Best place to install shore power connection

[grady]

ok, as you are an electricain...
I put on all electrical wire connections (220V and 12V) vaseline on to protect against ocidation.

Good idea or shall I stop with this?

I would use DC 4 instead of Vaseline.

http://www.dowcorning.com/applications/ ... d=01903128

It works great for lubricating o-rings and oil filters also. Next time you change your oil put it on your oil filter gasket. You will never go back to using oil again.

[vkmaynard]

We installed our connection next to the switches. http://www.macgregorsailors.com/modt/in ... ?view=2011

Victor

[DamienCh]

Victor,

I like the way you installed the shore power, but how do you connect with the galley?

Thanks

[Tomfoolery]

We installed our connection next to the switches. http://www.macgregorsailors.com/modt/in ... ?view=2011

Victor

Mine looks very similar to Victor's.



The inlet is on the side of the cabin, in the same compartment the panels are mounted in, so the 10 gauge wire run is very short.

I put one duplex receptacle where it is because there was a big hole there from the PO that I wanted to cover, so I put a piece of HDPE over it (and on the other side, sandwiching the liner) and mounted an old work box in it. I'll run another line to the galley in the spring, and maybe one under the table. 14 gauge cable can be run through the headliner to the stern, then through the 'bilge' to the galley, and further forward then across to the starboard side at the back of the vee-berth.

Spring is also when I'll get rid of the fresh water fill and vent hoses. I can't believe the PO did that. The 30A main breaker and duplex receptacle under those hoses are now gone - another PO job, including rusty drywall screws sort of holding those boxes on the wall.

[dlandersson]

Mine too.

[Bilgemaster]

FWIW, a PO on my X appeared to spare no expense on mods, and that is exactly where my shore power connection is also.

Just for the record, mine is there as well, and even appears to be the very same type of squared-bezel plug outlet with a reasonably watertight flip-cover. Right there amidships and well above the waterline would seem to be a pretty good place for it, easily accommodating most any power box placements one may encounter at a dock, yet still handy enough for a generator at the stern...handier at least than an outlet in the anchor locker, anyhow.



A previous owner may have put mine there, though I'd have guessed it was a factory installation. Now I am not sure. The AC power panel is quite nearby in the cabin on the wall above the "pizza oven" berth, above and aft of the little galley seat, which is good. You don't need long lengths of live AC wiring slinking around through the bilge or walls if you can help it. That's just more opportunities for mayhem. Not being an electrician and taking some good advice for non-electricians like me from Don Casey's book, Sailboat Electrics Simplified, I had the shore power setup checked out by the pros at a local marine repair shop before even using it. I'll happily fuss around with the 12V DC, but not the 120V AC "Welcome to Eternity" stuff.

As for the rest of the AC layout, the PO had mounted a couple of nice dual GFCI-style AC outlets (one on the forward galley island wall facing the settee, and another in the wall of the forward seat under the table--next to a handy 12V outlet too). He also put one of those ProSport dual battery charger/tender gizmos under in the storage area under the settee, which can tend to my dual batteries (both in the storage area under the little galley seat) if it's plugged into the aforementioned GFCI outlet in the forward-facing galley island wall. Although I'm not to credit for it, it just seems to me a really sensible layout, placing those AC outlets well away from the companionway and any foul weather that might blow into the cabin.

[Tomfoolery]

I have the same inlet. And a Dowsar enclosure, for that matter. And I live near Dowsar. Which makes me think perhaps Dowsar installed it, though the wiring components and techniques were very subpar, so maybe the PO bought the parts from them and did the work himself.

[DamienCh]

Thanks a lot for those replies. I see that we do have an agreement on where to install the external power inlet.

But what I can't find, is how to run a line from the, kind of isolated, place where there is the original 12V panel, to the galley. Any ideas / experiences?

[Tomfoolery]

See my post above. Run the 14 gauge (assuming you install a 15A branch circuit breaker after the 30A inlet breaker) through the headliner in the aft berth on the port side, into the space covered by the blue corduroy panel in the stern, then down into the 'bilge' area, and back forward to the galley space. It won't be easy, but it's doable. The DC wiring for the stern nav light goes through there already, by the way.

[Tomfoolery]

If you're starting from scratch, this is probably the cheapest panel to get you 30A protection, including reverse polarity, for the shore power, and it has a single space to add a 15A or 20A branch circuit breaker.

http://www.go2marine.com/item/21410/ac- ... -8029.html

This is the one I used, with three 15A branch circuit breakers. I'll eventually have the charger on it's own circuit. And maybe refrigeration. Someday.

http://www.go2marine.com/product/98864F ... onics.html

[DamienCh]

Thanks Tomfoolery, got it !

By the way, your suggested panel is exactly the one I bought, but in EU version as I'm in Europe :
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001DRN1SW

So in my case it's 16A for main as it's twice the voltage + I got a 10A for additional switch.

And also got some 14 AWG wire:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NV2AY0

So .. just need to install it now! Thanks to your guidelines
I'll start by doing some exploration in this space covered by the blue corduroy panel in the stern. No idea what's behind!

[Russ]

This seems like a good midships location and close to the breaker. Gives lots of options too.

Most boats seem to have the power connector way aft someplace. I get it with powerboats that generally dock stern to. But sailboats then require a LONG power cable along the deck or dock.
It would seem logical to have the connector close to the dockside power source.

[grady]

If you're starting from scratch, this is probably the cheapest panel to get you 30A protection, including reverse polarity, for the shore power, and it has a single space to add a 15A or 20A branch circuit breaker.

http://www.go2marine.com/item/21410/ac- ... -8029.html

This is the one I used, with three 15A branch circuit breakers. I'll eventually have the charger on it's own circuit. And maybe refrigeration. Someday.

http://www.go2marine.com/product/98864F ... onics.html

That's funny! They call it reverse polarity? It's an AC circut It is always reversing. Guess it is easier for people to understand that way.

[DamienCh]

Have a look over there :
http://www.startribune.com/what-s-the-b ... 137342763/

Only the "hot" wire is protected in this pannel, that's why it's important to make sure there is no reverse polarity! Else it won't be protected anymore...

[Tomfoolery]

The Paneltronics main breaker is a 2-pole unit, as required by ABYC, specifically to protect against reverse polarity. Look at the "A" frame breakers.

http://www.go2marine.com/docs/mfr/panel ... kers.shtml

"Reverse Polarity" is a bit of a misnomer for AC power, but then, the term 'pole' also refers to the ungrounded (hot) and grounded (neutral, not to be confused with grounding, which is the equipment ground, or earth ground in Europe) connections or buses, at least in National Electric Code-speak. But I digress.