Southern boats....air conditioning...

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I leave my AC's off and leave the dehum set at 55% relative humidity. One nice thing about the dehum is in daytime heat, that by itself reduces RH even though the water content in a mass basis remains the same. So dehum usually does nothing in mid day but cycle on and check RH. When it cools down in the evening temps drop and RH goes up, the thing wakes up and does it's thing. And with cooler temps it's refrigeration machinery is happier.

High mid day temps seems to not bother anything in the boat, except for the fridge but I usually empty it and turn it off if gone for more than few days.

Win win.
 
BandB said:
I'd add to your question, did you have a professional marine electrician come examine your boat after the incident and make sure everything was in compliance? I know I'd sure have had to do that to sleep comfortably.
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A few weeks ago the uniesse in the slip next ours had some sort of short in their power cord on the dock. They weren't there (we were t either) but another neighbor heard a pop and then saw smoke. He ran over there and flipped the breaker at the pole off and unplugged it. Their cord is hardwired to the boat.
It didn't do any damage to the boat. They had an electrician come and check everything out and install a new power cord.
That was the first I'd heard of a cord being hard wired to a boat. Apparently there's a barrel down below that the cord winds down into when unplugged from shore power.
 
Those are Glendinning Cablemasters. A wonderful item to have especially with 50 amp service.
 
ragin cajun said:
Great question. After finding the shore power cord shot on one end, I disconnected from shore power completely on both ends. With everything turned off I started the genny. All showed fine on the panel with correct voltage to both AC circuits. I started adding loads one by one to the genny with the 2 a/c being last. All was normal and I let everything run on genny power for over 4hours. During this time I ran to WM and purchased a brand new 50ft/50amp power cord. I'm ditching the old one; not repairing.

We slept on board for the next 2 days with no issues. Of course I selpt on the couch next to the breaker panel during that time. I checked on those connections many times during those days...cool as can be. I feel confident the very old cord had bad terminals causing the failure.
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Hope you haven't thrown that old cord away, the terminals are easy to replace.
 
caltexflanc said:
Hope you haven't thrown that old cord away, the terminals are easy to replace.
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Thought about changing the terminals but I just don't want to have anything to do with that cord (over 20 years old). I have little faith in the integrity of it. New feels so much better
 
Ski in NC said:
When it cools down in the evening temps drop and RH goes up, the thing wakes up and does it's thing. And with cooler temps it's refrigeration machinery is happier.

High mid day temps seems to not bother anything in the boat, except for the fridge but I usually empty it and turn it off if gone for more than few days.

Win win.
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That's the big difference between NC and South Florida or Texas in the summer. The high today in NC was higher than in South Florida. However, the low tonight will be 70 degrees in Charlotte, NC, and 82 degrees in Fort Lauderdale. Our next week in Ohio is highs in the 80's and lows in the 60's.
 
caltexflanc said:
Hope you haven't thrown that old cord away, the terminals are easy to replace.
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Had similar problems with an old 50A Marinco cord. Stripped back the insulation looking to find un-corroded copper in order to install new connectors; no luck after removing over 3' on either end. Moisture either wicked up from the ends or the insulation became permeable over time or both. Not worth the risk and replaced the entire cord.
 
Moisture wicks up copper cable like mad. If you cut it back and it is black from corrosion, sh!tcan it. I got a 50' cord donated to me and conductors had gotten damp. Decided to make it into a 25'. That corrosion was EVERYWHERE. It must have wicked the entire length. Into the recycle...
 
Ragin Cajun,
As the power cord receptacle (female) was bad at the boat (I assume from heat), what did the boat mounted plug look like? What did the back of the plug look like? (Where the boat wiring hooks to)
 
Ski in NC said:
Moisture wicks up copper cable like mad. If you cut it back and it is black from corrosion, sh!tcan it. I got a 50' cord donated to me and conductors had gotten damp. Decided to make it into a 25'. That corrosion was EVERYWHERE. It must have wicked the entire length. Into the recycle...
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But it was worth taking the time to have a look, wasn't it?
 
bluebyu said:
Ragin Cajun,
As the power cord receptacle (female) was bad at the boat (I assume from heat), what did the boat mounted plug look like? What did the back of the plug look like? (Where the boat wiring hooks to)
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Back of plug on boat was fine w/ no discoloration around connections. I cleaned the prongs with scotch brite pad...not much to clean though.
 
