Deutsch – High-performance marine connectors meet US E-11 spec

To become the first to meet the American Boat and Yacht Council´s E-11

specification, covering AC & DC electrical systems on boats, specialist

harsh-environment connector manufacturer, Deutsch, has been working with

Sunseeker International, Poole, UK. The evaluation was undertaken at Deutsch

´s test facilities, and enabled the company to evaluate of a wide range of

products to ensure they met the demands of E-11 specification.

In particular, Sunseeker highlighted the requirement to handle AC voltages

up to 600Vrms. Deutsch tested four families of connectors up to 1000Vrms to

ensure they all met the specification. Other key criteria included

temperature considerations and moisture ingress.

“The E-11 specification is vitally important to our business in the US and

around the world and we are making all our new designs compliant,” said

Robert Braithwaite MBE, managing director, Sunseeker.

Deutsch connectors are rated up to 170C and to a minimum of the IP67 ingress

protection specification as part of the European EN60529 standard for harsh

environments, a key element in conforming to the E-11 specification.

“We expect E-11 to become an increasingly important standard for marine

systems, we already have four families of connectors that can be used,” said

Keith Winters, business development manager, Deutsch. “Through our own test

lab, we can make sure we are first to supply what our customers need.”

Sunseeker has also announced that it will standardise Deutsch´s waterproof

electrical connectors on bilge applications across their entire product

range. Bilge applications include all the engine room to forward bilge pump

systems including those for clean and dirty water handling.

“The bilge area of any boat is a demanding environment for electronics.

Deutsch have worked with us to select electrical connectors that simplify

installation and improve system integrity”, said Matt Francis, electrical

manager, Sunseeker.