50A shore power adapters in Mexico

[Capt.Don]

Planning on cruising the Sea of Cortez, Mexico and would like to be prepared with the more common 50A (male) to 30A (female) shore power adapter. I've been in marinas before where they only had 50A dock supply.

From what I can tell, there are two 50A - 30A "dogbone" adapters: (1) 50A 125V (3 prongs w/1 tab) and (2) 50A 125V/250V (3 prongs w/2 tabs and metal shield). Which 50A dockside supply will I more likely encounter?

Thanks!
Don

[tanglewood]

50A 120/240V. At least that's what I encountered.

[coopec43]

Is this any help?

https://www.power-plugs-sockets.com/au/mexico/

Clive

[zeehag]

i am not in soc, but i find 30 amp easily in all marinas i have visited in mainland mexico. twist lock outlets with a 50 and a 30 in same pedestal. i have required no pigtail adapters in mex, but have in gulf of mexico, port st joe. funny how that works.

clive, your outlets and plugs are household issue. the docks use same as usa. 30 amp and 50 amp twist lock marinco or hubbel. do be aware the current is 137 v not 120. our equipment does well with surge protection. surge happens in mexico.

[Capt.Don]

Originally Posted by zeehag

i am not in soc, but i find 30 amp easily in all marinas i have visited in mainland mexico. twist lock outlets with a 50 and a 30 in same pedestal. i have required no pigtail adapters in mex, but have in gulf of mexico, port st joe. funny how that works.

clive, your outlets and plugs are household issue. the docks use same as usa. 30 amp and 50 amp twist lock marinco or hubbel. do be aware the current is 137 v not 120. our equipment does well with surge protection. surge happens in mexico.

Thanks Zee! Glad to know most marinas support 30 amp and no need for 50 amp pigtail. Still thinking about an adapter, just in case
Don

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by Capt.Don

Thanks Zee! Glad to know most marinas support 30 amp and no need for 50 amp pigtail. Still thinking about an adapter, just in case
Don

where i am, in summer i use 2 30 amp outlets..one for a/c and one for fridge and the rest of living. aint no issue here. megas use 2 of the 50 amp outlets, so my 2 of the 30s is not an issue. life works on one 30 amp outlet until it rains hard then my boat squawks about its usages and pops and sparks and quits, so i use 2 to split the load some, until this issue is cured. something about a mizzenmast... but that is another story.

[contrail]

Originally Posted by zeehag

i am not in soc, but i find 30 amp easily in all marinas i have visited in mainland mexico. twist lock outlets with a 50 and a 30 in same pedestal. i have required no pigtail adapters in mex, but have in gulf of mexico, port st joe. funny how that works.

clive, your outlets and plugs are household issue. the docks use same as usa. 30 amp and 50 amp twist lock marinco or hubbel. do be aware the current is 137 v not 120. our equipment does well with surge protection. surge happens in mexico.

That's interesting!!! I used to manage one of the larger marinas there and we were most certainly not providing 137 volts!

[01kiwijohn]

Zeehag, is that 137V their actual supply voltage or a max surge voltage? Here, in Tacoma, I've seen 127V from shore power, so such a fluctuation wouldn't surprise me.

[zeehag]

was measured in a specific marina when a friends brand newly installed charger invertor blew out the invertor side. some go as low as 130, and we have not measured the spikes yet.
at land dwellings it is pretty steady 130-137 volts. spikes are not fun.
i remember back in the day when electricity in mexico was faint--noticeably so between sd and tijuana. life in mexico has changed for their better. they have ELECTRICITY now

[01kiwijohn]

Quite a fluctuation. FYI, I installed a whole house surge protector, in my old boat, and that seems to have kept things within reason. I was once tied up at a fishing dock where others were having all kinds of problems, but mine didn't seem to be affected.

[SV Sailfish]

As Zeehag said...

Finding 30 amp at marinas in Mexico is no problem. All the docks we have been at have had both 30 and 50 setups similar to the U.S.

But carry an adapter if it will give you more peace of mind. (I have a 5 year old Marinco 50 to 30 adapter that is still in it's plastic wrap as we have had no need for it.)

Yet.

[Capt Gill]

Originally Posted by zeehag

was measured in a specific marina when a friends brand newly installed charger invertor blew out the invertor side. some go as low as 130, and we have not measured the spikes yet.
at land dwellings it is pretty steady 130-137 volts. spikes are not fun.
i remember back in the day when electricity in mexico was faint--noticeably so between sd and tijuana. life in mexico has changed for their better. they have ELECTRICITY now

Here on the East side of BCS the voltage is 120 +or- 5v (excluding surges) at the marinas I've been, on the mainland I don't recall having that high voltage, however next time I'm o'there I'll definitely check it with a v/meter. Thanks for the warning.

[KP44]

Thus far, all shorepower we have seen in the Sea of Cortez has had 30 amp 120v available. Some places also have 50 amp available.
I think near the entrance (Cabo / la Paz) there will be more 50 amp. But inside the Sea of Cortez we have never needed an adapter of any kind. Only in Canada did we ever need an adapter.
Contrary to what I have heard all my life, power in Mexico is the same as in the USA; 120v AC 60 hz.

[Eder]

I had 135v+ in Baja Sur. I just ignored it.

[CaptainJohn49]

This is off topic just a little bit. I live in Montana and I want to have an engine bay light and 2 battery heaters on my Flicka 20. I want to be able to have a thru hull (permanent) waterproof 110v 15A plug-in in stainless. I intend to put this in the area of the engine control panel so it will be out of the way in the cockpit. I can find a plug like this from Minn Kota (AC Power Port) or Leviton but I want stainless plug. This circuit would only be used for storage at the house and I have a GFIC plug and a water proof outdoor housing for the extension cord so we don't have the issues around the waterfront.

So if anyone knows of a 110v 15A stainless male plug with cover please let me know. I don't like drilling holes in the boat so I want to do it right the first time.

Thanks in Advance
CaptainJohn49