Shore Power Cord Length

[racclarkson@gmail.com]

What would be the standard, or likely, length of my 240V 50A 4-wire shore power cord? Forgot to measure this weekend.

I plan to turn the boat around for summer. Unfortunately, my power pedestal is offset favoring one end of my T. Turning around will add the 18' beam plus the added linear distance to the power source. I know I won't have enough cord to make it.

I am planning to replace the boat's power cable, but don't want to end us with too much in terms of resistance. I'm being fed a steady 208 volts. The extra length won't be needed half the year or when traveling, though there have been times when some extra length would have come in handy. The Glenndining coiler has plenty of reserve capacity. What about making up an extension cord? Again, I failed to measure, but I'm thinking 15' would do it.

What say the electrical gurus on the plan? Moving the pedestal is not an option. Would one continuous run of cord be materially better than breaking it up with an extension?

[Scarlett]

A lot of the cords are 50 feet but with a cable reel you never know because they don’t use off the shelf cords. I personally hate connections in the cord, have seen one totally engulfed in fire one time at the connection. If the connection is done correctly with screws rings to hold them together then you could do that. To many don’t use a proper positive connection system. So basically I have told you nothing, but I hope it helps. John

[racclarkson@gmail.com]

A lot of the cords are 50 feet but with a cable reel you never know because they don’t use off the shelf cords. I personally hate connections in the cord, have seen one totally engulfed in fire one time at the connection. If the connection is done correctly with screws rings to hold them together then you could do that. To many don’t use a proper positive connection system. So basically I have told you nothing, but I hope it helps. John

i wouldn’t say that. Thx

[tonytrakovich]

If you are going to replace the cord any way, put the extra length in. You do not get the voltage drop with AC circuits that you do with DC circuits. An extra 20 feet will not make a difference. As Scarlett said, the connections are the most important. Good solid connections with no break in the wire from plug to glendinning.

[racclarkson@gmail.com]

Kinda what I was thinking. Measuring this week. Thx

[scottinsydney]

I used our new shore power lead and connectors for the first time recently. The connectors were warm when there was little load. Do the connectors in reality get warm or should they remain at the ambient temperature? Ie. cold? Cable and connectors rated 15 amps at 220 volts.