How often do you use your shore power?

The 30 amp device which Colby Smith referred to is mostly used as a surge protector for the RV; they also have the CFGI. The plugs are the RV type, not the twist lock marina plugs. I have not seen an external 30 amp GFI or the marine plugs.
 
Thanks Colby, good info. I think a 15 amp would do for me. They are a lot cheaper if you shop around online. I googled GFI electrical cord lots to choose from.

Martin.
 
Bob, the nice thing about those 30 amp RV GFCI Surge protectors, is that they are weather proof. Unfortunately I've never seen any with the Marine twist lock style plug either, but it's not that hard to make an adapter, if none are available commercially. Seems to me that the place for the GFCI protection would be at the power box, before it ever crosses the water to get to the boat. For those that just want to run a regular extension cord to their boat from the Marina's shore power, seems like this would be the safest cheap method to do so. ;-) The cheapest method just being an adapter to go from the standard receptacle to the marine twist lock plug. Colby
 
colbysmith":km9v59r3 said:
Bob, the nice thing about those 30 amp RV GFCI Surge protectors, is that they are weather proof. Unfortunately I've never seen any with the Marine twist lock style plug either, but it's not that hard to make an adapter, if none are available commercially. Seems to me that the place for the GFCI protection would be at the power box, before it ever crosses the water to get to the boat. For those that just want to run a regular extension cord to their boat from the Marina's shore power, seems like this would be the safest cheap method to do so. ;-) The cheapest method just being an adapter to go from the standard receptacle to the marine twist lock plug. Colby
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If you really want the GFCI close to the power source, for around $26 from Home Depot (and other places) you can by a 2' long 12g 3-wire 15A stub extension cord with the GFCI on it. Then you only need the marine adapter from 30A or 50A to 15A + a 3-wire 12g extension cord. That will be cheaper than building an adapter.
 
Roger, I'd have to agree. That would be a much better deal. If I didn't already have the more expensive RV protector....I'd just go with something like that. Colby
 
Colby, you are going to end up with a 30 amp marine to 30 amp RV, then out, 30 amp RV to standard 15 amp (cheap and easy) But a whole bunch of plugs and adaptors, with the chance that one of these may come loose.

So, I'll throw out--why are there not built in GFI in the 30 amp cords? There is a reason--and it is that the wiring around marinas is notoriously bad, with leakage to the ground, and even reversal of hot and neutral.

If you are going to be fooling around with drill motors or other appliances plugged directly into the marine pedestal--there may be a reason to have a GFI in the 30 or 50 amp circuit. The reality is the most boats come with a 30 amp or 50 amp system, and the cord plugs directly into the boat, and goes from there.
 
We stopped using shore power this year, and are now "off the grid." Our coffee pot (650 watts) and toaster (750 watts) are powered by an 800 watt inverter (800 watts continuous for one hour; 1600 watts peak). This inverter also provides power to a large electric fan we use in the heat of the summer. We use a 12 watt, 60 watt incandescent equivalent, LED light bulb that is pointed up toward the ceiling to light up our cabin in bright light. With respect to heat, if it is a sunny day, our type of boat gets toasty warm due to the sun's warmer effects of shining through our large windows. Even though we have an electric heater, we find that on those cold days without sun, we just use our Wallas for a short time until we retire for the evening.

In New England, the daily cost for transient electrical power ranges for $10 to $15. So there is a significant financial incentive for being " off the grid".
 
So now I'm all set up for my minimal requirements. I took the 14 guage electrical cord off the boat, relegated it to the garage, replaced it with 50' of 12 guage. A GFCI breaker cord. Total cost, $100. I suppose for a few more bucks I could have had something more permanent. But this set-up will do me. I doubt if I will ever use it, but at least it's on the boat.

Martin.
 
Food for thought:
Some marinas I have encounted here ,VA, will not allow standard extension cords from their power pedestals due to safety and legal reasons, only marine power cords with locking rings, etc..

I do use an extension cord when on a work rack, but not in the water at a dock. Radio Shack sells (at a reasonable cost) a 115V/15A outlet tester with 3 LEDs that indicate the power status (clear, red or green) per 'prong'. I check the power every time I use the extension cord. This has saved some serious problems in the past and the marina was grateful for the 'heads-up'.

The CD25 comes with an ac power panel with reverse polarity and power available LED indicators. A Galvanic isolator was also standard.

