Shore Power Plugs

[oldawg]

I need to replace the male and female ends on my shore power cable 50A. Any experience or advice on doing the job myself. Also, any preference on make of the replacement parts (Marinco vs Hubbel etc.)?

Thanks

 

[saltshaker]

It's a pretty simple, straight forward job as long as you have a good pair of dykes and cable strippers. By the time you buy the ends and the covers, you'll be looking at around $200 for the Marinco and a little more for the Hubbell ends. You can get the Furrion ends for about half of that. I've never used them but I really like their shore power cord sets. Why are you replacing both ends and what's the condition and age of the cable? I have 2 of these and for the price I would get a new set instead of repairing an old cable. I like the molded ends on the sets better than the boot seal on the replacement plugs.

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|328|299260|319690&id=1352416

 

[sandspur1966]

There are tons of threads on this topic if you do a search.

I actually decided to go with complete new Furrion cords because they were pretty cheap and new ends from Hubbel would have cost me more than half the price of a whole new cord.

If I were doing it now I would strongly consider converting to the new "Smart Plug" option. Not cheap but if they are half as good as the chatter about them, probably worth it.



http://www.smartplug.com/products/50amp_inletandconnector.html

 

[sgharford]

One thing I say about the smart plugs, they hold so well that the cable actually pulls out of them when the guy washing your boat trips on it.

 

[Jaxfishgyd]

I replaced my two 30 amp cords with smart plug cords..... They DO make a difference, course 30 amps are a lot cheaper than 50 amp cords too...

 

[Bob Bradley]

I switched to smart plugs last year as well and I love them. I also eliminated the shotgun shell style fuses and installed breakers in their place. I'm very happy with the results.

 

[TomT13]

Bob,

Did the circuit breakers fit in the same location as the FRN 30 Amp fuse holders? If so can you provide me with the make, model and part numbers of the circuit breaker? I hate when the fuse blows there is a sand type deposit that is left behind in the holder. It is difficult to clean out. This was happening quite often on my AC leg for two reasons. My marina's power was substandard and even caught on fire but more importantly the white and black legs were looped so tight behind the receptacle in the boat that the insulation was touching. As the wire got hot and the insulation dried out the two were shorting briefly. I replaced the receptacle and wire with a more graduated loop so the insulation doesn't touch. Regardless, I am still interested in changing the FRN fuses to breakers.

Thanks
Tom

 

[oldawg]

Why are you replacing both ends and what's the condition and age of the cable?


One end goes to my cablemaster and the other to my 50' extension. Don't know exactly how but the two ended up in the water and shorting out. I much prefer the molded ends but would have to replace both cords to do that.

 

[Bob Bradley]

Bob,

Did the circuit breakers fit in the same location as the FRN 30 Amp fuse holders? If so can you provide me with the make, model and part numbers of the circuit breaker? I hate when the fuse blows there is a sand type deposit that is left behind in the holder. It is difficult to clean out. This was happening quite often on my AC leg for two reasons. My marina's power was substandard and even caught on fire but more importantly the white and black legs were looped so tight behind the receptacle in the boat that the insulation was touching. As the wire got hot and the insulation dried out the two were shorting briefly. I replaced the receptacle and wire with a more graduated loop so the insulation doesn't touch. Regardless, I am still interested in changing the FRN fuses to breakers.

Thanks
Tom

No. We wired around them and placed two breakers inside the cabin. I left the old receptacles in place rather than find a way to cover the holes. I also kick mine on occasion, especially on a hot day when both AC's are running. The breaker makes it much easier (and cost effective) to reset.

 

[Boatnut]

I to like the molded ends, however, if you replace the ends and use plenty of vapor proof compound like Dow Corning No. 4 it will work just as well. The corrosion caused by the environment is the enemy,the contacts corrode the cable get hot, and that's the end of it. I also put the vapor compound on the contacts, it has proven it helps a lot.

 

[Maynard Rupp]

I have not had any fuse problems in 2 years. Before that I replaced lots of them. I now pack the female plug ends with DC4 about twice a year. That seems to solve the problem. I still don't try to run both AC units at the same time as our Hat has 2 30 amp cords, one for AC, and one for everything else. With both compressors running and the coolant water pump, the draw is 35 amps. That is designed to cause a fuse or breaker to pop. The only time I run both the 16k and 10k AC units is with gen set power.

 

[Boatnut]

I have the same setup, 16k and a 12k, as long as both units don't try to start at the same time there is no problem with fuses blowing or breakers tripping. That's the good thing about the newer controls, they don't allow both units to start at the same time.