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Subject: TWL: major shore power issue
From: Keith (klemmons@XXX.XXX)
Date: Tue Dec 04 2001 - 07:21:39 EST
Dan wrote: "I lost shore power last night in the pouring rain of
course. After 2 attempts at restoring I gave up. This
morning I found the problem. My marina shorepower is
50 amp. My boat is 30 amp. So I needed to buy a
converter at west marine. its a 50 amp plug on the
shore power side and a 30 amp plug for the boat side.
Its plugged in to the dock box and then I plug the
shore power cord into the other end. I pulled this off
this morning and found one of the prongs charred and
melted. Its only 6 months old so age is not the issue.<snip>
This is corrosion in the socket. If either the plug or socket gets
corrosion started, the resistance will go up, and the plug will get
hotter and hotter, eventually melting or (I've seen this) catching fire.
If you plugged a new adapter into a bad socket, it would do what you
experienced. The marina needs to replace the socket, and of course you
need a new plug.
The way to prevent this is to spray them both down monthly with
Corrosion Block. It's a blue, sticky oil that's made for electrical
connections, etc. I've done this after having the same experience you
did for about 8 years, and my connectors all look like new. Don't forget
to do this where the cables plug into the boat also.
-- __________________ Keith If your house costs more than your boat...your priorities are all screwed up!
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