Burnt terminal on 30 amp power cord

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, JRO.

[ValiantV]

Originally Posted by transmitterdan

Ummm, neither?

Neither would be my preference as well.

Burning up aside, bad connections make for poor operation of A/C, water heaters, and any other high-amperage appliances.

I've had an ongoing problem getting my A/C to work. Ongoing to the point that POs over 10 years ago noted the problem - and it only exists at marinas with "bad" power.

I was hoping the bad connection was the boat shore power connection. THAT I had control over and could rectify. The old 30A Marinco/Hubbell twist lock was showing it's age and inspired zero confidence. Loose and wobbly even when "locked". It had to go.

I replaced the boat end of the cable and boat-mounted receptical with a SmartPlug - but the problem persists. That leaves only the marina pedestal and wiring.

The problem is that when a big load like the A/C is switched on, the voltage drops, the compressor labors, the amps shoot up, and the main breaker trips. If I shut everything else off -WH, charger, outlets, it does crank up. This isn't a problem at other (better maintained) marinas.

[DeepFrz]

Originally Posted by ValiantV

Neither would be my preference as well.

Burning up aside, bad connections make for poor operation of A/C, water heaters, and any other high-amperage appliances.

I've had an ongoing problem getting my A/C to work. Ongoing to the point that POs over 10 years ago noted the problem - and it only exists at marinas with "bad" power.

I was hoping the bad connection was the boat shore power connection. THAT I had control over and could rectify. The old 30A Marinco/Hubbell twist lock was showing it's age and inspired zero confidence. Loose and wobbly even when "locked". It had to go.

I replaced the boat end of the cable and boat-mounted receptical with a SmartPlug - but the problem persists. That leaves only the marina pedestal and wiring.

The problem is that when a big load like the A/C is switched on, the voltage drops, the compressor labors, the amps shoot up, and the main breaker trips. If I shut everything else off -WH, charger, outlets, it does crank up. This isn't a problem at other (better maintained) marinas.

I would suggest that you split the loads between AC and all other house loads. It will mean installing another Smart Plug and cable of course but should eliminate your problem. It sounds like when the AC starts up it is loading the 30 amp. cct. to the max and newer, better maintained systems can cope but others can't.

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by Houston450

I have a similar problem with a slight twist. My shore side plug shows signs of burning and based on the recommendation here I will convert to smart plug. .........

Converting to a "Smart Plug" will do nothing to change the shore side end. The difference is only at the boat end.

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by ValiantV

............... The problem is that when a big load like the A/C is switched on, the voltage drops, the compressor labors, the amps shoot up, and the main breaker trips. If I shut everything else off -WH, charger, outlets, it does crank up. This isn't a problem at other (better maintained) marinas.

Speak with the marina manager (try your cord in a different pedestal first to help with troubleshooting).

My plug got welded to the marina receptacle. I finally got them apart and replaced the male end on my cord. I reported this to the marina manager and showed him my burnt plug. He replaced the receptacle.

Another time, I came to the boat and the pedestal breaker was tripped. I reset it and everything was fine for an hour or so, then it tripped. I repeated the process with the same result.

I plugged my boat into a different pedestal and everything was fine. I reported this to the manager and he replaced the breaker while I watched and handed him tools.

Most of the time these people do care about their customers.

[boatbod]

Originally Posted by transmitterdan

Ummm, neither?

Sure
But if you can only protect one end, I'd rather it be *my* end.

[transmitterdan]

Originally Posted by ValiantV

.The problem is that when a big load like the A/C is switched on, the voltage drops, the compressor labors, the amps shoot up, and the main breaker trips. If I shut everything else off -WH, charger, outlets, it does crank up. This isn't a problem at other (better maintained) marinas.

You may benefit from a hard start capacitor/relay kit if you have not tried one. The simple ones are inexpensive. Supco SPP6 is a hard start capacitor designed for A/C compressors. There is also another so-called Smart Start device by Dometic. This is similar to the Supco except it has the ability to change the start capacitance value and after a few starts learns the best capacitor to resonate with your specific motor during the start phase. This can greatly reduce the startup current and prevent nuisance breaker tripping you describe.