Shore power cord length

"In addition, shore power cords are required to have factory ends - No cut cords and user installed ends."

That is beyond insane,, as the best plugs are not molded on.

I can see them requiring marine ends and WP covers to match to the power pole , but REQUIRING a lesser grade?

I'll second the vote for a Cablemaster. I used to run a 43' sportfisher with a 50ft shore-power cord that had manhandled up through the engine room hatch. Immagine my joy when the owner bought a bigger fishing boat with TWIN cablemasters - one either side. The tubs for the cables are quite large, so a retrofit would not be without its problems.

FF said:

"In addition, shore power cords are required to have factory ends - No cut cords and user installed ends."

That is beyond insane,, as the best plugs are not molded on.

I can see them requiring marine ends and WP covers to match to the power pole , but REQUIRING a lesser grade?

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They are obviously just trying to CTA by requiring factory ends. That way if anything goes wrong with an end installed by someone else they can try to shift the blame.

In a way I can't blame them considering the quality of most of the DIY electrical work I see.

If you are using a standard 30 amp cable, the normal store bought length is 50', which is light weight and easily manageable, so doesn't need to be shortened to 30' or 20'.

I have a couple of spares, so when necessary to dock in a location far from the nearest shore outlet, I have 150'. I have used this much only once, up coast.

After an insurance survey, the insurance Co. contributed $125 to the cost of putting a "smart Plug" on the boat end. This means I have no choice which of my 3 power cords is attached to the boat.

The connection to the boat is the most frequent source of boat fires, hence the insurance Co encouraging the use of a safer connector. Should the cord to post or cord to cord connection burn up, it won't take the boat with it, so no push by the insurance industry to change. Another thing insurers don't like is the DIY style connector that doesn't have the positive screw on security of the factory installed boat end. No surprise some marinas require this.

Like Marin, my connection point is close to mid-ship, but on the Starboard side. I prefer to tie Port side, so come over the foredeck to the nearest shore outlet, which at home port or club marinas, is always within the reach of my single 50' cord.

koliver said:

If you are using a standard 30 amp cable, the normal store bought length is 50', which is light weight and easily manageable, so doesn't need to be shortened to 30' or 20'.

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The shipping weight (only weight I could find) for your 30 amp 125 volt 50' power cord is about 13 pounds. The cable we are referring to is 50 amp 250 volt 50'. The shipping weight is 44 pounds. That's 3 times what you cable weighs.

Ted

Just remember not to use the cords with the excess coiled, or on a reel. Oscillating magnetic fields and heat are generated. You will shorten the life of the cord, and potentially start a fire.

Insequent said:

Just remember not to use the cords with the excess coiled, or on a reel. Oscillating magnetic fields and heat are generated. You will shorten the life of the cord, and potentially start a fire.

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If that were true Glendinnings would be burning down boats and burning out cords left and right. And that ain't happening.

We keep the excess of our 50' groundpower cable coiled and hung from a hanger off the rail. I have checked it from time to time and it is never even the tiniest bit warm. I have experienced planty of AC cables getting hot in the industry I work in (film/video production) so I know it can happen. We even "exploded" an extersion cord once when the gaffer put too many lights on it.

We don't pull very much power through our groundpower cord. Maximum is in the winter with the three-stage battery charger, the refrigerator/freezer and two electric oil heaters in the boat, both on the lowest setting of 600w and with their thermostats halfway up. We feel the cable and the connectors at each end for temperature every time we're at the boat and they have all been cold every time.

When using a 240v setup, if the loads are balanced , not all on one leg , the load on the cord is light.

Problems come from 50A on one leg and the neutral wire,

Let the red leg and black leg carry about equal loads.

Esp if using resistance heaters.

Update to my cable shortening:

Was able to locate 2 new plugs (male & female), 4 new plug covers, and a coupling kit (allows 2 cords to be joined with a rain proof connection) for about $150 between Amazon and a couple of vendors. Seems they were trying to reduce inventory. Took a couple of hours to clean up the cable with the auto polish, cut the cable, add new plug covers, and the 2 new plugs. In the process was able to inspect the original plugs for corrosion under the covers; there was none. Now have a 30' and a 20' cable. The 30' ended up being just right for my summer slip. Definitely worth doing; much easier to handle; and looks much better all cleaned up and new plug covers.



