Help me make my own shore power adaptor

[Fordiesel69]

I have a boat that does not have shore power. I need to make a plug so I can use a regular extension cord to power an a/c unit.

Our marina does indeed allow this as they sell them at the fuel station for $69. I refuse to pay that amount for a simple adaptor. Any idea what I need to buy, or does anyone know the name or type of plug end I need?

Thanks.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Help me make my own shore power adaptor

marine plugs are expensive for a reason. If you do your own home wiring job and use non marine-rated gear, you could end up buying all your dockmates new boats.

 

[Fordiesel69]

Re: Help me make my own shore power adaptor

I am not wanting to use non marine gear. I have no problem using a marine plug and wiring my own.

BTW, the protection is in the GFI breakers. Nearly everyone is using a normal extension cord on this particualr dock I am on.

 

[Maclin]

Re: Help me make my own shore power adaptor

Are you licensed professional?


Improper Wiring Caused Electrocution of Two Children at Lake

Posted on: 5:35 pm, July 4, 2012, by Michelle Pekarsky, updated on: 12:26pm, July 5, 2012

LAKE OF THE OZARKS, Mo. ? Authorities say improper wiring caused the death of a brother and sister who were electrocuted Wednesday while swimming in the Lake of the Ozarks.

The children have been identified as Alexandra Anderson, 13, and her younger brother Brayden Anderson, 8, from Ashland, Missouri, which is south of Columbia.

The children were swimming near a private dock at about noon in the Gravois arm of the lake when they were electrocuted.

Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers investigated the the source of the electricity and determined that there was no ground fault interrupter to monitor the electrical current and trip the electricity off if it sensed a problem.

?At this time the investigation is trying to determine exactly where that electricity came from,? said Sgt. Paul Reinsch with the Missouri Highway Patrol

?Well, I know they?ve got several docks there with slide,? Sgt. Reinsch said when asked about the most likely source of the electricity. ?Pumps that pump water onto the slides. That could be a possibility.?

When the adults saw they were in trouble, they jumped into the water and also felt the electrical current.

Ambulance crews took them to the hospital in Osage Beach but doctors were not able to save them.




http://fox4kc.com/2012/07/04/two-children-electrocuted-while-swimming-in-lake/

 

[Fordiesel69]

Re: Help me make my own shore power adaptor

I did read this on AOL. I am not asking for instructions on how to do it. I am asking where to obtain. I am very skilled with electronics & wiring. I however do not know the name / type of plug this is called.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Help me make my own shore power adaptor

Tell you a little story: Hospital grade receptacles and plugs look exactly like regular houshold plugs and receptacles. They are WAY more expensive though. Reason---Hospital grade is specially designed for minimal milliamperage leakage--especially important when dealing with heart patients.

Now your "simple" plug may indeed cost a lot at 69 bucks and there is undoubtably a marina mark-up but undoubtably it is also specially made.

Now, you are paying how much for a slip rental? And how much for gasoline? And once the A/C is working, how much for electricity? Bite the bullet and pay the 69 bucks. Amortized over the years you own the boat, it will be pennies a month extra that you will have paid AND you don't have the fuss of looking for the parts. You also have the knowledge that the part is correct and safe.

If you don't want to listen to this, go to a large electric supply house, or look up a Grainger or McMasrter-Carr and search there. Even though Lowes and Home Depot have large electric departments I doubt the the adapter could be found there.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Help me make my own shore power adaptor

I would look on ebay for a shorepower adapter.

 

[Don S]

Re: Help me make my own shore power adaptor

For using an air conditioner, just get yourself a heavy duty (12 or 10 ga) outdoor 15A extension cord. cut the male end off and attach a plug for whatever dockside power your dock has. http://www.iboats.com/Shore-Power-P...1271099--session_id.202727878--view_id.216605
The heavier gauge cord prevents a lot of voltage drop you would normally get with the smaller cords and longer distances.

 

[smclear]

Re: Help me make my own shore power adaptor

Don't know what kind of connection you have on shore but you'll be able to find anything you need here;

http://www.hubbell-wiring.com/marine/default.aspx

or

http://www.marinco.com/

 

[Ned L]

Re: Help me make my own shore power adaptor

As smclear said, Hubbell & Marinco are the two big players in that market. You first need to understand out what your shore side supply receptacle is, they differ in differnt marinas (30A twistlock, 50A twistlock, etc).
Something that needs to be understood with adapters like this (even when 'wired completely correctly') is that if you use one and then plug a 'regular' extension cord into it to run to your boat (and straight to items on your boat) you will be having a 30 or 50 amp breaker 'protect' things that may well go up in smoke long before the braker trips. Likewise a 12 AWG extension cord rated at 15 or 20 amps will not like having a potential of 50 amps run through it.

 

[Thalasso]

Re: Help me make my own shore power adaptor

Ned, in the time it has taken you to post this and read all the responses and reply and the time of running around and making the cord up you could have bought it and been enjoying the A/C. It's marine rated for a reason. Don't let the cord lay in the water either by accident or negligence. The insulation on the wire I'll bet is thicker then house use. Marine wire is tinned and that is what makes it cost more.

 

[Ned L]

Re: Help me make my own shore power adaptor

I understand what you are saying. However, even with a 'store bought adapter' most of what I said still applies, the OP will be running an A/C unit (probably designed for a 20A circuit) off the pier's 35A or 50A circuits. The A/C will have the potential of going up in smoke before the breaker trips.
(Tinned is not 'really' why "marine wire" costs more.........I do understand about electric wire and cable. I design & build it for a living.)