Since this thread has drifted into power cords, I'll throw in my two bits on that subject.

I've decided to switch to a Smart Plug inlet and plug on my boat. They are easier to plug in and out and they have a much bigger contact area. I think they are a lot less likely to overheat.
 
post #24 repost

DeniseO30 said:
Dehumidifiers and things like electric space heaters are made pretty well. But please, Always check the outlet and plug, they tend to heat up, GFCI can and should trip, but don't assume they will
If a boat is at a marina the assumption is someone is making at least a walk by of the boats, but again I 'd not assume.
Jus saying
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if any plug or outlet is loose.. it's bad, at the end of it's usefulness. and time to replace. Yes shore30-50 amp power cords are expensive. darn shame they have molded on ends.
 
DeniseO30 said:
if any plug or outlet is loose.. it's bad, at the end of it's usefulness. and time to replace. Yes shore30-50 amp power cords are expensive. darn shame they have molded on ends.
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The ends can be replaced, but the problems most run across as mentioned through and through this thread is that the problem extends to the cord itself, it's entire length.
 
A good point was made above, that if the receptacles on the boat or dock are bad, then the new cord's plugs will be short-lived as well. I made a habit of regularly grabbing my plugs and the cable right behind them to feel for heat, especially when operating at high load. They should be cool to the touch with no trace of warmth to your hand.
 
DeniseO30 said:
why do people here keep telling people the things they already know here? (guessing they only read the last post not the whole thread)

it's like an echo chamber LOL Not you BB.. in general.

funny, some people look at me strange when I say; "Do you know there there is a marine electrical code?"

It's not pretty when a whole line burns....
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Guessing the same reason newcomers arrive and immediately start criticizing the way people in here are....and from your most recent post, I couldn't tell what you knew....sorry to have provided you redundant information since I can see what pain it caused you.
 
We leave both units on and turn it up to 76-78. Alternatively you can press the heat and cold on most units to turn on the Humidity function denotes by HU and the unit will cycle twice a day to remove humidity.
 
The problem I have is that the water pump runs 24/7 not just when the compressor is on, is that when water is needed. How can I get the pump to only run when the compressor is on?
 
You may need to add a pump relay/trigger box. It tells the pump when to turn on. One trigger box can control several units. I'd check with your AC manufacturer.
 
kartracer said:
The problem I have is that the water pump runs 24/7 not just when the compressor is on, is that when water is needed. How can I get the pump to only run when the compressor is on?
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Connect the pump in parallel with the fan on the unit. Check with mfg, if it's new may void warranty. There are other ways with time on/off relays. as Larry mentioned. You could also run it in parallel with compressor but the little pumps don't draw very much power so maybe it's unnecessary to begin with
 
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BandB said:
The ends can be replaced, but the problems most run across as mentioned through and through this thread is that the problem extends to the cord itself, it's entire length.
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Inspect your cord plugs at each use. If they are starting to appear discolored around the plug pins, take a picture of the discoloration and send it to Marinco. The cables are guaranteed. They replaced my cable and the plug on my boat for free. Cable and plug were eight years old.
 
This kinda moved to an SP cord discussion. I used to run the AC perpetually, but the power bills became burdensome. Wound up runnung a carpet dryer type fan 24/7 and securing the AC. The configuration of my boat is such that I have a pretty straight shot from the V-berth to the aft cabin. Fan lives on the deck in the aft doorway of the V-berth and projects through the galley, saloon, and still gives sensible air movement in the aft stateroom.

Off the boat, the fan runs and no AC. Takes about 45 minutes for both ACs to cool the interior to the high 70s on even the hottest days when we come aboard. Zero mold issues, moving air is the enemy of mold, regardless of RH. YMMV.
 
The reason I think many 30A cord ends char is because many boats are trying to pull too much power and a little corrosion does them in.


That's why I upgraded to a 50 amp cord and system. I have seen 50A services char, but it's rare and usually it's the dock post more so than the oat end.

Even if I didn't need the 50A system but occasionally (and anyone with a boat running multiple A/C units or space heaters pretty well fits that category), the 50A plugs are so much more robust they alone I feel are a huge safety improvement.
 
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