONES IN MARINE INDUSTRY-

find out why SeaBis is the first in the prevention of marine electrolysis corrosion


Aldinga Beach, Adelaide (September 6, 2008) – Podean Electronic Industries Pty Ltd, the manufacturers of SeaBis, today announced that they are the first company to develop a maintenance kit for boats and marina’s that prevents electrolysis corrosion. This achievement underscores Podean Electronic Industries Pty Ltd’s key role in the Marine and Boating Industries.

This significant milestone will be marked by SeaBis penetrating the global market with distributor enquiries coming out of Dubai, Canada and the US. “ Penetrating the international market is a great milestone for our SeaBis product,” said Glen Bishop, engineer and Director of Podean Electronic Industries Pty Ltd “We are very pleased that our customers have recognized the value of SeaBis. Penetration of the international market is the result of our commitment to fit all vessels (boats), irrespective of size, and marinas with a SeaBis electrolysis Corrosion Prevention System and this will motivate us to continue seeking on sellers and marine technicians throughout the world.

Podean Electronic Industries Pty Ltd has been involved in the development of the SeaBis Electrolysis Corrosion Prevention System since Jan 1985. It is known for such products as marine electrolysis corrosion prevention systems for boats and marina’s along with vessel corrosion analysis and anti fouling research and development. Podean Electronic Industries Pty Ltd is in a great position to build its sales internationally. We are definitely on our way to achieve the sale of 40 SeaBis Electrolysis Corrosion Prevention Systems each week,” added Glen, Director of Podean Electronic Industries. The company has recently indicated plans to send an engineer to Dubai to consolidate the first distributorship in the Emirates and has started to negotiate plans for the promotion of SeaBis into the Middle East.



SeaBis
The SeaBis Electrolysis Corrosion Prevention Systems are the only one of its kind that are capable of preventing electrolysis corrosion as opposed to slowing it down or limiting it.
There are many products in the market that limit or slow down marine corrosion, however, none have been found to be able to prevent the problem. SeaBis does.
Industry trends indicate boat owners seeking a solution to marine corrosion is on the increase as cost of corrosion damage escalate from year to year. Research indicated that out of 472 boats slipped per month
82% suffered electrolysis corrosion of which 78% had electrolysis corrosion damage.
“All should have a SeaBis fitted” says slipway owner, Allan Beswick from Access Yachts. John Hanley from Luxury Yacht Refinishers Pty Ltd was quoted to say “yes, all boats should be fitted with SeaBis, anyone solving this problem stands to make a fortune”. John slips around 25 boats per month.
Podean Electronic industries is one of the only Company’s that backs SeaBis with a full money back guarantee.

About Podean Electronic Industries Pty Ltd
Founded in 1985 Podean Electronic Industries Pty Ltd is the inventor and manufacturer of the popular SeaBis electrolysis corrosion prevention systems. Its SeaBis product is known for exclusively preventing marine electrolysis corrosion. The company’s mission is for boat owners to install SeaBis electrolysis Corrosion Prevention System to all boats and make SeaBis a household name in the marine industry. Podean Electronic Industries Pty Ltd currently serves distributors throughout Australia and New Zealand with upcoming distributors in Dubai, Canada and Florida, and manufactures as an Australian product in the greater Adelaide area. It has achieved grant funding and is supported by Austrade for its SeaBis product.. For more information about SeaBis, visit its website at www.seabis.net or request a product guide by emailing admin@seabis.net or contacting Angelika Koop ob 02 4333 1996



Notes for editors: Glen Bishop is available for comment and can be reached on 02 4333 1996

Lots of fluff but no substance.

One major error is a properly anode protected vessel does exactly what it is suppose to do. Heck all our floating M's are proof of that!

Not sure what the product is other than the components are EXPENSIVE!!

dave

The Marinette system uses an electrode of known properties submerged in the water, and has a voltmeter that measures the "battery" formed by the electrode and the hull. When the voltage reading equals the known voltage between the water and the electrode, then the voltage between the water and the hull must be zero.

This system seems to do the same thing, but uses some existing part of the boat as the electrode. I'd want to know a lot more before buying one. The explanation is nil.

Big ships often use a system that forces current from an electrode in the water to the hull backwards from the natural "battery". Hydrogen bubbles form on the hull. It takes power to do this, and I have never seen it for small boats.

I wasn't familiar with the Mercathode system, thanks for the reference. It seems to be designed to protect the outdrives on a fiberglass boat. I didn't know that these systems came so small, my experience is all with larger craft.

