Shore Power

[Cmdr Pete]

I don't have 110V power on my boat, and I don't really need it, since my dock doesn't have shore power.

But, sometimes I'll travel to a marina with shore power. Might be nice to take advantage of it.

What do you think about an adapter like this one? Costs $52

http://www.hubbell-marine.com/whatsnew.htm

[CharlieJ]

An excellent idea. We use a small adapter almost like that to plug in an extension cord the rare times we use 115VAC aboard, which ISN'T often. Only when we are in the dock and doing some work on the boat using power tools.

[Norm]

Thanks for the link.  I had a similar device in the past and found it very useful, more practical than a big yellow cord.  Cheaper, too. 

The big yellow cord reminds me too much of being shackled to the shore!
Tx
Norman

[Cmdr Pete]

I was a bit off on the price. Cheapest I found was $65

http://www.starmarinedepot.com/Hubbell+Adapter+HBL105GF+15A.html

Amazing how prices vary. I found everything between $65 and $120.

[s/v Faith]

The decision about shore power seems to me to be more about the anticipated current draw then any other factor.

  If you figure that the good old extension cord method (the one I subscribe to) is only good for about 15A max, you are pretty limited.  The small boat Sailor should not have much of a problem with this.

  My biggest loads are heat (10A) max, and the carry on AC (also 10A).  They draw a bit more at start up, but not too much more.

  The other loads are things I can switch off and on around the others (drill, sander, etc).

  Then there are the minor loads like my little battery charger (2.5A charge, more like 3.5A draw), laptop charger, and other very small loads.

  If I had a complicated set of loads, like a microwave, big battery charger, fresh water pump, etc, I would probably move up to an installed 30A service.

  I really don't want to allow my connection to shore to be as hard as a 30A connection would make it.  I am sure I would use a microwave if I had one installed, as I would refrigeration, and probably even a garbage disposal....  ;D

  But..... it is a boat, not a condo.

[AdriftAtSea]

I do have shore power on my boat.  The main thing I find it useful for is to run the refrigerator unit while I'm away from the boat.  I leave everything but the refrigerator off.  When I'm at the boat, I usually power up the AC battery charger, but that isn't all that necessary from what I've seen.

[s/v Faith]

I would actually like to get away from it entirely.  At least for daily use (not counting thingslike power tools).

  The solar panel could easily replace the battery charger's input.  The heating and ac.... well, the heat I could probably do away with, and just use the kerosene heater when I am aboard / underway.  The ac is only run about 10 nights a year when I am either on the boat at the dock and it is unbearable, or on a trip where I know I can access cheap shore power.

[AdriftAtSea]

Actually, when I'm at anchor, not in my slip, I can leave my amas out and deploy my solar panels.  The solar panels can power the refrigerator and the rest of the boat for almost an indefinite period of time, provided I have enough sunlight.

[Captain Smollett]

provided I have enough sunlight.

That brings up a bigger question: a lot of folks think "tropical" when they hear or plan for cruising.  Who else besides me is "open to" (meaning DESIRES..hehe) high latitude sailing? 

The question is not simply 'enough sunlight' but 'enough DIRECT sunlight.'  Most panels do lose efficiency rapidly when the incident angle decreases.  I think most engineering estimates use five hours of usable sunlight - in ideal, no cloud tropical latitude conditions.

What happens to those numbers when one gets above, say 45-50 degrees latitude?

The up side is that in those conditions, refrigeration is less necessary!

[AdriftAtSea]

I've found that the panels actually produce more electricity than I can use at times... One panel, in the middle of the day is producing about 14 amps at 19 volts or so.  Even in the shade on a sunny day, I get juice off the panels... When I was first installing them, back in April or so, I noticed I was getting about .1 amp off of them in the shade at around 9 AM....

I'd rather sail in the temperate latitudes... don't like the heat enough to go to the tropics....don't like icebergs enough to go high-latitudes.. :D