Shore Power

[Jim Davis]

Unless you have a wired in hot water and/or air conditioning (heat) on board you don't even need a yellow cord. A 15 amp extension cord with appropriate adaptors will do the job ad take up a lot less space. I have stopped using my yellow cord several years ago ad have had no problems with any marina. I do have a 30 twist lock on the boat end and simply use an adaptor for the pier as needed. Where the smallest outlet is 50 amp I have found that the marina will lend me an adaptor. (Side note - many marinas don't charge if all you are using is an orange extension cord)

[Joe CD MS 300]

Shipscarver,

I know very little about AC systems on boats except that they can be very dangerous. It's not an area to mess around with casually. Now, I'm pretty sure that Mainesail knows a ton more than I do. He (politely?) wasn't real explicit in his post but if I am reading between the lines correctly I think he was kind of saying you don't know what you don't know when it comes to AC on boats. You need to be very careful with AC systems in the home. Add to that the integration and separation with a DC system, a wet environment and just in general the things that can go wrong on a boat and you need even more caution. The thought of using extension cords on a boat...., I don't know, maybe its OK but it just doesn't sound good to me.

If was installing an AC system on my boat and wanted to do a lot of the work myself. I think I'd pay a qualified marine electrician to lay it out, I'd do the grunt work of running the lines and roughing in the outlets, fixtures etc but get the electrician to make the connections and test the system.

As far as the 30 vs. 50 amp service, I've charted boats up to 46 feet and don't remember any having more than a 30 amp service.

Joe

[Maine Sail]

Now, I'm pretty sure that Mainesail knows a ton more than I do. He (politely?) wasn't real explicit in his post but if I am reading between the lines correctly I think he was kind of saying you don't know what you don't know when it comes to AC on boats.

Joe

Actually I was just sharing some of the more pertinent and important points of ABYC E-11. It is not complicated stuff, and while not mandatory, but should be done in accordance with current standards.

If you were to burn your boat and a good chunk of a marina and your insurance company discovered you did not install the AC system according to the basic available standards there is no telling which way it would go.

There was recently a good article in GOB about a guy with a J-Boat who burned it using non-standard or approved systems. All cords used should meet the UL requirements to avoid any potential issues with insurance and or liability. Many marinas now dis-allow owners from using anything but standardized, twist locking, marine rated shore power cords.


These are quotes from that article:

"I decided to by-pass the on-board shorepower system so Sirius would not share the shore power ground with adjacent boats"

"Unfortunately, the over-current protection of the power strip did not stop the arcing. The 30 amp breaker in teh shore power box was the line of defense. It did trip, but a 30-amp arc can support a substantial fire."


The only point of my post was to do it safely...

[tmsc]

Steve Laume wrote,

Has anyone found a GFI breaker that could be wired into the feed before the main panel?

I think what you are looking for is an ELCI, and you can obtain one from Blue Sea. These are a new recommendation from ABYC that will come into effect July 2010.

http://bluesea.com/products/3102

E11 has changed a lot this round.

Hope this helps you.[/quote]