I wonder if anyone sells a system suitable for a Marinette? It is hard to tell if Seabis really is such a system.

Barkleydave: Lots of fluff but no substance.

One major error is a properly anode protected vessel does exactly what it is suppose to do. Heck all our floating M's are proof of that!

Not sure what the product is other than the components are EXPENSIVE!!

dave

reply Barkleydave: The problem is that even when boats are properly protected with the use of sacrificial anodes - and mind you most are, when there is stray current present often the anodes corrode and end up creating stray current themselves- unbeknown to the boat owner as there is no way to detect that this is occurring. You know the purpose of bringing this product to your attention was not to raise any amount of skeptism especially not from boaties who have not at least spoken to product users and done there own due diligence before commenting.

Of course there are many boaties not just marinette boaties who claim not to have a problem with electrolysis as there are plenty of boaties who deliver very expensive nightmare stories about their experiences with electrolysis. We had a houseboat owner recently where it cost him 40k to replace pontoons due to electrolysis, another boatie had to have his complete hull replaced- i can tell you after that kind of spend they were happy to install the system.

When you say the components are EXPENSIVE - ever tried comparing price of product versus repair and maintenance on electrolysis damage.???? I think the above examples speak for themselves. In the end the question one has to ask oneself is really simple - go boating without ever having to concern yourself about electrolysis or go boating with the constant thought about is the boat fully protected from electrolysis corrosion? Are all the anodes healthy, effective and doing what they are supposed to? Heck, no one is breaking anyones arm here to purchase the system it is just to keep you guys, the boaties, informed about whats out there. After all they back the product with a full money back guarantee.

If price is such an issue and you really want to be able to try the product go to their web page and enter the competition where you can win a free system. Thats fair enough isn't it? http://www.seabis.net/winaseabis.htm

Hi All,
I am the designer of the SeaBis System and have been asked to clarify.
Hopefully, copied to all Forum responses.

Galvanic current compared stray current. We measure current, not voltage, as current is the actual energy flowing whereas voltage is the potential to cause that current. Potential not actual. Galvanic current, generated by anodes is in millionths of an amp. Stray current is thousandths to whole amps. So stray current swamps out galvanic on at least 1000:1 ratio. When there is no stray current anodes can do their job, they last twice as long. When there is no stray current there will be no electrolysis.

The SeaBis unit responds to ALL stray current with a traffic light system. From green to flashing red depending on the severity of the current. We use a microprocessor (a very small computer) to get the accuracy. The SeaBis can very easily be proven by installing a SeaBis unit then, assuming SeaBis alarms, disconnecting the sense wire, SeaBis will now indicate Normal. At Normal level all stray current is far too low to ever cause electrolysis. The System part of SeaBis is the Process of Elimination Instructions supplied with SeaBis. Once completed SeaBis will indicate Normal. With no stray current there can be no electrolysis. Ever.

Full detail is provided at www.seabis.com.au/tips.html . Our Guarantee and Proof by way of a series of photographs is also available at www.seabis.com.au. At Related links: Proof…
I hope this clarifies matters.
Regards,
Glen Bishop
61 (0)8 8556 6593
glen.bishop@bigpond.com

I think that the true measure of value is what you GET with a purchase, not what it might cost if you don't get it. The hardware supplied is a battery switch that looks very similar to the BEP Model 701 which is $35 at Bass Pro Shops. The meter looks like a standard digital VOM which sells for anywhere from $7 to $500 but you can get a really nice one for well under $100. And the stray current detector and monitor is a small box with some LED indicators and unknown circuitry. It is likely expensive since it may not be a mass-production item. And there are manuals and online support, nothing to sneeze at. Still, the introductory offer of $995 seems a little steep.

A part of this system appears to be isolating the engine from the battery. This is a good idea, since any stray current from the wiring system will find its way down the shaft and into the water, with bad effects.

Seabis provides shutoff switches so that the battery can be completely isolated from the engine. These 275 Amp switches are far too light for my boat, I need about 1200 cranking amps, but may be too light even for the usual V-8 gas engine.

In any event, every Marinette has electrical isolation between shaft and engine, and between shaft and hull. The underwater components are isolated without needing shutoff switches. The stainless shaft and bronze prop are their own world, protected by a zinc on the shaft.

Similarly, the rudders are isolated from the hull with plastic bushings and protected with zincs.

So, the only "wet metal" on my boat is the hull itself. The DC wiring is all within the hull, so there is no way that current can get out into the water.

