What is the purpose of 2 shore power cables.

[Alicatt]

Just to confuse things further Here in Belgium we have 220V single phase and 380V three phase.

My house is wired 3phase in the kitchen, laundry, cinema and garage, my solar panels are also wired up for 3phase operation. It was a right pain when setting up the AV system in the house as different parts of the house were wired on separate phases.

 

[Portofino]

Looks like ( bottom left of image ) two AC switches .Perhaps one for each hull ?
As others have said play around connecting one line then the other to see what works .

I have seen some with home made Y connector , lot looked bodged taped up and pretty lethal .I think you can buy proprietary Y connectors made up .This means you only need the one outlet on your berth as is the way in the Med .


Despite your bricks / concrete / mortar house not requiring AC in Turkey, boats , plastic boats are shockers ( scuse the pun ) for heat build up in the Med esp in concrete jungles AKA Med marinas .You will need AC to chill it down before sleeping .Then there’s the mozzi problem , perhaps not apparent with your shore based accommodation?
So opening port lights ( assuming a breeze ) is not a particular great idea .

Often after a day out we run our geny on the rtn trip and AC to chill the cabins / saloon etc .When berthed up and connected up ( only the 1 power line ) I switch it over from geny to shore and the AC runs seamlessly.

 

[kashurst]

If there are two shore power connectors it is usually one for domestics and the other for aircon. Med Spec aircon pulls a lot of electricity. If the boat builder only fitted one connector for all possible demand it would require a big connector and cable, which makes finding a suitable shore power point more difficult. Particularly when air con is not needed.
They are wired as separate systems so they can be on different phases or the same phase it doesn't matter. So depending upon the boat's total current draw and the available shore power connector you can join them together with a Y type fitting or as I used to do, loop from one connector to the next.

 

[Bouba]

If there are two shore power connectors it is usually one for domestics and the other for aircon. Med Spec aircon pulls a lot of electricity. If the boat builder only fitted one connector for all possible demand it would require a big connector and cable, which makes finding a suitable shore power point more difficult. Particularly when air con is not needed.
They are wired as separate systems so they can be on different phases or the same phase it doesn't matter. So depending upon the boat's total current draw and the available shore power connector you can join them together with a Y type fitting or as I used to do, loop from one connector to the next.

i have say, it’s hard enough to find a free socket on the quay without someone taking two

 

[kashurst]

Somebody help me

i have say, it’s hard enough to find a free socket on the quay without someone taking two

true, it is also hard to find 32amp connectors on 15m or less berths here or at all in the UK. So by splitting the systems it means the boat owner has some choices depending upon what is available. My T50 had two 32amp connectors so zero hance of getting two 32amp shore power feeds, I measured the peak combined current and continuous current when all the aircon was running in summer. The start up was close to 50 amps so a single 32amp shore power trips out immediately.

But by trial and error I found if I started the three different aircon units one at a time with a few minutes between each one starting, the peak current for the whole boat was 32 amps and ran at about 28 amps so I could get away with one 32amp shore power connector with the boats two shore power connected together. You need to be sure your shore power connectors and internal connections are in good condition, the cable is suitably sized as well and not coiled up in a heap.

 

[rogerthebodger]

Somebody help me

i have say, it’s hard enough to find a free socket on the quay without someone taking two

One of these may help you

I made a 2 way one using 2 outlets and one inlet

 

[Irish Rover]

Looks like ( bottom left of image ) two AC switches .Perhaps one for each hull ?
As others have said play around connecting one line then the other to see what works .

I have seen some with home made Y connector , lot looked bodged taped up and pretty lethal .I think you can buy proprietary Y connectors made up .This means you only need the one outlet on your berth as is the way in the Med .


Despite your bricks / concrete / mortar house not requiring AC in Turkey, boats , plastic boats are shockers ( scuse the pun ) for heat build up in the Med esp in concrete jungles AKA Med marinas .You will need AC to chill it down before sleeping .Then there’s the mozzi problem , perhaps not apparent with your shore based accommodation?
So opening port lights ( assuming a breeze ) is not a particular great idea .

Often after a day out we run our geny on the rtn trip and AC to chill the cabins / saloon etc .When berthed up and connected up ( only the 1 power line ) I switch it over from geny to shore and the AC runs seamlessly.

Thanks. Mozzie nets on all doors and windows in my house and on our previous boat and fitting them on the new boat will be a priority. Some potted basil around the boat helps as well.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Smoke the pot yourself and tell Basil to get his own.

 

[Irish Rover]

Smoke the pot yourself and tell Basil to get his own.

 

[Hurricane]

I've no idea what the last 2 posts mean????

As said above, the marina supply is made up from a 3 phase supply. Each single phase socket phase is made up from one of the 3 phases and a neutral. Also, as explained above, the voltage between each phase is 415 volts (which hurts if you get it wrong). The voltage between any phase and neutral is 240 volts. Any red sockets will have all three of the phases and a neutral inside the plug/socket. Blue sockets/plugs contain a single phase and a neutral. Marinas will wire blue sockets on different phases (so that all three phases are balanced). So, two blue sockets MIGHT be wired to different phases thus having the potential (excuse the pun) of 415 volts between them.

