Cruising Sailors Forum Archive

My Opinion on Smart Plug

Okay I make my living as an industrial electrician not marine electrician. Overall I am impressed with the presentation on this product. I am curious on how reliable the high temperature cutout feature is. Even if it did not always reset itself the fact that it is designed to break contact at 200 degrees is a huge plus in my opinion. I have seen many charred wires and melted plugs and often the problem was loose connections inside the boat on the receptacle where the wires terminate in the back of the plug. ( the wire between your 120v panel and the shore power cord) Checking the tightness of the screws holding the wires at that high current location is the source of loose connections and heat. This design still has that old 1938 termination style as far as I can see, however the thermal cutout would protect the wiring if it does disconnect at 200 deg. The prong, sleeve and locking look like a big improvement to me. For you maintenance minded sailors, when was the last time you checked the torque on your shore power receptacle and what did you find? Fair Winds

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