Help with shore power plug

[snal]

I'm looking for a waterproof plug to mount as a thru-wall in the cabin wall, under the gunnel. I'll be plugging in a dock shorepower cord, and a cord rigged from a generator. The thru-wall plug will be wired to a GFI outlet box that I'll mount inside the cabin.
There are so many choices available that I have no idea which one I need!
I'm assuming that I need one that will accept a common (30A?) dock cord, or do most docks have a female plug rather than a cord?
These things are impossible to find in stock, or find anyone that would know what I need, here in western NC.
TIA!

[flapbreaker]

I believe this is what your looking for.



You can find it online at retailers like boaters world, west marine

http://www.boatersworld.com/product/196740021.htm


For more info on it go here:
http://www.marinco.com/scpt/ProdPage.php?loadItem=301EL-B_ParkPower%20Recreational

This is where I installed mine. Sounds like you have the same idea. Not the best picture of it but you get the idea.

[snal]

Thanks!...that's exactly the information that I needed!
I've looked at alot of plugs, but they range from $59 to over $200!

What do you have on the cabin side? I have a 4 outlet GFI box that has an on/off switch on it. Thought I'd hard wire it directly to that plug, and mount the outlet box somewhere behind the helm seat in our 22 angler.
My onboard charger is on the port side though.
How does yours work out being on the starboard side?

[Sneaks]

Here's some info on the "Jenny B" installation.

[flapbreaker]

I found this CGFI box. It was the only one I could find that included a 15amp breaker.
You can find it here: http://www.hechinger.com/web/catalog/product_detail.aspx?pid=93844&cm_ven=Nextag&cm_cat=Power%20Tools&cm_pla=Prime%20Wire%20&%20Cable&cm_ite=Prime%20Wire%20&%20Cable-Accessories-93844&cid=3D0812FE46F93536A8D996F6F2CA3D26



I cut the plug off and wired directly to the marinco power inlet. I have the prosport 12amp onboard charger plugged into the CGFI.

When the boats home I use one of these pigtail adapters so I can plug an extension chord into the power inlet and charge the batteries.

http://www.marinco.com/scpt/ProdPage.php?loadItem=104A_Marinco%20Shore%20Power#


So far I have only used the "shore power" to plug in at home and keep the batteries charged so having everything on the starboard side has not been a problem. All these adapters are expensive though.

[snal]

I looked everywhere for that plug, thinking that I might be able to find it locally, but couldn't find one. Finally decided that I prefer the twist-lock.
I think I have the same GFI box, but was thinking that ours was a 4-way...maybe the size fooled me, but we do have the same battery charger.
How did you wire the charger? I've been following the "shorepower/charger" threads of late...I only have 2 batteries, and ran the charger wiring directly to each battery individually. Seems to work fine, but I've noticed that it will not indicate a full charge all the time. If it doesn't indicate full...when I know it should , then if I unplug the power cord, and plug it back in, it'll read a full charge. Strange!

[snal]

Flapbreaker, how do you have the battery charger wired to AC? If it plugs into the GFI box then why would you need the adaptor to charge at home?

[Jazzmanic]

I'm planning to do the exact same installation but I have a dumb question.

If I decided to put the 30amp inlet like pictured in flapbreakers post, does it matter if I direct wire the 15amp cord from the CGFI box to the inlet? It's just that I don't particularly like to use the pigtail adaptor also shown in the post above. I have one but it's so bulky and awkward. I'd rather plug the female end of the 30amp shorepower cord directly into the outlet rather than using the adaptor. My question, any problem or something I should know regarding wiring if I did it this way?

BTW, I really like the simplicity of this "shorepower", sneaks and flapbreaker. Thanks for sharing.

Peter

[Captains Cat]

Larry, you need a cord too. Marina's don't provide them, and they usually have the three prong 30 AMP Female sockets. It would also be a good idea to get an adapter that converts the end of the cord, the 30AMP Male plug to a male regular three prong plug, the kind that will plug into a regular three prong grounded 110V outlet. That way you can plug it into an extension cord at home.

Charlie

[flapbreaker]

[snal]

[snal]

[thataway]

One thing to consider is why use a more expensive 30 amp connector, cord and pigtails when you will never be running more than 15 amps?

If you were only going to plug into a dock with 30 amp twist locks the 30 amp set would make sense. But if you are going to use at home 15 amp plugs and the generator (which will have a 15 amp plug) or RV parks with 15 amps plugs (or RV 30 amp plugs), consider using a 15 amp inlet as in Sneaks post. Then you can use a standard heavy duty extension cord for most use, and an adaptor for the 30 amp twist locks when necessary.

We have several sets of cords and adaptors. We run the boats off 15 amps much of the time (at RV campsites and off the Honda generator)--and have a 15 amp amp male to a 30 amp female twist lock (boat end) cord made up.

As pointed out, when you do the direct wiring, it is not to ABYC standards--If you are just pluging in the coffee pot, it is a little different than a permently installed battery charger....

[snal]

[SeaSpray]

I used the exact same set-up as the JennyB except a different charger. I carry a heavy duty extension cord and a 30A adapter for at marinas.

Steve