Power cords

M

MarcJ

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Joined
Mar 6, 2008
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29549
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I have seen in my marina people with boats with two power 30 Ams inlets using either a splitter right after the dock's power outlet and then two long power cords to the boat and people instead using a single long power cord from the dock's outlet and then splitter entering the boat. Is there any difference?
 
if you are splitting a singlr 30A into two, thats a bad idea no matter where the splitter is. If the load from the boat could be handled by a single 30A feed then the mfr woulddnt have gone with two. With proper power management i suppose you could get away with it in a pinch and I would split at the pod to reduce the lenght of the run (resistance) on the single cord.

if you are seeing a 50a to twin 30's (which I use a lot when cruising due to the lack of 30A's at some marinas) then i plug into tye 50 at the pod only because i dont carry a spare 25' 50a cord..
 
We bow in at our home slip which has twin 30A plugs. I run 2 50' 30A cables down the dock that stay there throughout the season then plug a smart Y to the ends which connect to my 50A boat. The only reason that I did it this way is because I had 30A gear from the old boat and didn't want to have to buy a new 50A cable. When we travel we are generally stern to and I just plug the smart Y into the dock when necessary.
 
quote:
Originally posted by MarcJ

I have seen in my marina people with boats with two power 30 Ams inlets using either a splitter right after the dock's power outlet and then two long power cords to the boat and people instead using a single long power cord from the dock's outlet and then splitter entering the boat. Is there any difference?

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You would not want to use a single 30 amp cord to supply 30 amps to each of two inlets. You can use a 50 amp cord (on a 50 amp receptacle) to the boat and use a splitter there or you can use a 50 amp splitter at the dock and two 30 amp cords.

I suspect the people you observe are using what they have or what they can buy most inexpensively.

If you are asking because you don't know how best to connect your boat, provide details and you'll get some suggestions.
 
I agree with Ron more specifics are needed about your vessel. Is your 50 amp receptical actually (2) 50 amp legs at 120VAC?
Also anyone using a 30 amp cord in place of a 50 amp cord will seriously have a voltage drop issue anyone trying to use a single 30 amp cord on a dual 30 amp inlet boat will have to do some serious load management or they could damage anything from the cord to compressors and motors (adapter or not). Boats need the proper voltage and current even if they are 100% correct many boats still need some form of manual load management by the owner. Cutting your ability to run the boats AC systems by 50% or more has consequences.
Bill
 
It can be put on either end, however me preference would be at the boat, since someone would have to get on the boat to steal it. They can disappear.
 
I agree Dusty, and there is nothing wrong with using it that way. Might require some power usage management on board.
 
That is exactly what happened in my marina with no security gates. Many splitters on the dock were gone. I have a 30 A power cord from the dock to the boat and then the splitter to the two plags on the boat. I have to carefully manage the power usage such as AC, water heater and stove but I was not sure if I was doing the right thing with this configuration.
 
I put it at the boat. Up here in the Great Lakes we come across single 30's all the time. Like Jim said it takes some power management. My wife has gotten really good about asking before turning anything on when we are on a single 30A

Niles
 
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