You can buy cords with just the male end. That should limit the amps to the rating of the cords and dock supply, I'd think. Besides, you can make some other kind of adaptor with the part you cut off.
Need source for shore power cord
- Thread starter Dr. D
- Start date
I plan to bring it up with one of the guys at AYS next time I run into them.[/QUOTE]
Well, don't spit into the wind. I saw Millar yesterday. FWIW, the wires on my B323 30-amp input are #6, the same as the wires of a 50-amp shore power cord. Accordinly , the OP's 50-amp input is not out of line if the OP's 35.1 is the same as mine- and this thread is all a moot point..
Well, don't spit into the wind. I saw Millar yesterday. FWIW, the wires on my B323 30-amp input are #6, the same as the wires of a 50-amp shore power cord. Accordinly , the OP's 50-amp input is not out of line if the OP's 35.1 is the same as mine- and this thread is all a moot point..
Try West Marine or Boat Owners Warehouse in south Florida. You might have to buy end fittings and a length of cord cut to your specification, since I'm not aware of stock cords with 30 Amp fittings on one end and 50 amp on the other.
Gunni,, the boats electrical system is only using one of the 50 amp receptacles hot legs. The other hot leg is left unconnected to the electrical system. If someone connected a 50 amp power cord to the boat, the boat would only see a 25 amp potential, because the boat is only connected to one of the hot wires. I suspect Beneteau used the four prong receptacle so that one could easily connect to the other hot terminal and use a 50 amp cord if they needed more shore power than what two 30 amp shore cords could provide. A 50 amp receptacle would also allow one to convert one or both of the plugs to 220v.
Gunni, Millar is the head of the AYS service department. Fred and Nardo are no longer there. I'm getting the 6-gauge inside wire number from the owners manual wiring chart. Wires 98 & 99 for my boat. You'd think the OP got a manual with his new boat. I'll look in the boat tomorrow for my actual wire size. 50 amp/125 has only one hot black: 2 x 6 w/ground.
Sailbaum,, is the receptacle on your boat 50 amp 125/250v or 50 amp 125v? My previous post was based on the former. My experience has been with the 50a 125/250v pedestals. If your boat's receptacle is a 50a 125v type, the back side of the receptacle will have only three attachment points: one hot, one neutral, and one ground.. If that is the case and you used a 50a 125v power cord plugged into a 50a 125v dockside pedestal then your boat would see 50 amps at the panel but would be limited to 30 amps because of your boat's main 30 amp circuit breaker.
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A couple of thoughts.
#1 A 30A 125V to 50A 125V cord set is not a factory made option. It is a DIY made option. Perhaps Beneteau is custom ordering them in volume but my guess is they are making them in-house.
#2 We know there is a 40A RCD/ELCI main inlet breaker but this is an oddball size, too large for 30A service / 10GA wire and small for 50A service.
#3 We need to know the wire GA, not what the manual states but actual gauge, between the inlet and the main AC panel.
#4 We need to know if the 50A inlet is 50A / 125V or 50A / 250V
#5 We need to know the size of the main double pole breaker on the AC panel, not the one near the inlet which we know is 40A.
I work on quite a few Beneteau & Jenneau boats and all I can say is they are not entirely consistent when it comes to wiring. They are also often not following ABYC standards. This makes it tough to give answers without actual critical information.
I have one Bene, a First 36.7, that had 10GA internal wiring, a 30A double pole toggle breaker on the AC panel and a Merlin Gerin C60a 40A main inlet breaker. This breaker was swapped out/replaced for a 30A breaker to pass an insurance survey as a 40A breaker is simply too big for 10AWG wire. It was much less costly to replace the breaker than the wire.. I have another 36.7 that had the same configuration but instead of the 40A main inlet breaker it had a more appropriate 32A breaker. What is installed on the vessel is much more important than what the manual suggests may be installed.
#1 A 30A 125V to 50A 125V cord set is not a factory made option. It is a DIY made option. Perhaps Beneteau is custom ordering them in volume but my guess is they are making them in-house.
#2 We know there is a 40A RCD/ELCI main inlet breaker but this is an oddball size, too large for 30A service / 10GA wire and small for 50A service.
#3 We need to know the wire GA, not what the manual states but actual gauge, between the inlet and the main AC panel.
#4 We need to know if the 50A inlet is 50A / 125V or 50A / 250V
#5 We need to know the size of the main double pole breaker on the AC panel, not the one near the inlet which we know is 40A.
I work on quite a few Beneteau & Jenneau boats and all I can say is they are not entirely consistent when it comes to wiring. They are also often not following ABYC standards. This makes it tough to give answers without actual critical information.
I have one Bene, a First 36.7, that had 10GA internal wiring, a 30A double pole toggle breaker on the AC panel and a Merlin Gerin C60a 40A main inlet breaker. This breaker was swapped out/replaced for a 30A breaker to pass an insurance survey as a 40A breaker is simply too big for 10AWG wire. It was much less costly to replace the breaker than the wire.. I have another 36.7 that had the same configuration but instead of the 40A main inlet breaker it had a more appropriate 32A breaker. What is installed on the vessel is much more important than what the manual suggests may be installed.
Thanks for these insightful comments. From heritage's post, the boat end fitting is a 50 A 125 V, the green picture. I took a picture of it when the 25' 30 A cords from West Marine did not fit.