Art
 
I wonder what the Marinas position would be with an adaptor which has the locking rings/twist lock, with a #10 or #12 yellow extension cord, which is then taped to the adaptor?

In my set of adaptors, I have both the RV 30 amp, and Marine 20 and 30 amp adaptors with the lock and rings.
 
Bob, I understand, and agree with what you are saying. I guess I got off on a tangent with power cords and adapters. ;-) Bottom line, the skipper is responsible for his boat. I think we've all seen some pretty shoddy power pedestals both marine and land. I had that RV surge protector do it's job a few times with an earlier motorhome and bad campground hookups. If the marina power pedestal doesn't look too good, I just don't plug in. When I do, I usually just adapt down to the 15 amp standard cord, and then adapt back up at the boats 30 amp shore power connection. For me, just easier to get the extension cord out, than the larger/heavier marine cord. I already have the RV 30 amp surge protector, so I just carry that as my adapter if I "dry camp". Back a little closer to topic, if I didn't have shore power, I would probably just have one of the "through hull" 15 amp connectors near a permanently mounted battery charger. Colby
 
I am running a pair of battery tenders and a small dehumidifier,with very little PWR draw. A std power cord and a 3 way splitter does just fine. I like Dr Bobs setup though ,and will probably add that gradually .
One question for Bob is if he is using solid core house wiring,how do you attach ring terminals to solid wire? Thx
 
chucko":3fhepsim said:
I am running a pair of battery tenders and a small dehumidifier,with very little PWR draw. A std power cord and a 3 way splitter does just fine. I like Dr Bobs setup though ,and will probably add that gradually .
One question for Bob is if he is using solid core house wiring,how do you attach ring terminals to solid wire? Thx
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Bob said "Inside the boat the Marine quality,vinyl covered, triplex stranded #12 wire" - e.g. while the wiring looks like Romex on the outside of the cable, on the inside it is stranded, tinned, marine quality wire.
 
Thx Roger, I read the post too quickly,My apologies to Dr Bob,should have known he would not deviate from best practices. :thup
 
Chucko--no problem. You are correct, it does look like Romex. But there is a real price difference...We always use marine grade tinned wire, If the run is any distance we usually use the wire with the vinly cover also on the outside.
 
A leading cause of boat fires start as a result of the boat's connection to shore power. FOR ME I think trying to avoid spending the money it takes to do the job right is a big mistake. Buying a quality marine power cord is just one item I think is money well spent if you intend to boat for more than a couple of years. There have been some recent improvements with the boat's shore power socket and the power cord end that plugs into it. What I liked was the thermal breaker built into the plug socket. Aside from having 20% more contact area the plug's design is more waterproof. All of the regular boats we cruise with have made this change to these newer style plugs. I don't think we would have any trouble at any marina as we have all marine rated cords and connectors. Any 20 to 30 amp adapters are threaded connectors. Besides folks walking down the docks are sure to take notice of the type of lines and power cord coming from your boat. It's part of the image you represent to the boating world. Some people make us look good. :) Here is the link to the Smart plug connectors which we and others on this site have switched to http://www.defender.com/ProductDisplay?id=1723147

D.D.
 
I use Shore Power at my dock to keep the batteries charged and to plug into the outlet behind the helm seat for power tools, drills, vacuums, soldering gun, etc.
I have the dealer installed shore power, with a Guest 30 amp charger and GFCI in the outlet breaker. As my dock and boat house are on a 60 AMP GFCI breaker, I also have a 30 amp GFCI breaker cord pigtail that connects from the twist lock shore power connector to the plug on the boat dock. I do this as the outlet behind the helm seat has failed several times, which trips all the power from the dock and also the boat house. The 60 AMP GFCI breakers for the boat house and dock are located in my main power panel in the house, which is 150ft away. It’s a pain when you lose everything and I don’t like the fact that the one outlet behind the helm was failing and tripping my whole power load. The 30 amp GFCI breaker cord pigtail also helped me isolate failures as you don’t really know if you are dealing with as far as the devices that are causing the failure.

It seems strange that the GFCI is causing failures, this has happened to me two times in the last 6 years. Anyone have the same issue? Think it could be moisture and or the salt air?
 