So having two cables connecting connecting to your boat might introduce two separate phases onto the boat.
Boat builders often split the boats services in order to keep this risk to a minimum.

In my case (like most boats) the Air Conditioning system is run from one cable and the rest of the boat from the other cable.
Also, in my case, I know that the electric pile that we plug into has all its blue connectors on different phases so my boat DOES have the potential danger of 415 volts on the boat.
But it isn't a problem as long as you know not to mix the supplies - which is difficult to do anyway.

 

[vas]

Looks like ( bottom left of image ) two AC switches .Perhaps one for each hull ?
As others have said play around connecting one line then the other to see what works .

I have seen some with home made Y connector , lot looked bodged taped up and pretty lethal .I think you can buy proprietary Y connectors made up .This means you only need the one outlet on your berth as is the way in the Med .


Despite your bricks / concrete / mortar house not requiring AC in Turkey, boats , plastic boats are shockers ( scuse the pun ) for heat build up in the Med esp in concrete jungles AKA Med marinas .You will need AC to chill it down before sleeping .Then there’s the mozzi problem , perhaps not apparent with your shore based accommodation?
So opening port lights ( assuming a breeze ) is not a particular great idea .

Often after a day out we run our geny on the rtn trip and AC to chill the cabins / saloon etc .When berthed up and connected up ( only the 1 power line ) I switch it over from geny to shore and the AC runs seamlessly.

Porto,

these are the two dometic aircon controllers one titled port other titled stbrd.

 

[Portofino]

true, it is also hard to find 32amp connectors on 15m or less berths here or at all in the UK. So by splitting the systems it means the boat owner has some choices depending upon what is available. My T50 had two 32amp connectors so zero hance of getting two 32amp shore power feeds, I measured the peak combined current and continuous current when all the aircon was running in summer. The start up was close to 50 amps so a single 32amp shore power trips out immediately.

But by trial and error I found if I started the three different aircon units one at a time with a few minutes between each one starting, the peak current for the whole boat was 32 amps and ran at about 28 amps so I could get away with one 32amp shore power connector with the boats two shore power connected together. You need to be sure your shore power connectors and internal connections are in good condition, the cable is suitably sized as well and not coiled up in a heap.

That is / was old tech .Today ( at least Frigomar) most do D.C. to AC inverters brushless motors and have the opposite a very slow ramp up .You never get huge start up spikes .

Not sure if todays “Domenic “ is using up to date tech or still rooted in the 20 C .

Our 32 A boat under 15 M pulls 42k BTU AC system from a single shore power line .Also only a 3.5 ( lighter ) geny powers it up at sea .

 

[Portofino]

Porto,

these are the two dometic aircon controllers one titled port other titled stbrd.

Shouldn’t they be in the spaces they control ? ….thinking where’s the temp sensor and why’s it not in the spaces ?

 

[Irish Rover]

@Hurricane My understanding of phases doesn't go much beyond rugby terminology but I understood enough to know I may need to be careful, and maybe ask questions, before connecting the 2 cables to the same pedestal. Thanks.

 

[Elessar]

2 shore power connections can be very dangerous, get 2 different phases and you have much more volts.

People get so hung up about this.
240v will kill you as easily as 415v.
Don’t touch the live wires whatever voltage they are.

 

[kashurst]

@Hurricane My understanding of phases doesn't go much beyond rugby terminology but I understood enough to know I may need to be careful, and maybe ask questions, before connecting the 2 cables to the same pedestal. Thanks.

I am 99% sure the two systems will be separated, because of the safety issues posted already. People will just plug into two shore power connectors and not give it a second thought. If the two systems shared live and neutral there would be fireworks.
However it wouldn't do any harm to contact the manufacturer or get a local boat sparky to verify it for you.
The easy thing to do for now, is plug into just one of your on board shore power connectors and see what doesn't come on. You won't damage anything.

 

[kashurst]

People get so hung up about this.
240v will kill you as easily as 415v.
Don’t touch the live wires whatever voltage they are.

correct, it's not the voltage that kills you it's the current.
I got a suprisingly nasty shock from the starter motor connections on a "24V" engine. The battery charger was running and the actual voltage present was nearly 30V dc.
However I have charged up many a rubber balloon with static electricity to 1000s of volts and didn't feel a thing.

 

[Seastoke]

2 shore power connections can be very dangerous, get 2 different phases and you have much more volts.

No they will be two totally separate systems.

 

[Seastoke]

i have say, it’s hard enough to find a free socket on the quay without someone taking two

Bouba make a small extension lead 32A to 16Amp gives you another option.

 

[Bouba]

Bouba make a small extension lead 32A to 16Amp gives you another option.

I have the larger plug on a short lead