About what the owner's manual says: I don't know. I received an owner's manual, but a French language version. I know the data is in there somewhere, but trying to find it without understanding the text is too hard. English language version arriving any day.
About what the owner's manual says: I don't know. I received an owner's manual, but a French language version. I know the data is in there somewhere, but trying to find it without understanding the text is too hard. English language version arriving any day.
Like Maine Sail said, don't go by the manual. I know our 2014 bene has wiring differences between the manual and what's in the boat. Production changes over the years, and available parts in the factory probably change faster than that.
Somewhat like post 49... I got into the boat, but not able to get to the main breaker. I could see the cable from the main receptical, though could not read the numbers, I could tell it must be #10. That is different from the manual's #6. I'll dig into the lazz for the breaker when the wind is not 40+ and blowing the lazz lid shut.
If the breaker is 40 amp, then a 30 amp plug would be underrated for the circuit. Since no 40 amp marine plug exists, a 50 would be the next available option.
Of course, the wiring in the boat needs to be sufficient to handle the 40 amps that the breaker can supply & the wiring from the 50 amp inlet to the 40 amp breaker needs to be good for 50 amps. That is a separate issue for which we do not have information at this time.
Of course, the wiring in the boat needs to be sufficient to handle the 40 amps that the breaker can supply & the wiring from the 50 amp inlet to the 40 amp breaker needs to be good for 50 amps. That is a separate issue for which we do not have information at this time.
In my grandfather's day, it was uncommon for houses to have 110vac circuits that were more than 10 amps. Plastic insulation on house wire, rather than woven insulation was a new thing back then too. Just because it hasen't been commonly done in the past, doesn't mean that it isn't going to be done in the future. Things do change as times go by.
The number of gadgets that people have on their boats seems to be ever increasing. It would not surprise me to see 2 separate AC systems on a nice boat here in hot & humid south Florida. That sort of feature may seem out of place in more temperate climates. When I lived in the north east, I thought that I had seen it all in terms of sailboats. When I moved to Florida, I saw a lot of new things & had to humble my opinion of my preexisting knowledge base.
Two things come to mind.. One saying(Pogo?), "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about". The other is "Never say NEVER, and never say ALWAYS".
Finally got to the boat and found the following:
Shore power cable: 30amp 10/3 with a 50A/125 fitting at the boat end
Connection: 50A/125Volt connection
Cockpit Breakers 2 boxes (one box for each shore cable), each with the following:
40amp/30ma GE RCD 2 pole
C32 EPC 452 (32Amp, Explosion Proof Circuit) 4500
Boat wire: Top Cable Powerflex RV-K 0,6/1 kV 3G6 mm2 UNE 21123 EIC 60502
10AWG
Saloon Breakers 2 boxes, as follows:
Box 1 = 1 empty (dont like this)
Box 2
EPC62 C32 6000 (3) (HVAC Compressor)
EPC62 C6 6000 (3) (HVAC circulation pump)
Panel:
Individual breakers for:
Outlets
Water heater
Battery charger
It seems to me, that at a minimum, I should add a 30amp breaker on the house circuit at (before) the panel. The cockpit breakers seem sufficient and the odd size plug seems harmless. But I would be interested in hearing if other modifications are considered necessary.
Shore power cable: 30amp 10/3 with a 50A/125 fitting at the boat end
Connection: 50A/125Volt connection
Cockpit Breakers 2 boxes (one box for each shore cable), each with the following:
40amp/30ma GE RCD 2 pole
C32 EPC 452 (32Amp, Explosion Proof Circuit) 4500
Boat wire: Top Cable Powerflex RV-K 0,6/1 kV 3G6 mm2 UNE 21123 EIC 60502
10AWG
Saloon Breakers 2 boxes, as follows:
Box 1 = 1 empty (dont like this)
Box 2
EPC62 C32 6000 (3) (HVAC Compressor)
EPC62 C6 6000 (3) (HVAC circulation pump)
Panel:
Individual breakers for:
Outlets
Water heater
Battery charger
It seems to me, that at a minimum, I should add a 30amp breaker on the house circuit at (before) the panel. The cockpit breakers seem sufficient and the odd size plug seems harmless. But I would be interested in hearing if other modifications are considered necessary.
So is it 40A or 32A? If it's 32 then I agree with your conclusion that the cockpit breakers are adequate and that the plug type is just an inconvenience. You have a dockside breaker protecting the cord and plug, and the cockpit breakers protecting the boat.
Facts not in evidence. Many marinas do not have breakers at the slip. Now, imagine a helpful dockhand takes a look at this frankenboat arrangement, sees a 50A service entrance on the boat and connects 50 A service from the dock to the boat.
Thanks for the equipment update. In some post previous, someone got gigged for having that 40-amp c.b. on the #10 wire and had to change it. That is a must-change. If I follow this correctly, you do not have "main 30 breakers" on the c.b. panel for that one line? Maybe not a crisis, but if you need to kill power to the entire panel/boat, the cockpit one might not be all that convenient. Having said that, you have 30-amp protection via the main breaker already, but....
Depends on the size of the wire between the receptacle on the boat and the 32A breaker in the cockpit. We can assume the receptacle can handle the 50A that it's built for. The 32A breaker will protect everything downstream of it. It's only the space between the two that's at all questionable.