Stray current in marinas is a problem, most commonly AC. I have seen it in mine, although the owner replaced the docks and wiring a few years ago and it has been fine since. A friend of mine protected his boat by draping a single piece of copper wire around three sides of his slip to route stray current around his boat.

We had one boat that put 12 VDC directly into the water through a miswire, and it caused currents in all the nearby boats. It showed up at my boat as about 150 mV between one prop shaft and the other! We troubleshot it by unplugging one boat at a time until it went away.

A device that can detect stray currents better than a good VOM would be very handy indeed. Still, I would want to know its principle of operation before scheckelling out for one. And, if you think I'm a hard sell, try FastJeff!

Ok I think I got it.
1. This system protects nothing but only indicates the presence of stray voltage.
2. Once detected then the hunt begins.
3. Once discovered and corrected. (other boat? dock wiring? your own boat etc) Assuming it is corrected and conditions do not change at your mooring then the system does nothing further other than monitor for stray current.

Ok to me.. it would make more sense to build a protable system that one could use as a tool for providing a service to boaters and marinas to inspect, detect and correct stray currents. Sounds like a good business opportunity rather than an individual expenditure for a detection device. Now the cost of the "tool" would be justified by profit. When I was surveying boats, this would have been a great tool!

Just my 2 cents worth, since this season that is all I have left after filling up my big M.

dave

3.Switches.

We have chosen the switches by PROVEN quality. WE don’t want any on site problems and switches are one area to be thought about carefully.

1200 cranking amps. I assume this is peak current figure, not RMS but please correct me if I am wrong. Typically there is a 10 to 1 ratio. So 1200 cranking amps has an RMS value of 120 amps.For verification see http://www.amelec.com.au...=batteryswitches-manual and download their PDF on specifications.

Choice of switch for medium to large diesel or large petrol see http://www.seabis.net/productlist.htm and scroll down to Manual Battery Switches as options, with current ratings – actual proven ratings of RMS 275 to 350 amps, in cranking current peak terms 2750 to 3500 amps. For higher current ratings please contact me. Be wary if the seller quotes 2500 amps. Peak or RMS???

My comments:
The starter motors are DC, so DC current is equal to RMS by definition. (On closing the circuit you have the leading edge of a square wave going from zero to peak, and way more complicated than we want to get into.) The actual value (amps RMS) is determined by:what is the available power? ( ampacity of the battery ) and how much of that power can you deliver to the starting motor circuit? ( impedance of the circuit ) Often the current is limited by the size of the battery cables and resistance through the starter solenoid. --OK, we'll take it as a given that the battery is fully charged so we have full voltage.-- Anyway, the current going through the starter motor is the same as having a dead short accross the motor until it starts to spin, and the number is huge!
What are your actual cranking amps? I don't know, it would vary from boat to boat, but it will be huge if you have a good battery and big cables. Way more than a couple hundred amps for the instant that the motor is starting to spin.
--anyway thats how this Electrician sees it--
side note: I refused to put a big hole in the bottom of my boat for the sensor, I just hang the Si electrode over the side and measure the voltage with my multimeter. (calibrated Fluke) --I have 1 mV in saltwater so I'm happy.--
I already have a good milliampmeter, so I don't think I'll be buying theirs. -- Ed

Thank you Glen for the clarifications, I think I have a better understanding of what you are working with, and I think it could be a useful tool for the guy who does a lot of this kind of work. Not sure it makes sense for the boatowner who is likely to call in an electrical guy anyway to help with problems.

If the boat's wiring is in good condition, I am not sure that the battery negative needs to be isolated from the hull. Stray currents in the hull will not generate voltages because the hull is all welded into one piece, so there is little resistance between any two points. Stray current between the hull and something else is a big problem and needs to be discovered and eliminated: this is the classic marina problem, where the guy next to you owns a 40,000 pound battery.

It would be helpful to have a checklist to verify the existing Marinette defense against corrosion:

1) Make sure that there is no voltage between the hull and the surrounding water. Capac meter reading of 0.9 is expected.

2) With an ohmmeter, verify that there is no electrical connection between shaft and hull, rudder and hull, and between each bronze thruhull and the hull. (I have four from the factory, two engine water intakes and two fittings for the head. Some boats may have bronze transducers.)

3) Make sure that there is zinc protecting shaft and prop, trim tabs, rudder, and the hull itself (Saltwater).

4) Do the thing that I have forgotten (or don't know) that FastJeff is going to post about.