It’s that time of year folks. I’m sitting in my office on a cold dreary winter morning. As I stare out the window all I can see is white heat shrink on all the boats here in the yard. That means its also time to make a really simple but super important safety check on your own boat, especially if you are going to be leaving it plugged in at a dock all winter.
- Unplug the shore power cord and carefully inspect both ends looking for any sign of brown, burned plastic that is a sure sign of overheating.
- Check the dock box you are plugged into also, looking for the same, sometimes subtle evidence of overheated plastic insulation on the plugs, both the male and female sides of things.
The faults here may be in either side of the plug socket assembly so you are going to need to check that out carefully, Usually the problem is on the female side of the assembly, but often it will only show up on the male side. The bottom line is of course electrical resistance due to loose friction connections and the resultant heat that come from it. Now, just add a space heater on board to keep things toasty in the winter and you will amplify the current draw, and generate even more heat. Enough heat and we have a dock fire. You get the idea.
Make sure your check those cords now!
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