Will-C":3p8rh293 said:
A leading cause of boat fires start as a result of the boat's connection to shore power. FOR ME I think trying to avoid spending the money it takes to do the job right is a big mistake. Buying a quality marine power cord is just one item I think is money well spent if you intend to boat for more than a couple of years. There have been some recent improvements with the boat's shore power socket and the power cord end that plugs into it. What I liked was the thermal breaker built into the plug socket. Aside from having 20% more contact area the plug's design is more waterproof. All of the regular boats we cruise with have made this change to these newer style plugs. I don't think we would have any trouble at any marina as we have all marine rated cords and connectors. Any 20 to 30 amp adapters are threaded connectors. Besides folks walking down the docks are sure to take notice of the type of lines and power cord coming from your boat. It's part of the image you represent to the boating world. Some people make us look good. :) Here is the link to the Smart plug connectors which we and others on this site have switched to http://www.defender.com/ProductDisplay?id=1723147

D.D.
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Excellent advice about the Smart Plug and using quality components! Electricity is dangerous, and complacency in its many forms has resulted in many injuries and deaths through the years.

Rich
 
Will-C":1daw47zi said:
A leading cause of boat fires start as a result of the boat's connection to shore power. FOR ME I think trying to avoid spending the money it takes to do the job right is a big mistake. Buying a quality marine power cord is just one item I think is money well spent if you intend to boat for more than a couple of years. There have been some recent improvements with the boat's shore power socket and the power cord end that plugs into it. What I liked was the thermal breaker built into the plug socket. Aside from having 20% more contact area the plug's design is more waterproof. All of the regular boats we cruise with have made this change to these newer style plugs. I don't think we would have any trouble at any marina as we have all marine rated cords and connectors. Any 20 to 30 amp adapters are threaded connectors. Besides folks walking down the docks are sure to take notice of the type of lines and power cord coming from your boat. It's part of the image you represent to the boating world. Some people make us look good. :) Here is the link to the Smart plug connectors which we and others on this site have switched to http://www.defender.com/ProductDisplay?id=1723147

D.D.
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Dave makes several excellent points. The majority of the fires are at the inlet to the boat with the stock Marinco inlets which the C Dory comes with. It was mainly an issue of boat owners not using the threaded ring to avoid motion at the inlet to the boat, Also these are associated with constant use of high amperage appliances on the boat--like an air conditioner or heater. the 3 twist lock fitting working, then arcing, causing carbon build up on the boat inlet, and plug. When high enough resistance occurred, there is a possible ignition. Unfortunately the "smart cord, does not address this issue at the marina plug (unless they change over to a similar device), since they still use the twist lock three lug 30 amp plug. The risk with this is transferred to the dock pedestal, and we do see these "fried" not infrequently, but rarely have fires because people stop using them, or the 30 amp breaker trips.

The Smart plug are very pricey--about $250, for their cord, with the 3 prong twist lock without a threaded ring at the pedestal end on the dock, and the smart plug at the boat (where the most risk is). It is a bit less when you retrofit your own cord. I have used the standard 30 amp cords for many years, with no problems--because I inspect the fittings on a regular basis, and I use the threaded ring to attach the fitting to the boat, and also use a piece of rope to attach the cord at the pedestal, and also use some velcro cord keepers along the boats railing to take any strain off the cord. If I see signs of heating or arcing, I replace the plug. This is just a normal routine one should be doing as a pre run inspection, if the boat is left plugged in. I haven't examined these plugs, but many of the problems has been with the way the owner improperly secured the inner wire on the boat.

The fitting I use for the 15 amp circuit is a Marinco fitting, which is commonly used on smaller boats for the battery charger. These have not had the problems that the Marinco twist lock fittings have. We never leave the boat for any length of time, when we are not aboard with anything more than a battery charger running--a couple of amps at the most.

If I had a boat in the water full time, and was using 30 amps, I certainly would consider one of the Smart plugs. Retrofitting, does have some issues, in that the Smart plug is a different size than the round 30 amp plug.
 
Good points, Bob.

If I could add one more culprit - salt water(air) corrosion also greatly contributes to the increased resistance at the connector. This can occur on the three prongs (male or female parts), or even inside the boat where the AC wiring connects to the inlet.

For the prongs, regular application of dielectric grease can help greatly.

For the wiring (as well as the prongs) regular inspection is essential and any problems corrected immediately.
 
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