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Newbie question on 30 amp service to 20 amp
- Thread starter mccml
- Start date
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)
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)
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.
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.