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Newbie question on 30 amp service to 20 amp

 
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mccml



Joined: 18 Sep 2006
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City/Region: Montoursville, PA
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C-Dory Year: 2004
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: Crystal Sea
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PostPosted: Fri May 25, 2007 7:19 pm    Post subject: Newbie question on 30 amp service to 20 amp Reply with quote

I am taking my boat out for its first trip at a marina in New York State, and it says my slip will have 20 amp service. Will my 30 amp chord plug into it or will I need a special adapter?
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Mark and Carol
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Sea Wolf



Joined: 01 Nov 2003
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City/Region: Redding
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PostPosted: Fri May 25, 2007 7:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mark-

Yes, you'll need an adapter!

Easiest ay is to go to a chandelery, like West Marine or Boat U.S., and just buy it for now. Probably cost $50 or so.

Later on, when you understand 120-v electricity better, you can make your own, at least, I do.

Joe.

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"Most of my money I spent on boats and women. The rest I squandered'. " -Annonymous
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teflonmom



Joined: 16 May 2004
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PostPosted: Fri May 25, 2007 9:40 pm    Post subject: Adapter Reply with quote

Years ago I ran into the 20amp problem on the NYS Canals. In all of our travels we have found very few 20amp services.

I solved the problem by making up a 20amp male to a 15 amp female. I purchased the parts at a Home Depot. Just be sure to use a fairly heavy gauge wire. Then run a regular 15 amp extension cord from the adaptor to your boat. You should have a 30amp female to a 15amp male on your boat at all times. With this set up you can use the 15 amp extension cord in place of the large heavy 30 amp cord. Most of the time our power needs are so low that this set up works out just fine.
We use this even in the fall when we run the electric cube heater to warm the boat.

Fred, Pat and Mr. Grey(the cat)

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mccml



Joined: 18 Sep 2006
Posts: 107
City/Region: Montoursville, PA
State or Province: PA
C-Dory Year: 2004
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: Crystal Sea
Photos: Crystal C
PostPosted: Fri May 25, 2007 9:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Could I then plug that into a 20 amp service? I already have a 30amp female and 15 amp male adapter that I use at home to plug the boat into my house outlet.
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thataway



Joined: 02 Nov 2003
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PostPosted: Fri May 25, 2007 11:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You need to check to see what 20 amp adaptor is necessary. There are two 20 amp standards. One is like a 15 amp plug, but with the neutral blade at right angles, rather than straight down, as the 15 amp blades are.

The other is a 20 amp twist lock. It looks very similar to the 30 twist lock, but the blades are slightly different size and the pattern is smaller--they are not interchangable.

I carry both, plus the two different types of 50 amp adaptors. One way is to make a 30 amp twist lock pig tail, and then put on what every marina plug is necessary on the spot. We found when cruising Europe almost every country had different standards, but the local hardware stores always had the proper plug (plus we had a 3 KW step down transformer 220 to 110 V.

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Thataway
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mccml



Joined: 18 Sep 2006
Posts: 107
City/Region: Montoursville, PA
State or Province: PA
C-Dory Year: 2004
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: Crystal Sea
Photos: Crystal C
PostPosted: Sat May 26, 2007 9:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks everyone for the help!
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