Shore power cords: Marinco vs Furrion ?

[Rxflyer]

While looking around for a 50 amp, 125/250v shore power cord, there is the option of Marinco and Furrion. I guess Furrion is the new kid in town, and their prices are quite a bit lower than Marinco's. Anyone have any experience with the Furrion brand ? Just wondering if this is a case of 'ya get what ya pay for' or if you're just paying more for the Marinco name ? Also, if anyone has a great source for one of these big, honkin' 50 footers, please share. Pricey devils, they be. Guess that's why we have 2 kidneys...Thanks.

 

[skibum]

No info on the Furrion, but I have the Marinco that has the red light near the female end. I really like this feature as it enables me to tell if the dock tower that I just plugged into is working just by stepping on the swim platform and looking at the plug where it goes into the shore power outlet. I can't tell you how often it happens to everyone else, but I seem to have a knack for locating dead power outlets and bad breakers. I'd be lost without that little light. Its a great feature...

 

[Dasch Boat]

I'm on my third season with Furion cable and "Y" adapter, no issues.

 

[fwebster]

Why would you need a 50A cable? Doesn't a 300DA have 30A connectors? 2- 30A cords carry more amperage, weigh a lot less and will cost a fraction of that a 50' 50A cable.

 

[HUMPH]

Why would you need a 50A cable? Doesn't a 300DA have 30A connectors? 2- 30A cords carry more amperage, weigh a lot less and will cost a fraction of that a 50' 50A cable.

I agree with Frank, a 30 amp is all you should need. I don't agree that a 30 amp carries more amperage than a 50 amp though. 50 amp cords are heavy as hell!

 

[dpmulvey]

Agree with Frank. I think (HOPE) he means the adapter Frank.

If adapters are what you are looking for, Marinco's are on e-bay for around $100

 

[HUMPH]

Agree with Frank. I think (HOPE) he means the adapter Frank.

If adapters are what you are looking for, Marinco's are on e-bay for around $100

Could be but he also is asking for 50 footers...

 

[MonacoMike]

Why would you need a 50A cable? Doesn't a 300DA have 30A connectors? 2- 30A cords carry more amperage, weigh a lot less and will cost a fraction of that a 50' 50A cable.

Frank, are you talking about doubling up the 30a cords? That is how I took it. MM

 

[fwebster]

I didn't check the 300DA specs, but most boats that have a need for more than 30 amps do it with 2 30A inlets up to about 45 or so ft in length at which point they change to 50A 240V service with a single 50A cable. 50 ft of 50A cabling is so heavy that boats using them usually have powered cable feeds like the Glendinning CableMaster. If you split the 2 legs in a 50A cable service to use it with a 120V boat, you get 25A per leg which is less than you would have if you provided the power with 2 30A cables instead of one 50A. It makes no difference to me, but the original poster would have more current, 1/2 or less the weight to handle for 1/3 the cost if he used 2-30A cables instead of one 50.

 

[Rxflyer]

If all goes according to plan, the soon-to-be next boat requires the big cable. My info is that the Glendinning holds 50 ft of cable. IF I decide to dock bow-in, there won't be enough cable to reach the outlet comfortably, so I'm considering the 50 ft extension for my 50 ft slip.

 

[fwebster]

Gotcha............

You know that you can make your own cable? Since your application is one where the 50A cable never needs to be removed from the dock, you could just get some #6/4 exterior wire and put commonly available plug/recepticle on it. The Marinco plugs are standard electrical designs, just with a sealing ring. As long as you put it where it is not subject to getting wet, there is no reason to buy a specialty marine cable. Also, the chances of a pretty yellow 50A cable surviving thieves is substantially less than those of an ugly black wire screwed to the underside of the dock.

 

[dpmulvey]

Gotcha............

You know that you can make your own cable? Since your application is one where the 50A cable never needs to be removed from the dock, you could just get some #6/4 exterior wire and put commonly available plug/recepticle on it. The Marinco plugs are standard electrical designs, just with a sealing ring. As long as you put it where it is not subject to getting wet, there is no reason to buy a specialty marine cable. Also, the chances of a pretty yellow 50A cable surviving thieves is substantially less than those of an ugly black wire screwed to the underside of the dock.

If he were to follow your plan, would the breaker have to be moved to the closer location or would an extra 50 feet of cord matter?

 

[fwebster]

Depends upon the length of the run and the wire sizes. With his plan, he still has a cable on his boat and he will likely not need a full 50' , but it all depends upon the length he decides he needs and the sizes of the conductors.

 

[douglee25]

In my recent check, the wiring ends for a 50 amp cable start at $100/end. They are not cheap.

Doug

 

[Greg]

If you split the 2 legs in a 50A cable service to use it with a 120V boat, you get 25A per leg which is less than you would have if you provided the power with 2 30A cables instead of one 50A.

Isn't a 50A/240V service good for 50A per leg, giving 100 Amps of 120V vs 60 Amps?

 

[douglee25]

Let me correct this again (2nd time) -

If you have a 50 amp/240v service, you have 12,000 watts of available power.

If you have a 30 amp/120v service, you have 3600 watts of available power.

Yes, a 50 amp service has two 50 amp legs, but you can't get anymore than 12,000 watts total out of that 240v service.

Doug

 

[Larry]

As Greg stated...

On a 50A/240V line you do have 50A per phase (leg) for a theoretical total of 100A
On a 30A/110 line you have 30A per cord because these are single phase 110V

Without doing an Ohm's law leason, this should simplify it...

 

[Jaws]

Getting back to the original question. I have a Furrion 25' 50A 240v extension cable purchased from Defender, I believe. It has blue lights on either end. I use it at dock when stern-in so I don't have to use the cable master. The Furrion cable seems to have good quality connectors and I have had no issues other than it's yellow. Consider a 25' cable if that's all you might need in addition to the boat's main cable. A 50' extension is pretty awkward and heavy if you want some portability. Otherwise make one as Frank suggests.

 

[Rxflyer]

I figure I shouldn't tempt Murphy's electrical gremlins by rolling my own shore power cord, but that is a good idea...

 

[The Bill Collector]

I have 240v 50amp on a Glendinning cable master (power assisted) 50' cable. I have a 25' extension of 240/50 (gifted to me free of charge), I also carry 3 x 50' 120v 30amp cords, 1 y adapter 2x 120v 30amp to 240v 50amp, 2 x 120v 50amp to 120v 30amp, 1 x 120v 30amp to 120v 50amp and 120v 50amp to 240v 50amp...... It isn't easy being green (or cheap !!!!)