New electric item

[Ron20324]

New (to me, at least) at the Home Depot store: It is an AC adaptor, 30-amp male (plug) connector to a 15-amp female (socket). It is by Rigid, the tool maker, labeled as an industrial site adapter- no doubt for generator-to-tool use. About 9 inches long, with 12-guage wire, it's heavy for 15 amps and obviously not made for 30 amps like on a boat. Nice features are it's made of a clear rubbery silicone over the connectors so you can see the crimp/solder connections. There is a lamp built in for a power-on indicator. No, it is not marine-rated, but for $9.95 it is is a lot cheaper than the Marinco versions at $58/78/88 at West.

 

[Ross]

Probably exceeds marine requirements. Construction sites and people are tough on equipment.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Good idea, Ron

Do you have a link to the item? On my to-do list, sitting right in front of me on my computer screen is a post-it that reads: "HOME DEPOT 50A to 30A + pigtail wire" - must admit it's been there awhile, but I'll gt to it.

We go to Pillar Point Harbor 18 miles down the coast from the Golden Gate, every few years. Their transient slips are sometimes big enough that there's only 50A power, 'cuz the "regulars" there are large fishing vessels. While the harbormaster rents out adapters for nothing except deposits on your credit cards, sometimes it's nicer to have your own. There's also Vallejo Harbor at the start of the Napa River, where they sometimes assign you to larger docks, and they do NOT have adapters for use (at least didn't many years ago, they may now).

So I've always liked the idea of having those with me. We do have a Marinco 30 to 15 adapter for smaller harbors.

And thanks, also, for your clarification on the Honda eu2000 models on the other post. I'm going to link it to our C34 Message Board and get more responses to the different models, since many of our C34IA members have the Honda 2000s.

 

[sailingdog]

I would highly recommend that you get a circuit breaker somewhere in the circuit, preferably with a GFCI, since the 15 amp rated extension cord will become a torch before the 30 amp breaker on the shore power pole trips.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Con - fused

I would highly recommend that you get a circuit breaker somewhere in the circuit, preferably with a GFCI, since the 15 amp rated extension cord will become a torch before the 30 amp breaker on the shore power pole trips.

No pun intended

Ron's intent as I understand it is to use it as a pigtail between a 2000 watt Honda generator and his boat's shorepower inlet.

The Hondas have their own circuit breakers on the output side. The boat's main breaker is in the line. Hondas, as I also understand it, have a bit of an issue between the hot, neutral and grounds so polarity testers and, hence, GFCIs are meaningless when the generator is running. The output is 16.7 A max, 13.3 A at rated output. The wire should be just fine. Good find, Ron.

 

[tsmwebb]

No pun intended
Hondas, as I also understand it, have a bit of an issue between the hot, neutral and grounds so polarity testers and, hence, GFCIs are meaningless when the generator is running.

As I recall ABYC requires generator neutrals to be grounded at the generator. The Honda thing may be an inverter, but the same applies for them in marine use. If you do that then I think the polarity testers and GFIs will work. This raises the question: why is it so common [sic] that inverters (marine and otherwise) fail to bond the neutal to the ground at the inverter?

--Tom.

 

[sailingdog]

Stu—

I don't believe that is the case, as Ron wrote:

It is an AC adaptor, 30-amp male (plug) connector to a 15-amp female (socket).

Do you want to explain how you can plug a MALE 30 AMP connector into a 15 amp-outlet on the generator, or how you can attach a 15 amp FEMALE SOCKET to a 30 AMP MALE CONNECTOR on the shore power inlet on the boat???

The pigtail he is describing is clearly for plugging in a house hold 15 amp power cord or device to a 30 amp-shore power outlet.

He would need an AC adaptor, 15-amp male (plug) connector to a 30-am female (socket) to do what you're describing last I checked.

photos courtesy of Marinco

No pun intended

Ron's intent as I understand it is to use it as a pigtail between a 2000 watt Honda generator and his boat's shorepower inlet.

The Hondas have their own circuit breakers on the output side. The boat's main breaker is in the line. Hondas, as I also understand it, have a bit of an issue between the hot, neutral and grounds so polarity testers and, hence, GFCIs are meaningless when the generator is running. The output is 16.7 A max, 13.3 A at rated output. The wire should be just fine. Good find, Ron.

 

[Benny]

What are you going to plug it in to? A Honda eu2000 has two 15 amp sockets and the boat takes a 30 AMP female conector. May be useful for a home generator running a couple of appliances whose draw does not exceed 15 Amps for to long.

 

[Ron20324]

Tom, I very much doubt that any ABYC standards apply to portable generators themselves.

In my original post I added (socket) and (plug) to help the people of less thinking ability who would not understand male or female ends. I guess that didn't work. What I described is what is in the Marinco picture above. My original post said nothing about a generator, though Stu may have thought so because of the other thread.

Stu, " Ron's intent as I understand it is to use it as a pigtail between a 2000 watt Honda generator and his boat's shorepower inlet." You have the male/females reversed IF I was going from gen to shore power inlet. Obviosly, this cord, at nine inches, is way too short for that, but a longer one is what I will use- 15m to 30f..

 

[Stu Jackson]

Oh, drats

why not ask Ron?

 

[Ron20324]

What are you going to plug it in to? A Honda eu2000 has two 15 amp sockets and the boat takes a 30 AMP female conector. May be useful for a home generator running a couple of appliances whose draw does not exceed 15 Amps for to long.

Benny, my 110 outlets on the gen are 20-amp, not 15, for what it's worth.

There was a whole nother thread on the Honda generators.