What's the angle of your inlet?

[keble]

No, seriously though. I just had boat safety examination and it failed due to damaged shoreline inlet.

The examiner requested that the replacement should be angled UPWARDS - see photo, because in this way the connectors don't sit in rainwater.

I can see the sense in this, it's to do with the way the shroud on the cable fits over the boat inlet.

 

BUT nearly every boat you see has the inlet angled downwards, which allows water in to the connectors. Are they all making a silly mistake?

 

ETA the photo is rotated 90deg!

Edited May 1, 2016 by keble

[Flyboy]

It sounds to me that you may have a socket on the boat (female pins) & a plug with male pins on the end of your cable. It should be the other way round as this is very dangerous. Could you show a picture of the pins on your plug & socket?

 

Your picture looks to me like you have mains outlet on the boat & it should be a mains inlet.

 

You should have this pin configuration on the boat & it should be angled downwards, not as your picture.

 

Edited May 1, 2016 by Flyboy

[WotEver]

That inlet plug of Kebble's is the wrong way up.

 

Tony

[Robbo]

The inlet should be angled downwards and not upwards in order to not collect rainwater!

[keble]

It sounds to me that you may have a socket on the boat (female pins) & a plug with male pins on the end of your cable. It should be the other way round as this is very dangerous. Could you show a picture of the pins on your plug & socket?

 

Your picture looks to me like you have mains outlet on the boat & it should be a mains inlet.

 

You should have this pin configuration on the boat & it should be angled downwards, not as your picture.

 

Really, no. My boat inlet does have pins, and the cable does have receptacles. I'm not that stupid!

[keble]

The inlet should be angled downwards and not upwards in order to not collect rainwater!

Don't agree, my new arrangement is watertight.

shoreline OUTLETS (female sockets) are angled downwards, so I think it makes sense that inlets (male plugs) should be upwards.

[OldGoat]

keble, on 01 May 2016 - 6:00 PM, said:

Don't agree, my new arrangement is watertight.

shoreline OUTLETS (female sockets) are angled downwards, so I think it makes sense that inlets (male plugs) should be upwards.

 

I don't understand that logic??

it's water ingress you don't want - not a way of identifying the socket.

[keble]

I don't understand that logic??

it's water ingress you don't want - not a way of identifying the socket.

I agree, this is about avoiding water ingress.

Just pointing out that marina outlets angle downwards to avoid water ingress, so it makes sense to angle inlets upwards!

[magnetman]

What about just fitting the socket as shown in the photo (without the rotation)

 

My shore socket (the one fixed to the boat) has pins and is angled downwards but I did recently replace it due to corrosion problems.

 

I expect the best solution would be to have the boat side part inside the boat and the cable brought in through some sort of panel with a hole drilled at an angle downwards. Obviously this is a bit awkward if you regularly ubplug and plug into shore power again but in reality how many people do that?

 

Boats regularly using marinas yes maybe but on the cut when you leave the home mooring and unplug the lectric you probably don't plug it in again til you get back anyway.

I agree, this is about avoiding water ingress.

Just pointing out that marina outlets angle downwards to avoid water ingress, so it makes sense to angle inlets upwards!

That's a good point!

 

 

I feel there is confusion around what is an "inlet" or maybe it's just me..

 

Has the op's boat mounted fitting got a protective cap over it?

Edited May 1, 2016 by magnetman

[Scholar Gypsy]

I wonder if the issue here is water ingress when the connector is in use.

 

Now, as far as pins and sockets are concerned, the male fits inside the female.

 

However as I recall it (and google confirms) for the outside circular bit (say 1.5 inches diameter), the male also fits inside the female.

 

That means that for a shore connector the socket (female) is pointing downwards. This obviously protects the socket when it is not in use, but it also means that any rainwater that falls on it when it is in use is carried away by the outer container, if you see what I mean, and can't easily work its way in.

 

The same logic would apply at the boat end, so that the plug (male) should indeed point upwards. When it is not in use then there should be a cover on to protect it. When it is in use then the female socket on the end of the cable fits around the plug, and protects it from any rainwater. This is of course the opposite to how most boats are installed. I don't think the seal between the plug and socket is watertight, so if the male points downwards then any rainwater could seep down the gap

 

I solve this issue by having my connectors inside and either taking the cable in through a window or under the stern doors, for the reasons magnetman suggests!

Edited May 1, 2016 by Scholar Gypsy

[OldGoat]

Some RCDs are exceedingly sensitive and will trip out at the slightest provocation (almost even if the water is 'pure') - been there...

It seems daft to have an upward facing connector of either gender where it could get wet. The spring loaded cover is there not to protect from water ingress - they're not waterproof, but they're there to discourage foreign objects such as folks-with-pointed-sticks (!)

[keble]

Scholar Gypsy, you are spot on; explained it much better than I did!

Now why do most boats have it fitted the other way which will let water in? See magnetman's post for example.

 

Yes, the best solution would be a recessed box withe the connectors protected from the weather.

[GUMPY]

It all depends on the female connector you use.

