Anyone fitted Smartplug for their shore power

[PaulRainbow]

Looks like the identical item to me. Look at the cast-in "shore power" at the bottom, that's not a coincidence. Victron have just had the manufacturer laser-etch their name onto a batch and then bumped the price up

Pete

Plugs clearly the same,

https://www.es-store.co.uk/product_...Inlets-and-Accessories&cat_id=91&show_menu=19

https://www.batterymegastore.co.uk/victron-energy-shp301604000.html

Apart from the almost double price.

 

[KompetentKrew]

The Ratio connector looks remarkably like the Victron one, but much cheaper ;

http://www.cactusnav.com/victron-energy-shore-power-inlet-stainless-steel-cover-p-13393.html

Wonder if the plugs interchange.

That claims it's IEC 60309.

As attractive as these stainless steel ones are, I don't think I can justify paying several times as much for one.

These are sufficient, no?

• https://uk.farnell.com/walther/410306/power-entry-connector-socket-16a/dp/7232512
• https://cpc.farnell.com/pce/313-6f6/16a-230v-3p-fl-socket-60x60/dp/PL15577?st=ip44 sockets

 

[VicS]

That claims it's IEC 60309.

As attractive as these stainless steel ones are, I don't think I can justify paying several times as much for one.

These are sufficient, no?

• https://uk.farnell.com/walther/410306/power-entry-connector-socket-16a/dp/7232512
• https://cpc.farnell.com/pce/313-6f6/16a-230v-3p-fl-socket-60x60/dp/PL15577?st=ip44 sockets

They are the wrong gender for the boat shore power intake ..

 

[viago]

I have been reading that the standard Hubble type twist connectors for shore power a common cause of fires. Here is one example https://marinehowto.com/shore-power-cords-smartplug-vs-1938/

The Smartplug is sold as the "best" and newest upgrade https://smartplug.com/why-smartplug/

View attachment 76780

The smartplug is not cheap. Have users upgraded to Smartplug? If they have was it an easy job as the company asserts?

Thanks

TudorSailor

i have no idea where all these fires are. never seen a single one.

shore power is the same everywhere i've ever been.

doesn't everyone on the planet use one of these to connect to outside 240v mains supply?

 

[VicS]

https://www.norfolkmarine.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/e4d64343b1bc593f1c5348fe05efa4a6/3/0/3050012m.jpg[/img]

Not every one is using those connectors obviously!

Hopefully no one is using that orange PVC "garden machinery" flex.

Arctic cable is frequently used but even that is not approved for 230 volts at temperatures below 5C

The preferred cable is H07RN-F Tough rubber insulated mains cable

 

[PaulRainbow]

Not every one is using those connectors obviously!

Hopefully no one is using that orange PVC "garden machinery" flex.

Arctic cable is frequently used but even that is not approved for 230 volts at temperatures below 5C

The preferred cable is H07RN-F Tough rubber insulated mains cable

Black rubber cable, preferred by who exactly ?

Not sure of the spec of orange cable in the pic, but there is nothing wrong with cable just because it is orange.

 

[viago]

Black rubber cable, preferred by who exactly ?

Not sure of the spec of orange cable in the pic, but there is nothing wrong with cable just because it is orange.

quite, there are different grades of wire. i've had boats and caravans and the most pull from shore is a 2kw kettle. you dont need 2.5mm wire for that.
in the yards i visit, the liveaboards and boat builders all have that orange stuff trailed all over the place all year.

where is the problem? ok, it doesn't get below freezing in plymouth very often but the beast from the east didn't cause any electrical problems around our yards afaik. i would have heard something.

i dont think there's anything smart about messing with a system that is proven to be sound. it's just blinding people with science to flog product.

on my centaur i just throw my shore cable through the fore hatch and connect it to an extension cable and plug what i want into that. i dont want a separate circuit. the advantage is that i can move everything around as i please.
if i want to stick the pink himalayan salt lamp in the cockpit of an evening of romance with the local totty then i can.

 

[prv]

shore power is the same everywhere i've ever been.

How far have you been, though?

doesn't everyone on the planet use one of these to connect to outside 240v mains supply?

No. They appear to be completely unknown in the USA, for example.

i have no idea where all these fires are. never seen a single one.

That’s because in the UK we do mostly use the blue ceeform plugs and they’re pretty good. The American ones are a bit dodgy and they’re pulling twice the current through them (for the same power at their weedy 110v) so they do seem to scorch and melt from time to time.

