Leaving Shore Power Connected.

Do you Leave Shore Power Connected and on when you are not on your boat

  • Yes I leave it connected and on

    Votes: 71 78.9%

  • No I switch of and or disconnect

    Votes: 19 21.1%
  • Total voters
    90
I got a shock (no pun intended) when I got the bill for electricity from the Marina. £4 for the units and £10 service charge for reading the meter. They say if it is left plugged in they read it and charge me for that even if I am not using any electricity.

So from now on the lead is disconnnected and taken below decks every time I leave the boat.
 
BruceK said:
If my house floated on saltwater and was wired like most boats after a bit of user DIY and maintenance then absolutely.
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Agreed .
Electricity can’t see where it’s flowing and has a knack of warming up it’s conductors , insulation and surroundings , if the resistance increases ( inadvertently) above a certain level .

Electricity as you infer is not fussy who’s wired up the current and can’t differentiate a bodged job from a qualified professional.

House electrical appliance fires are there bread and butter , of fire brigades btw .
 
I leave it plugged into the pontoon socket to deter anyone else from using it, but when I leave the boat, I disconnect it aboard. Electricity was free in the marina for many years, but some were abusing it by leaving heaters on throughout winter. So now every socket is metered.
 
There is quite a lot of doom being posted and I have to say I worry and don't like my Boat on all the while. There are however quite a lot of breakers in the circuit so I wonder if it safer than many think.

My pontoon was always tripping out...… Pissed of the liveboards also makes you wonder if relying n a heater for frost protection is a good idea..... All these send you a text when your lecky goes of devices sound a bit expensive to me and are they reliable or do they have you trotting off to your boat and all is ok.....
 
Bigplumbs said:
There is quite a lot of doom being posted and I have to say I worry and don't like my Boat on all the while. There are however quite a lot of breakers in the circuit so I wonder if it safer than many think.

My pontoon was always tripping out...… Pissed of the liveboards also makes you wonder if relying n a heater for frost protection is a good idea..... All these send you a text when your lecky goes of devices sound a bit expensive to me and are they reliable or do they have you trotting off to your boat and all is ok.....
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The day you see how quickly an ferociously a plastic boat burns you'll realise what a complete plonker that comment makes you look.
 
We leave ours on all the time, for alarm, bilge & heaters in winter. So long as all the electrics are fine & you have only genuine certified accessories you should be fine. All it takes however is a cheap dodgy phone charger or similar left on :(
 
BruceK said:
The day you see how quickly an ferociously a plastic boat burns you'll realise what a complete plonker that comment makes you look.
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If you read it more carefully you will see that it was more of a question than a comment...….. Not sure who is winning in the plonker stakes
 
rubberduck said:
We leave ours on all the time, for alarm, bilge & heaters in winter. So long as all the electrics are fine & you have only genuine certified accessories you should be fine. All it takes however is a cheap dodgy phone charger or similar left on :(
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This is why I am thinking of bypassing all the boat electrics and just having an extension lead into the engine bay from the shore power to the tube heater. You can also get extension leads with trips in.

If your boat is old you have no real way of knowing what the electrics are like
 
Bigplumbs said:
All these send you a text when your lecky goes of devices sound a bit expensive to me and are they reliable or do they have you trotting off to your boat and all is ok.....
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I've had one of these on my last two boats, over the past 11 years - and it has been 100% reliable and accurate. Very useful when you're a long way from the boat.
 
My boat is left plugged in all year round for winter heaters and for bilge alarm (it will text me if it comes on) and other devices for many years. During general maintenance I will visually inspect my electrics including behind panels etc.

I do have galvanic isolator and extra anodes for peace of mind.

At the end of the day, you are protected by the marina RCD and your boat's RCD, if not then maybe reconsider.

Fire risk is very low if you take a sensible view to things and know you own boat e.g. not using fan heaters unattended, if the fan fails it could overheat or using your example bigplumbs an extension lead but make sure it is fully uncoiled, if not it could burst into flames if over the coiled amp rating (actually seem this happen in a office).
 
Scubadoo said:
Fire risk is very low if you take a sensible view to things and know you own boat e.g. not using fan heaters unattended, if the fan fails it could overheat or using your example bigplumbs an extension lead but make sure it is fully uncoiled, if not it could burst into flames if over the coiled amp rating (actually seem this happen in a office).
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BruceK will bite your swingers off for that comment in a mo I suspect
 
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