Yes I have opinions, strong ones. I don't mind the challenging question either, even if put in a rather direct way, I deal with that well in my line of work. Cool, lets talk turkey and see if this is an opinion that is casual or formed in more substantial ways.
Because I'm a packrat, I likely can back up my opninions on this one. When the Marinco's units melt (seems like almost always at the boat end) I generally cut the ends off and throw them in a drawer. I MIGHT have a couple to pull out. I have at least one, the last one I replaced a couple weeks ago when I finally put in the Smart Plug. For the past few years, I've been fighting the Marinco units. In the 5+ years I have owned this boat I've replaced 3 burnt ends. Granted, one change I'm considering is moving the shore power outlets from the outside of the hull where they are easily splahsed, to just inside the gunwhale. I'm pretty disciplined about securing the receptacles, but I still wonder if moving them would help. A couple of the problems I see, one is that the contacts just don't seem to engage well tight full contact and secure, and second the half twist lock is just not secure enough. I ALWAYS secure the locking colars well, but where I'm at, the boat gets rocked rather frequently and I notice that the plugs still seem to let the contacts jiggle even when the colars are screwed down. With poor contact area and a propensity to move a little, it only takes VERY small amounts of corrosion for these things to start the downhill slide. The fact that the dock side receptacles look like they almost never get changed and I've yet to find one you could actually screw the locking colar onto, means that there is an amount of resistance in the circuit we just have to live with anyway so everything else better be tippy top shape. (My ugly looking shore power pedestal at the PORT OF EVERETT actually burnt down in front of me, fire estinguishers and all two years ago now. Seems the marina's plans are to let them burn down before ever maintaining them.
It's always in the winter, when I'm trying to run a couple heaters. Diesel boat folks, lets stay on topic. I've just found that my rule is to NEVER run more than about 20 amps through these 30 amp inlets when I leave the boat unattended. When I've run more than that, even 25 amps, I'll eventually come back to a warm receptacle. I'm sorry, but not getting more than about a season and a half out of a cord/receptacle combo starts getting warm is just not good. I do try to keep my cord ends clean and pay attention to the receptacle, wheras I hardly ever see others doing the same.
In the same time, I've also renewed every single electrical anything from the shore power to the panel. Everything is new and upgraded. At one point I might have blamed as contributing the old wiring from the shore power receptacle to the panel, but on the last burnt cord end I can't even blame that.
As for fireman, its a pretty well known (traceable) fact that there have been multiple boat fires in the last ten years here in Seattle that made the news (always in a covered dock where multiple boats get torched) and the shore power has been blamed in at least one of these fires. SmartPlug is local to me and yes I got a personal tour of their product last year at their HQ when they donated one of their plugs to our boat club. The company founder showed me all the features of their product, the heavy lugs that can carry much more than the rated capacity. The thermostatic capability of breaking the connection automatically if the plug overheats. The better sealing capabilities. Yes, I'm obviously sold on this products superiority. They have burnt examples of the marinco units laying everywhere, part of the reason I save any burnt end so I can contribute to the Marinco legacy of continuing to make money on a product that has a rather proven track record of failure.
I don't think I've ever even SEEN a Hubbell around Seattle. I'll have to look. Everyone carries Marinco, though I understand the "design" of the Hubbell/Marinco is the same, though I suspect hubbell may use better parts and that will matter (can't say, never seen one in person). Still, the design falls short.
I don't know why there does not seem to be the want of a better product in some regions. Maybe its because your boats are not in the water during months where heaters (and therefore near continuous rated amperage) are running. I don't know. I'm just surprised that some of you guys just don't see problems with the marinco units. All I can say is that in the summer, unless we plug into a reverse polarity dock, I almost never lose a cable. Probably because while the peak loads may get to capacity the average loads don't, I dunno. I just know that in my neck of the woods, this time of year, burnt cord ends happen all the time, boats and docks catch fire and I worry more about the guys I'm next to (that I can't control) because I seem to be on top of watching cord ends more than the average guy (who is not a tech geek). I put my hand on the shore power connecter testing for heat every time i walk by one.
So, at least for me, my love affair with Smartplug has less to do with my love for what is clearly a superior product and more to do with my history of witnessing burnt crispy melted plug ends made by Marinco. If the product is rated for 30 amps in a marine environment, then I want to see it actually last for more than 6 months in that environment, at that amp capacity, not just when its brand new.
I'll see if I can find the plugs, maybe get a picture, but hopefully you can see my opinion is based on more than just conjecture.
Have fun guys, but realize there is more at stake here than just getting our feelings hurt.