Pete

 

[viago]

How far have you been, though?



No. They appear to be completely unknown in the USA, for example.



That’s because in the UK we do mostly use the blue ceeform plugs and they’re pretty good. The American ones are a bit dodgy and they’re pulling twice the current through them (for the same power at their weedy 110v) so they do seem to scorch and melt from time to time.

Pete

america as a nation has an inferiority complex. it's like a rebellious teenager. it will do everything it's own way no matter how daft it is just to prove they do as they please.

it's not yet a country to be taken seriously. give it another 600 years and it might start making sensible decisions.

 

[trialframe]

I've been using a 32a Smartplug setup with one of their stainless inlets on my Nordhavn for the last year. A bit expensive but very happy with it.

 

[prv]

america as a nation has an inferiority complex. it's like a rebellious teenager. it will do everything it's own way no matter how daft it is just to prove they do as they please.

I don't think it's so much being wilfully different to everyone else, as simply not looking outside and noticing everyone else.

The UK is hardly in the best position to lecture on this subject, though

Pete

 

[Dockhead]

I don't think it's so much being wilfully different to everyone else, as simply not looking outside and noticing everyone else.
. . .

Pete

That's a correct diagnosis. Not much less of a fault, though.

But America is far from the only country which uses 110v--127v mains power. It's used in pretty much the entire Western Hemisphere, plus Japan, Taiwan, plus a good number of African countries. 110v mains power is used in the entire Caribbean region, including the British Virgin Islands . 127v mains power was used in the Soviet Union until the last years. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mains_electricity_by_country

So maybe not only Yanks lack awareness of the wider world outside?

I do admit, however, that Yanks are particular virtuosos of ignorance of the outside world.

 

[tudorsailor]

i have no idea where all these fires are. never seen a single one.

shore power is the same everywhere i've ever been.

doesn't everyone on the planet use one of these to connect to outside 240v mains supply?

I asked the guy in Lefkas who looks after lots of boats about the commonly used connections. He said that every boat had the twist and lock Hubbel type at the boat end. He then sent me this photo of the plug and socket from an Oyster that he looks after....



So not a rare problem...

I have now fitted a SmartPlug. Easy to do as it designed to use existing holes

TudorSailor

 

[matthewriches]

"Normal" commandos do it too but take a lot longer generally to fry. Smart plug looks good but unjustifiably expensive?!?! BUT maybe if it doesn't burn out after 3 years and wins point on safety features then possibly is worth the outlay?

 

[tudorsailor]

"Normal" commandos do it too but take a lot longer generally to fry. Smart plug looks good but unjustifiably expensive?!?! BUT maybe if it doesn't burn out after 3 years and wins point on safety features then possibly is worth the outlay?

Yes the Smartplug was expensive. The Ratio is cheaper but needs a 75mm hole. I appreciate that it is possible to drill a 75mm hole when there is already a 60mm hole, but I went for the simplest option in terms of fitting. Having had the possibility of the Hubbel connection causing a fire I sleep better now that I invested in a modern connection

TudorSailor

 

[weustace]

I've certainly had trouble with the twist style connectors, though nothing thermal—they just seem to stop working a lot. I don't see any appeal in them. I've never had any trouble with the standard 16A BS connectors, touch wood... I can imagine they might go downhill if allowed to corrode badly or if the contacts in the plug were damaged, which might be the case in the picture?

 

[Gumpy]

I have used the blue cform connectors for work and I would guess thousands have passed through my hands over the years. The main reason they burn out is loose/damaged connections where the cable has been made using stranded cable without a ferrule and the strands have been cut by the screw.

 

[VicS]

I have used the blue cform connectors for work and I would guess thousands have passed through my hands over the years. The main reason they burn out is loose/damaged connections where the cable has been made using stranded cable without a ferrule and the strands have been cut by the screw.

Where can the average DIYer buy small numbers of bootlace ferrules to fit the common sizes of flexible cable?

 

[Lon nan Gruagach]

Where can the average DIYer buy small numbers of bootlace ferrules to fit the common sizes of flexible cable?

ebay?

 

[LadyInBed]

The main reason they burn out is loose/damaged connections where the cable has been made using stranded cable without a ferrule and the strands have been cut by the screw.

Ferrules are one solution, but you can strip the wire, fold the bared section back along the sleeved section and push that into the pin orifice then tighten the screw down onto sleeve. You then have a strong mechanical joint along with the electrical joint.