Check your shore power!

[magster65]

Scary thing... this had my boat full of smoke in short order. If I wasn't on board she may have burned. If you have a receptacle like this unit, unscrew it and have a look. It only takes a minute but it may save your boat. The crimps on the older Hubbell units come loose over time and they get super hot under load (a space heater in this case... 2000 watt I think it is).<br />

<br /><br />

 

[Solittle]

Re: Check your shore power!

Did the circuit have any protection?

 

[magster65]

Re: Check your shore power!

There was a 20 amp breaker on the panel but it didn't trip.

 

[rwidman]

Re: Check your shore power!

The panel breaker wouldn't be expected to trip in this case. The receptacle developed an internal resistance as pictured and that caused overheating at the point of resistance.<br /><br />Checking electrical connections from time to time is good advice.

 

[CalicoKid]

Re: Check your shore power!

Arc damage. Good thing you caught it because circuit breakers won't unless they are of the newer arc-fault interrupt type (still pretty uncommon).<br /><br />Arcing does create lots of heat. An easy way to catch this problem is by checking over wiring and connections with an infra-red laser thermometer while under load. These thermometers are getting pretty cheap now ($50 or less).

 

[magster65]

Re: Check your shore power!

It was late and we'd just come back from a day trip. We plugged the boat in, put a couple lights and the heat on. At first it was the smell of hot plastic and within 30 seconds there was quite a bit of smoke in the cabin. I usually just plug it in and leave but this time we hung out for a few minutes to put an entry in the log book. Lucky break I think.<br />Everyone check their receptacles! <br />Hubbell makes an inexpensive kit to replace the piece.

 

[umblecumbuz]

Re: Check your shore power!

Too close for comfort!