110 Inlet Shorepower 30 Amp

N

nmitch2859

New member
I am having problems with my shore power. At first, I was not getting any power to my outlets. I did check for continuity, first at main breaker, tested good. Then, with power on ,breaker on nothing. tried resetting gfci. No go. Tried moving shore power cord to another box. Worked after changing main breaker. Wiggled shore power cord at inlet. Then I had good power. Deduced it was inlet. I am currently changing shore power inlet. Black was burnt and had missing insulation. I am changing the hole cord from shore power inlet to main breaker. I am using a number 6 3 stand tined. Has anyone else had the same problems? :(
 
This was discussed in another recent thread. The most common point of failure is at the inlet to the boat. This needs a secure fitting. Recommended currently is the "Smart plug" can help to prevent this.

For less money, you can make sure that the inlet has the screw on ring on the outside, and make sure that the ring on the 30 amp female connector to the boat, screws tightly into the inlet on the boat. If you continue with Marinco fittings, then be sure that the inlet has the "strain relief", and the cord set has the threaded ring to be sure it remains tight. Some anticorrosive material on the lugs of the plug will also help.

You mention changing the cord--but you also need to check the inlet, and replace as above.

Usually the cord is #10 wire for 30 amps, yes it must be copper stranded and should be tinned. The 50 amp cord is #6 wire.
 
I would start by changing both the cord end and the boats receptacle. The Smart Plug has a kit for both the receptacle and the plug end of your power cord. The one thing I liked about the Smart Plug receptacle was that it has a thermal breaker so if it should get hot it opens the circuit. They also feature about 20% more contact area. We always plug the boat end in first making sure there are no loads present then plug the other end into the power outlet ad then flip the breaker on to eliminate any arcing from occurring on either plug or receptacle. http://www.defender.com Look under shore power and then connectors
D.D.
 
Thanks for the replies. :D I did buy some 6 gauge wire. it was the wrong type and size. :oops: I now have 10 x 3. It is the right size and will fit in the inlet socket. I am changing the wire run because the original wire is short and the black( hot ) is burnt and corroded. After repairs, I should have a good connection good solid power. :D Thanks Neal
 
bridma":3q49r4uz said:
Different question, but similar subject. Do you think #12 guage cord is ok for 20 amp ?

Martin.
Click to expand...

Is it OK? Depends on how long it is. I usually use 10 gauge, but if the cord is short, and you are going to be running 20 amps most of the time, up to 50 feet will be "acceptable" for 20 amps. There will be a voltage drop of 3.8 volts--and that is about the max acceptable drop.

This brings up another issue--and that is that many time when you are the end of a dock, in a marina, the voltage may have already dropped. I have seen marinas (and RV parks) where the voltage is down to the high 90's. So it is a good idea to measure the voltage when you are in a situation where this may be an issue. Again a good place for the Kill-0-Watt meter, which will measure frequency, Voltage, and current draw (watts or amps).

The 10 gauge cord also has a 3% voltage drop at 50 feet--about 7% at 100 feet!

The above is from the NEC tables, which can be found at:


http://home.mchsi.com/~gweidner/extension-cords.pdf
 
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