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Installing Shore Power at Home

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Old 05-17-2013 | 09:50 AM
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Default Installing Shore Power at Home

Looking for some information/any helpful tips on installing a shore power hook-up at home. I am having my shop electrician do the install so I will not be doing the actual configuration, that's a good thing. One of my electrical boxes is in our garage and I have a 30 amp 220 open that was for a dryer that we do not need anymore from that panel. So the 30 amp is available without overloading the box, I get a 30 amp 110 breaker and have the electrician run it to a new shore power hook up on the outside of the garage. Is the 30 amp 110 correct and is all that is needed? Do I need more amps? This would be a dedicated breaker. I want to be able to let my battery charger work, and run the fridge overnight for next day use, play the stereo when cleaning, etc. I'm not looking to run the A/C in the driveway with a water hook-up, if that matters. I have a Fastech 353 with A/C, fridge, battery charger, stereo with a few amplifiers, the rest is standard issue electrical. Thanks for helping the new guy!
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Old 05-17-2013 | 10:03 AM
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Why not just buy a regular 110v wall outlet plug to 30A shore power adapter cord and plug it in. I did exactly what you looking to do with one of these for years in my 382. Food stayed cold for the few hours it was unplugged to get to the ramp on Friday night and got fired back up once the boat was in the water.

Here's the first one I found but they can be found cheaper:
https://www.easternmarine.com/index....FRJp7AodbCAAEw
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Old 05-17-2013 | 10:54 AM
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Originally Posted by t500hps
Why not just buy a regular 110v wall outlet plug to 30A shore power adapter cord and plug it in. I did exactly what you looking to do with one of these for years in my 382. Food stayed cold for the few hours it was unplugged to get to the ramp on Friday night and got fired back up once the boat was in the water.

Here's the first one I found but they can be found cheaper:
https://www.easternmarine.com/index....FRJp7AodbCAAEw
Thanks for info. I bought the same pigtail you show and plugged it into a 20 amp 110 circuit in my garage and it trips the GFCI the second I flip the switch on the boat panel. I figured there was too many amps being required of the existing line in my garage. Could be the GFCI in the outlet is not rated for the full 20 amp draw on that circuit? Did you have a battery charger and fridge running off your set-up?
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Old 05-17-2013 | 03:18 PM
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Draw is more than likely not the culprit with a tripping GFI. It is more likely a bad/leaky ground condition.
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Old 05-17-2013 | 03:45 PM
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Originally Posted by VoodooRob
Thanks for info. I bought the same pigtail you show and plugged it into a 20 amp 110 circuit in my garage and it trips the GFCI the second I flip the switch on the boat panel. I figured there was too many amps being required of the existing line in my garage. Could be the GFCI in the outlet is not rated for the full 20 amp draw on that circuit? Did you have a battery charger and fridge running off your set-up?
Actually I did. Although the battery charger does not need to be on while the frig is running. I assume you've tried it with just one item running to see if your pulling too many amps. I would only use the frig about 48 hours before I left for an overnight trip. turn it on Wed night, load the food, etc Thurs night, unplug and leave Friday night.
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Old 05-17-2013 | 06:20 PM
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I have a specific outlet wired in my building for my shore power. It's on it's own circuit (own breaker). It's an industrial single 30A rated outlet and a 30A circuit breaker in the box. Unless it's near water, I don't see the need for it to be a GFI.
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Old 05-21-2013 | 12:08 PM
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Originally Posted by scarabman
Draw is more than likely not the culprit with a tripping GFI. It is more likely a bad/leaky ground condition.
+1

My brother was having weird electrical problems on his boat and called me to take a look at it, it was a good thing he never connected shore power. If your GFI is tripping, make sure you check everything before you go any further.
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Old 05-21-2013 | 12:33 PM
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Thank you for the comments. My shop electrician came over and ran a dedicated outlet for me. He set it up with a 20 amp 110 , no GFI, and a weather-tite box on the outside of my garage. I plugged in the pigtail adapter for the shore power and life is good! Fridge runs all night and battery charger is spot on. For some reason the GFI on my internal garage outlets was tripping, so this new dedicated line was the solution. I plugged in a small compressor from my shop in the same internal garage GFI and it tripped, just like when the boat was plugged. So my existing GFI needs to be looked at, glad it wasn't an issue with the new to us boat!
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