Shelves/Drawers advice

Colby,
You should come South for a visit.
Here's Crooked Island, Fl Oct 25 Gulf side, water only 80 degrees but tolerable, air only 80 degrees but tolerable for late Oct.

Crooked_Island_Fl2.sized.jpg

Here's a side by side of Smartplug and Marinco shorepower connectors. Roger's got all the issues 100% correct. The Marinco is closer in this pic and looks heavier but really the Smartplug is heftier.

Smartplug_with_Marinco2.thumb.jpg


this is my first photo posting so I hope it turns out.
Cheers!
John
 
Thanks for the larger photos! :-) I don't use shore power that often, and do check my connections. But it is always nice to know about newer products or what else is available! I'd love to come down to Florida. But not completely retired and current life obligations keep us here in the Madison Wisconsin area for now. Temps are pretty much below freezing from now until April. Last year was miserable with several months what seemed like sub zero! The charger is the factory installed (I believe) on a CD-22. I'm pretty sure it is the Guest 2621. (Marine charger). Colby P.s. the batteries are standard marine batteries. (lead acid?)
 
The larger area in the smart plug has to do with the female contact, not the male contact, which we see in most photos. I don't have the capapabilty to put photos from where I am currently posting.
 
The photos have been very helpful. At first I didn't really see any difference in the two plugs. However, now I see that it is the Female side that allows much more contact between plugs. The problem I see right now, besides cost, is the availability of adapters. IE, for those that need to plug their boat in at home or other facility that uses standard plugs, as opposed to marine plugs. Personally, I think the Marinco plug works fine, as long as one maintains it. How many years and boats have used it without problem? I do like what I see on this new Smart Plug. But until costs come down and adapters become available, I don't see it as becoming mainstream for a while. Colby P.s. Actually I think the better photos I saw were on the new thread Joe started. Sorry Joe for continuing to post in this thread, but for continuity, that's what I did. :mrgreen: BTW, anyone putting Smart Plug or Marinco Plug in the search box, should see this as one of the threads that pop up, so it's not a complete loss to those looking for info on this particular subject... :?
 
colbysmith":3ln1dvfe said:
The photos have been very helpful. At first I didn't really see any difference in the two plugs. However, now I see that it is the Female side that allows much more contact between plugs. The problem I see right now, besides cost, is the availability of adapters. IE, for those that need to plug their boat in at home or other facility that uses standard plugs, as opposed to marine plugs. Personally, I think the Marinco plug works fine, as long as one maintains it. How many years and boats have used it without problem? I do like what I see on this new Smart Plug. But until costs come down and adapters become available, I don't see it as becoming mainstream for a while. Colby P.s. Actually I think the better photos I saw were on the new thread Joe started. Sorry Joe for continuing to post in this thread, but for continuity, that's what I did. :mrgreen: BTW, anyone putting Smart Plug or Marinco Plug in the search box, should see this as one of the threads that pop up, so it's not a complete loss to those looking for info on this particular subject... :?
Click to expand...
Colby, the other end of the cord - e.g. the one that plugs into the pedestal (or into your home or land based power) is the same as the Marinco cable. So all the adapters that you need (30A to 50A, 30A to 15A, etc) are still available. It's only at the boat end that things are different. The only downside I can see is that your boat power cable cannot be lent to someone else to power their boat unless they also have a Smartplug on their boat. To me, I see this as an advantage as it means my cord is less useful to those who might want to "borrow it" without asking while my boat is unattended.
 
colbysmith":fzvt6gl8 said:
The adapters I'm talking about would be at the boat end. Otherwise one has to drag out the 25' or 50' of marine cord they have.
Click to expand...

I bought a second Smart Plug and made a pigtail with a 15 amp plug on the other end - easy solution for plugging in at home, to the generator, or in an RV park, when that is all the power you need. Before making the second plug, it was no big deal to leave the main cord coiled on the floor in front of the Smart Plug connection on the boat.

When you plug in the Smart Plug the first time, it becomes very apparent that is really is a smarter connection than the old-style Marineco.

SmartPlugWiringE.jpg

Jim B.
 
colbysmith":1dgvixxa said:
The adapters I'm talking about would be at the boat end. Otherwise one has to drag out the 25' or 50' of marine cord they have.
Click to expand...

Then I guess I'm confused about your statement:

"The problem I see right now, besides cost, is the availability of adapters. IE, for those that need to plug their boat in at home or other facility that uses standard plugs, as opposed to marine plugs."

