Shore power plug keeps burning out...

[sailingdog]

The charring can be caused by two things: heat or arcing.

To reduce the chances of the connection arcing, plug the boat side in first, with the shore power breakers on the boat and on the pole in the OFF position. Then connect the cord to the post, making sure to support the cord so that the strain of the weight of the cord is not on the plug connector. Then turn on the two breakers.

I would also recommend you check the post to make sure the plug connector has a tight fit to the plug. If the prongs don't fit tightly into the post receptacle, the connection can have high resistance due to poor surface contact, which can lead to charring—which increases resistance and leads to more charring.

 

[cat38skip]

We have been a liveaboards for 10 yrs. Very early on we were having troubles just as you describe. I 'solved' our problem with dielectric paste. I cleaned and buffed the male plug receptacle on the boat and applied the paste to both the plug and receptacle. I repeated this at the shore connection. We have been using the same shore power cord without difficulty for 7 years. We will occasionally trip the AC master breaker on board when we overload the circuit. The shore power cord and connections show no signs of heat damage.

 

[Steve Dion]

When checking out the system, be sure to remove the receptacle on the boat. These wires also get corroded and often need to be trimmed back too.