Ted

"If that were true Glendinnings would be burning down boats and burning out cords left and right. And that ain't happening."

Sorta like all the gasoline boats that are exploding everywhere!

Jay N said:

Where I moor full time, the marina has regulations that require any shore power cord to be no more than 10' longer than the distance needed in order to minimize coiling which can produce heat..

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In theory, that is true (the coils become a transformer of sorts). In practice, not so much. The solution is simple - don't coil the excess cord, snake it around on the dock.

It's good that the marina takes electrical safety seriously because most do not.

Back on topic, I have both a 50' cable and a 40' cable. 40' cable you say? Where did you get that and why?

I had a 30' cable that was weathered and the ends were suspect so I went to West Marine. They were having a closeout on 40' shorepower cables for $35 each. I quickly bought one. I should have bought two.

The 40' cable works most of the time (and the excess is coiled up ant my home marina). Bow in, I usually have to use the 50' cable. If you travel, you need options. I also have a 50 amp and 20 amp adapters. I've never used the 20 amp, it came with the boat.

FF said:

"In addition, shore power cords are required to have factory ends - No cut cords and user installed ends."

That is beyond insane,, as the best plugs are not molded on.

I can see them requiring marine ends and WP covers to match to the power pole , but REQUIRING a lesser grade?

Click to expand...

The issue is not the quality but the fact that a factory end is pretty much guaranteed to be wired correctly while a user installed end could be wired incorrectly. Not everybody understands that the wires have to be in the correct positions. As simple as it might seem to do, I have encountered cords where someone has gotten it wrong and created a pretty serious hazard.

" Not everybody understands that the wires have to be in the correct positions."
I have wired several. Unless there are other, non-standard brands available elsewhere, all the plugs I have found have been accurately colour coded. Back, White, Green. Even a colour blind guy will still get it right.

koliver said:

" Not everybody understands that the wires have to be in the correct positions."
I have wired several. Unless there are other, non-standard brands available elsewhere, all the plugs I have found have been accurately colour coded. Back, White, Green. Even a colour blind guy will still get it right.

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And as a former musician, I found myself playing outdoors many times with a venue supplied extension cord that failed my little portable tester. I remember rewiring both ends of a cord at a country club before we could play safely

I remember watching two guys (school custodians) replacing an electrical outlet. They weren't concerned with the color of the wires, they were using which side of the outlet the original wires were on. That gives only a 50% chance of getting it right depending on which way they were holding the outlet.


The AV guy at the school I worked at was trying to replace the cord cap on an extension cord. He complained to me that the wires wouldn't stay in (he did have the colors right). I had to tell him to tighten the screws. He thought they should stay in by themselves.

In the real world, there are people who will fail even the simplest tests.

But people bad enough to wire their shore power wrong can easily do so inside their boats and it may not ever be picked up...even with multiple surveys and owners.


The world surrounds all of us with dangers everyday.


Insurance companies grow rich figuring out just how bad we all really are at protecting ourselves and belongings.


It would take a marina 15 minutes TOPS to check a power cord to see it is wired correctly.....OK...charge me $25 bucks at a home marina for it or include it in the slip rent. Cheaper than a new cord and if insurance companies are giving rebates to some for Smart plugs...they don't seem too worried but marinas are?


Actually not too much as I have yet to have an issue at a marina with an aftermarket plug...but I guess there are some.

Have a fifty-foot cord. Twenty-five would be sufficient at home berth, but fifty-foot was just barely adequate at some transit docks.

Ted,
This summer, we had MANY docks where we needed 50' and in several I had both of my 50' 50A cords, my Y and both of my 50' 30A cords. If I had another 50' cord, I would consider making a 30' and 20' 50A cord.
I have a 50A input on both the bow and stern.
I am working now to figure out a solution to allow us to run on a single 30A when that is the only option ( we found that in two locations over the summer). Currently our ISO-Boost will not allow the boat to accept anything but 50A.
I did not see this thread in the fall or I would have commented then.
Cheers,

markpierce said:

Have a fifty-foot cord. Twenty-five would be sufficient at home berth, but fifty-foot was just barely adequate at some transit docks.

http://s296.photobucket.com/user/marcoperforar/media/partnerincrime.png.html

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That's what I found.
I have 50ft in my Glendenning Cable master. I've just purchased an 80ft cord to install in place of the 50ft.