If I have a Marinco fitting on the boat, I have to drag out my marine cord and if I have a Smartplug fitting I have to drag out my marine cord to attach it to the boat. The other end of both are identical - 30A male plugs to go into the pedestal. If the pedestal is 15A - I use the 30A female to 15A male adapter on either cord (this is what I use to connect the boat to power at home). What am I missing?
 
Now I'm confused too (about what I might be missing).

****

I don't have shorepower on the boat, but have been thinking about re-doing the shore plug on my RV and was thinking about going with the smart plug receptacle/cord. Realizing I might have to adapt on the "pedestal" end, but thinking I'd be fine on the RV end.

(At the moment my RV has a cord that is "hard wired" on the RV end but I would prefer it to be detachable; so I'd be putting on a new receptacle no matter what I go with, and was thinking Smart Plug.)
 
Sunbeam":181owkyc said:
Now I'm confused too (about what I might be missing).

****

I don't have shorepower on the boat, but have been thinking about re-doing the shore plug on my RV and was thinking about going with the smart plug receptacle/cord. Realizing I might have to adapt on the "pedestal" end, but thinking I'd be fine on the RV end.

(At the moment my RV has a cord that is "hard wired" on the RV end but I would prefer it to be detachable; so I'd be putting on a new receptacle no matter what I go with, and was thinking Smart Plug.)
Click to expand...

We have a 50 amp power cord on our 5th wheel that detaches. Our previous motorhomes had the type that was permanently attached. I greatly prefer the kind that stays attached: pull out what you need (last coach had a roller to hold the cord); you don't have to carry the heavy cord. I don't see any advantage to the detached cord. YMMV.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
JamesTXSD":3gwyif97 said:
We have a 50 amp power cord on our 5th wheel that detaches. Our previous motorhomes had the type that was permanently attached. I greatly prefer the kind that stays attached: pull out what you need (last coach had a roller to hold the cord); you don't have to carry the heavy cord. I don't see any advantage to the detached cord.
Click to expand...

I see what you are saying. And glad for your input because, you know how it is, I think it sounds like a good idea but who knows what I haven't thought of yet! I suppose part of it depends on how the "permanent" cord goes into the rig. In my case it goes in through a plastic door (pre-made common RV part), and ends up in a section of cabinetry under the kitchen sink that is delineated by plywood walls, but not "sealed off" from the cabinets.

1) My main reason: Where the permanently attached cord goes into the rig through the pre-made door, there is a "mouse hole cover" that slides to the side where the wire passes through. But critters can still come up the cord and get in because the "mouse hole" is not sealed. So in order to keep critters out, I carry a piece of copper mesh and wrap that around the cord where it passes through the "mouse hole." That keeps most critters out (maybe not ants?), but puts some strain on the little door, and maybe looks a little bit "rough." The copper can start to turn green after a while (I could use bronze wool too).

With the detachable cord, the receptacle would be firmly attached to the rig, there would be no "hole through," and so no path in for critters, whether plugged in or unplugged.

2) Normally I clean the cord as I stow it (with a damp rag, etc.), but if I'm in a rush that dirty/wet cord goes into the area under the cabinets. With a detachable, I would likely store it in an "exterior" compartment, so there would be less grub factor if I did put it away dirty.

****

I suppose some (larger) rigs might have a second "sealed" compartment where the permanent cord is attached? So then maybe no problems with "mouse hole" or dirt/wet. But I just have a wee rig and it is not that fancy :)

The minus (and why I have not done it yet) is that then I'd have the cord taking up "more prime" exterior storage (whereas now it goes into a sort of unused corner area that is not very accessible any other way because it is the rear corner of a kitchen cabinet ell).

Since I rarely plug in, I've just been putting off doing anything one way or the other :wink: Plus, hey, it's "only" the RV - the boat takes priority :D
 
Sometimes I can type a lot more than necessary.... I just did that, but here's the short of it. I don't like using the Marine cord I currently have, the standard yellow beast, because its big and bulky. And more times than not, when I'm plugging my boat in for power it's at home on it's trailer. Thus, I prefer to use an adapter at the boat end (after running a standard heavy duty extension cord from the power box or receptacle). But there are still times where I need the "marine" cord, and making an adapter for the smart plug would be easy enuf, but pricey for yet another Female smart plug end. Colby
 
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