 

[Thalasso]

Re: Help me make my own shore power adaptor

I understand what you are saying. However, even with a 'store bought adapter' most of what I said still applies, the OP will be running an A/C unit (probably designed for a 20A circuit) off the pier's 35A or 50A circuits. The A/C will have the potential of going up in smoke before the breaker trips.
(Tinned is not 'really' why "marine wire" costs more.........I do understand about electric wire and cable. I design & build it for a living.)

other then it being tinned and stranded what other properties make it cost more? Please enlighten me.

 

[Ned L]

Re: Help me make my own shore power adaptor

When saying "cost more", I'm presuming the reference is to costing more than something like "building wire" (Romex). You do have the material cost part correct (the only other component are the PVC insulation & jacket compounds - which there is more of in a shore power cable than in building wire). Without getting into too much detail, being a reasonably high strand count copper will actually add more cost than the tinning (when it comes to the actual material cost). There are more manufacturing operations in a twisted core round cable (shore power cord) than in a parallel conductor flat cable (Romex) Marine shore power cables are manufactured in small quantities relative to something like 'building wire', so the machine setup costs for each production run are amortized over many less feet of cable, which equals more cost per foot. Those are the 'biggies' so to speak in the manufacturing portion of the cost.

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: Help me make my own shore power adaptor

when i first came to america i found the concept of plugs a odd idea. in the uk we only have one style plug and its fused to you can set the fuse to the rating of the cable or load and all modern main breakers are gfci. with the uk running 220-240v 13amps is enoght for most loads. the us system is diffrent so to make it fool proof they made the plugs idiot proof as in each ampage has its own plug so if you build your own cable then the cable has to match the rating of the plug which is set by the receptical. if the dock has a 30 amp twist lock fitting then the cable must be rated at 30 amps. the user is responsable to down grade the the available ampage at the point of use so it would be common to have a fuse panel or breaker at the point of use. making a custom cable is not a dumb idea as it can be made as short as required so theres less flex laying about to get damdaged and the cable is matched to the plug. the plug converters that are sold to convert between say a 30 amp twist lock to a 15amp house hold receptical unless fused or built in gfci can be dangerous as they allow the cable to carry more load than it was designed for so if i had a choose between a converter for $70 with a drop cord plugged in or a custom made cable with a matched cable and plug then i would make my own. the original poster never said he wanted to run romex or anything dumb he said he didnt want to buy a converter for $70 when he could make his own cable. the cost will be about the same if he can get the plug at a trade price and it will be safer than a converter with a standard drop cord plugged in.

 

[Thalasso]

Re: Help me make my own shore power adaptor

when i first came to america i found the concept of plugs a odd idea. in the uk we only have one style plug and its fused to you can set the fuse to the rating of the cable or load and all modern main breakers are gfci. with the uk running 220-240v 13amps is enoght for most loads. the us system is diffrent so to make it fool proof they made the plugs idiot proof as in each ampage has its own plug so if you build your own cable then the cable has to match the rating of the plug which is set by the receptical. if the dock has a 30 amp twist lock fitting then the cable must be rated at 30 amps. the user is responsable to down grade the the available ampage at the point of use so it would be common to have a fuse panel or breaker at the point of use. making a custom cable is not a dumb idea as it can be made as short as required so theres less flex laying about to get damdaged and the cable is matched to the plug. the plug converters that are sold to convert between say a 30 amp twist lock to a 15amp house hold receptical unless fused or built in gfci can be dangerous as they allow the cable to carry more load than it was designed for so if i had a choose between a converter for $70 with a drop cord plugged in or a custom made cable with a matched cable and plug then i would make my own. the original poster never said he wanted to run romex or anything dumb he said he didnt want to buy a converter for $70 when he could make his own cable. the cost will be about the same if he can get the plug at a trade price and it will be safer than a converter with a standard drop cord plugged in.

Reread the orig.post and didn't see anything there about a converter or Romex. What post did you read? He mentioned about using extension cord which is a recipe for disaster.

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: Help me make my own shore power adaptor

quote "I have a boat that does not have shore power. I need to make a plug so I can use a regular extension cord to power an a/c unit.

Our marina does indeed allow this as they sell them at the fuel station for $69. I refuse to pay that amount for a simple adaptor. Any idea what I need to buy, or does anyone know the name or type of plug end I need?

Thanks."
"simple adaptor"....thats a converter that they sell for rv's to change from a male twist lock to a female receptical so you can use a drop cord.

the dock is gfci protected and if tested before use then the danger is no greater than any other electrical connection on the boat

 

[Ned L]

Re: Help me make my own shore power adaptor

The OP made no mention of "Romex". Sorry if I caused any confusion. I referred to Romex only to answer a question of 'why is marine cable so expensive', I compared the manufacturing of Romex (building wire) to a marine listed cable.

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: Help me make my own shore power adaptor

im not trying to argue with you guys im against the converter as it by passes the idiot proof cable set up allowing you to use a 12g cable on a 30-50 amp supply at any distance. i would rather see the op buy a hubbel plug pref with the heat seal cord lock and a marine cable sized to supply over distance rather than see a converter with a wallworld drop cord and at $70 plus the cost of a drop cord you should be in the same price range making the cord yourself.

 

[BonairII]

Re: Help me make my own shore power adaptor

Here's my 2 cents.....

Stop being cheap and just buy a shore power adapter already.

Unless, you are licensed electrician, making your own adapter is not worth the risk.

God forbid the adapter fails and somebody gets hurt/killed....you're life(and finances) will be forever changed.

If you include the time/money/effort you're going through to make this yourself....are you really saving anything?