One for the electrically minded

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airborne1

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I am gutting and completely re-wiring my boat during the lay-up. I want to put a waterproof power MALE PLUG on the outside "skin" of the accomodation so that I can wire 230v AC on the inside. Then I can lay out my 230v AC cable from the pontoon facilities pylon and connect it to the boat with a FEMALE SOCKET on the end so that I dont have a loose cable running through a porthole or the companionway.
Has anyone done this before or know of a suitable "waterproof" PLUG I can install. The extension cable from the pontoon facilities pylon MUST have a free Plug on the pontoon end and a SOCKET on the boat end to be safe.
Any ideas ????
 
Go to a caravan suppliers, or RS / Maplin etc. The connectors you are after a fairly standard. If you are mounting on the _outside_ of the vessel make sure you get a very waterproof one!

It is not uncommon to mount the aforementioned socket in a cockpit locker, as this makes it even more waterproof and less prone to go walkabout.
 
In a locker... thats what I did.... and a few minutes with a round file allows you to lead the cable under the closing lid and still be able to close it.... much more secure, prevents your lead being pinched, and reduces issues over waterproofing significantly...
 
Thanks for the tip about the locker location.
However, I MUST take issue with FluffC one point:
"It is not uncommon to mount the aforementioned SOCKET in a cockpit locker, as this makes it even more waterproof and less prone to go walkabout. "
I really hope that this was a typo and not something that anyone has actually done. Do you really appreciate how dangerous a fixed SOCKET is ??? What this means is that you will have to fit a PLUG on the end of the cable with LIVE pins just waiting to give the holder the shock of your life, especially on a wet pontoon or standing in the rain.
PLEASE, PLEASE review your ideas and if you have actually fitted a PLUG on the end of your cable and a SOCKET on the boat then please change them ASAP before you use that cable again.
 
I fitted the male socket in a cockpit locker and lead the cable with grommet, through the lid of a small round hatch [RWO] then fitted the female plug on the inside of the lid, you plug it in and put on the hatch cover. I fitted a spare lid to seal the hatch when the mains lead was not in use
 
Would this do the job ? Plastimo IP67 SHORE POWER CENTRE
(Sorry tried to get a link direct to the web page but failed !!)
Try this anyway go
to here and then select IP67 SHORE POWER CENTRE from menu on left. Good luck
Mal
 
Semantics. I think you will find that the thing you plug into on the boat is, somewhat logically, referred to as the socket, although it is more correctly the Inlet. It has pins in it to receive the plug but is referred to as a socket nonetheless. The plug, more correctly called the connector, has holes to receive the pins in the socket. When you look in catalogues for this type of equipment you will see what I mean. A waterproof, 16 amp wall socket, for instance, is the bit you need on the boat - in a locker if you prefer, but commonly mounted on a cockpit coaming or in the foot well. It usually has a screw on cover with a gasket in it. The bit on the cable coming from the shore installation would most likely be called a 16 amp straight connector and will have holes not pins for obvious safety reasons. I hope this is clearer than it sounds when I reread it!
 
Typo corrected. Going very loopy.

Please,please,please never mount a socket to connect mains power - the shore lead would end up with LIVE PINS!!!!!!!!!!!1
 
[ QUOTE ]
Do you really appreciate how dangerous a fixed SOCKET is ??? What this means is that you will have to fit a PLUG on the end of the cable with LIVE pins just waiting to give the holder the shock of your life, especially on a wet pontoon or standing in the rain.
PLEASE, PLEASE review your ideas and if you have actually fitted a PLUG on the end of your cable and a SOCKET on the boat then please change them ASAP before you use that cable again.

[/ QUOTE ]

Or you could connect the cable to the boat first then to the AC outlet on the pontoon ...
 
Having read all the current posts -

You should bear in mind that a male socket is a tad unusual, 'cos most fixed devices are at the supply end. Not only that they are invariably angled down to keep the water out, which may be inconvenient in your circumstances.

My own installation necessitated fitting a straight socket body (for all sorts of reasons). In the end the only solution was to buy an angled inlet (male) type and a straight coupler socket from the same manufacturer and swap the bodies around. I have not had any problem with water ingress i six years.
 
It should never be live when being plugged in and out. You attach the boat end first and detach it last to prevent the possibility of salt water and electricity meeting.
 
I second going to a caravan shop. A 25 metre cable with the blue plug and socket connectors fitted cost me under £15. Much dearer in the swindleries. Good caravan dealers also stock the down angled plug to fit to the boat, and plastic cable reels to allow you to wind the cable up neatly. If you are having shore-power and don't want your anodes (or stern-gear) eaten away a galvanic isolator is a good idea, and you must wire the fixed plug in the boat directly to a consumer unit complete with an RCD.
 
In a similar situation I paid the extra and got the plug and socket from Index Marine. Fitted permanently exposed in the cockpit it is absolutely waterproof. Six years on the connections are still shiny!
 
[ QUOTE ]
Don't forget to unroll the lead completely, when using, as if it is left coiled, it can be disasterous.

[/ QUOTE ]

... if you're pushing the amps towards the upper end of the rated capacity of the cable...

So, how many amps do you use? Can't envisage more than a couple of amps for normal use.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Don't forget to unroll the lead completely, when using, as if it is left coiled, it can be disasterous.


[/ QUOTE ] Just to put some perspective on that statement, my 50m domestic extension lead is rated at 10amps uncoiled but only 5amps if coiled onto its reel. That one does have a thermal trip built in to the reel (and it works!)
 
And on a very slightly different tack (pun intended) try and use what is known in the trade as "Artic Cable". This is bright blue in colour for 240volts. Even at extremely cold temperatures the cable remains very flexible. You will require 16amp 'blue' Artic Cable:

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/P...Blue/index.html

Don't forget the IP coding you will require for your application wherever you mount the 'socketed male' connector. The higher the second number, the better is its waterproofing:

www.pacwireless.com/support/NEMA_IP_Classifications_%20Enclosures.pdf

And on that point, when I am on my police motorbike and use the intercom, the bike mounted socket is NOT fixed rigidly to the bike frame but comprises a short 'tail' about 4"long. This is so that if ever I have a spill, the headset intercom will become safely detatched as the bike and I part company, the tail would pull out straight then part company in a straight line. Similarly, if your springs and warps on your yatch or motorboat are loosed at night for what ever reason (vandals), any cabling connected to a fixed socket would certainly break or damage the bulkhead to which it is mounted. Or leave dangerous wiring floating about in the darkness!! (Well it would be dark if the shorepower is pulled).

Drilling through bulkheads just for a 8mm hole (16amp cable size) is far better than drilling a hole in the bulkhead about 50mm (2" in diameter for the male bulkhead recieving socket!! If fitted in a deck locker the 'tail' would be quite inconsequential compared to an IP67 downward pointing male socketed recieving plug!!
 
Out of interest, what sort of cable strain relief is used where the wire exits from the bike shell, and how often do you experience faults with the cable breaking down where it flexes?
 
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