Some have a one piece female part with a seperate backshell, theses are not a problem when used facing up.

Others have a one piece body with a female insert these fill with water if used facing up.

If the pins face up on the inlet its unlikely that the connectors will get waterlogged except through the back end gland

However most cables are not made well so the ideal position is with the connector horizontal this minimizes all water ingress.

Edited May 1, 2016 by Loddon

[WotEver]

I agree, this is about avoiding water ingress.

Just pointing out that marina outlets angle downwards to avoid water ingress, so it makes sense to angle inlets upwards!

No it doesn't. Not at all. That's ridiculous logic.

 

It should be pointing down.

 

Tony

[magnetman]

Is there a consideration around the fact that it is a boat and -could- come adrift accidentally. Maybe downward facing attachment points on the service bollars and on the boat make it more likely that a plug would come out rather than something being broken in the event of the vessel moving away with momentum.

 

If that was a factor then an upward facing connector probably would cause more damage.

 

Yes I did inadvertently untie my boat before disconnecting the shoreline once

(Fortunately the woman noticed it before any damage occurred)

[keble]

Is there a consideration around the fact that it is a boat and -could- come adrift accidentally. Maybe downward facing attachment points on the service bollars and on the boat make it more likely that a plug would come out rather than something being broken in the event of the vessel moving away with momentum.

If that was a factor then an upward facing connector probably would cause more damage.

Yes I did inadvertently untie my boat before disconnecting the shoreline once (Fortunately the woman noticed it before any damage occurred)

Ah yes, the orange mooring line ...

No it doesn't. Not at all. That's ridiculous logic.

It should be pointing down.

Tony

Reasoning?

[boathunter]

Plug fittings on the cable, whether male or female, fit inside outlet female and inlet male sockets.

Maybe problem is water collecting inside the cap and corroding the terminals when not in use?

Edited May 1, 2016 by boathunter

[Tiggs]

Having looked at the designs of the inlets ( plugs, male, fixed to the boat ) and the sockets (at the end of the cables), I agree with keble and his BSS examiner. Most boats have these configured such that water, if it gets in, and these are only IP44 splash resistant, could be on the contacts. This is because the plus outer sleeve goes into a gap between the socket and the outer sleeve of a socket. You guys all have them the wrong way up! (well perhaps no need to worry since the water would have to build up between the outer sleeve and get over the middle bit that holds the sockets, and most of them appear to work OK, this is probably due to the angle of them - not vertical - so the water can't get over the top of the middle bit.)

 

(personnaly, since these are only IP44 I've always put them inside the boat or with some form of water protection)

 

(I've had a look at some installation instruction for some and they show both the plugs and sockets pointing down too - interesting.)

 

 

 

Don't go changing them yet: see nbfiresprite's post further down.

Edited May 2, 2016 by Tiggs

[Scholar Gypsy]

I think this is the sort of thing Tiggs is suggesting? It's designed to be recessed, which would be a pain on a boat. One of the websites I read suggested you should not install them on the front end of a caravan - I guess that's less of an issue for boats as we go rather slower.

 

Edited May 1, 2016 by Scholar Gypsy

[GUMPY]

Ip44 connectors used outside are not a problem if built correctly. I have a join in my feeder cable that has been outside in all weathers sitting by the path next to the boat for the best part of four years. When last inspected eleven months ago, its due again in June, it was both dry and not corroded. The secret is to keep the connectors horizontal so no water can build up inside.

[Grebe]

I think this is the sort of thing Tiggs is suggesting? It's designed to be recessed, which would be a pain on a boat. One of the websites I read suggested you should not install them on the front end of a caravan - I guess that's less of an issue for boats as we go rather slower.

 

That's what Grebe has fitted. It needs a hole to be cut into the bulkhead or cabin side.

[Flyboy]

I think this is the sort of thing Tiggs is suggesting? It's designed to be recessed, which would be a pain on a boat. One of the websites I read suggested you should not install them on the front end of a caravan - I guess that's less of an issue for boats as we go rather slower.

 

And it's angled downwards.

[Tiggs]

I think this is the sort of thing Tiggs is suggesting? It's designed to be recessed, which would be a pain on a boat. One of the websites I read suggested you should not install them on the front end of a caravan - I guess that's less of an issue for boats as we go rather slower.

 

 

Well you could do that but I just put the front ones under the deck seats and the back ones inside with the cable protected as it went though the hatch.

 

Like everyone else (almost), I put them pointing down. I didn't even think about how water might get in. If anyone is really worried about this then a small hole could be drilled in the socket outer sleeve to ensure water did not accumulate.

Edited May 1, 2016 by Tiggs

[nbfiresprite]

Sockets should aways face downs, So the plug will pull out the socket in the event of strain being placed on the cable ie someone stepping on the cable. Facing upwards the cable would either pull out exposing live wires or you break the socket,

 

http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/1514435.pdf

[colinwilks]

We inherited a Marinco shore power connector when we bought our boat. It's an original fitting so now 22 years old and hasn't given any problems whatever.

See http://www.force4.co.uk/department/brands/marinco.html