We have three 50' 50A cords and two 50' 30A. This seems to work for us, especially in the Bahamas when you sometimes have to goto the pedestal at the next slip.

HenryD said:

Ted,
This summer, we had MANY docks where we needed 50' and in several I had both of my 50' 50A cords, my Y and both of my 50' 30A cords. If I had another 50' cord, I would consider making a 30' and 20' 50A cord.
I have a 50A input on both the bow and stern.
I am working now to figure out a solution to allow us to run on a single 30A when that is the only option ( we found that in two locations over the summer). Currently our ISO-Boost will not allow the boat to accept anything but 50A.
I did not see this thread in the fall or I would have commented then.
Cheers,

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Henry,

My panel is now setup where I can use any number of adapters to run on either 125 or 250 volt service with cords for 50 amp, 30 amp, or even 15 amp service. While in the refit process, the boat was usually plugged into a 125 volt 15 amp outlet. Sometimes simpler is better. With the more efficient air conditioning units and all LED lights, it can easily be run on 30 amp service and carefully on 125 volt 30 amp. Plan to have extra cables for the Loop trip.

Ted

koliver said:

" Not everybody understands that the wires have to be in the correct positions."
I have wired several. Unless there are other, non-standard brands available elsewhere, all the plugs I have found have been accurately colour coded. Back, White, Green. Even a colour blind guy will still get it right.

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Sorry, but I disagree. Most will get it right, if attention is paid, but I have seen just a few too many where it was done wrong. No one got seriously hurt but it could have been otherwise.

If you understand even a little you will likely get it right but there are those that have NO understanding of the whys and wherefores and thus get it wrong.

Do your own sure, I'm not one of those who feels no one but an electrician should be able to do anything, BUT make sure you do know the requirements even if you do not truly understand all the reasons.
Otherwise someone could get hurt.

"I had to tell him to tighten the screws. He thought they should stay in by themselves."

There actually is "push in" electric stuff at the Big Box stores , saves contractors in a hurry a few seconds.

BUT they use solid wire not the expensive tinned multi strand wire of most boats.

A wire end dipped in solder might be safe for push ins.

Might even help the 30A and 50A dock plugs that get overloaded and melt in high use .

I replaced the 30A inlet on my boat. The instructions stated specifically NOT to solder the wires before inserting them into the connectors.


Sometimes, reading the instructions helps, even if you've been doing this stuff for years.

WesK said:

I replaced the 30A inlet on my boat. The instructions stated specifically NOT to solder the wires before inserting them into the connectors.


Sometimes, reading the instructions helps, even if you've been doing this stuff for years.

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I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure FF is talking receptacles...not shore power stuff.

Shore power stuff isn't push in lock....

The takeaway here is how much easier life is with a short cord and the boat wired for fore and aft power entry.

Its only a PIA to do once .

FF said:

The takeaway here is how much easier life is with a short cord and the boat wired for fore and aft power entry.

Its only a PIA to do once .

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You need a switch to select the inlet. Otherwise, the pins on the unused one are hot and a safety hazard. Also, overcurrent protection is required within ten feet (measured along the cable) from the inlet so you will most likely have to add a fuse or circuit breaker panel for the additional inlet.

57 posts to determine the length of an electrical cord.
And some of you guys even know the brand name of the cord.

I thought electrical cords were about as regulated as aircraft nuts and bolts.
I just plug mine in and keep it from being a tripping hazzard.

manyboats said:

57 posts to determine the length of an electrical cord.
And some of you guys even know the brand name of the cord.

I thought electrical cords were about as regulated as aircraft nuts and bolts.
I just plug mine in and keep it from being a tripping hazzard.

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You really should check the ends for burns and signs of arcing and for excessive heat when running heavy loads like heat or air conditioning for extended periods.

manyboats said:

57 posts to determine the length of an electrical cord.
And some of you guys even know the brand name of the cord.

I thought electrical cords were about as regulated as aircraft nuts and bolts.
I just plug mine in and keep it from being a tripping hazzard.

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This coming from a guy with an anchor for every day of the week?

Ted