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That could be the safer approach. Breakers are not too expensive, so I will try that first. Thanks.

In a pinch and to verify, you could always quickly swap load with another 15A breaker, that would verify that was the source before replacement . As Duane said though breakers do have finite lives, tripping can shorten them.

hi,

one other observation: the genset and shorepower go thru different breakers. not sure how this figures in but it is one difference between what works and what doesn't.

John and Dianne,

Well, here we go again. We moved from one marina to another. When we plugged in, no problems. The voltage from the dock was 115 instead of 120 at the previous marina. It might have something to do with overall power quality. Possibly, not such a pure sine signature in all locations? In any case, I'm not going to beat this horse any further.

Thanks for your input.

Tim
M/V Expatriate
HN 068

I'm no electrical engineer, but I would imagine all the utility power in the USA is likely to have the same sine wave. Peak voltage where you tap in is another story.

Sounds like it will remain a mystery for a while longer.

also, water heaters don't care about sine wave. they just use whatever they get.

Tim,
You may not be getting 120v from shore, even if other boats around you are. The shore power connections here corrode and become big resistors. There's real danger there, as you can start a fire and there's no circuit breaker to do anything about it.

Look at the boat-side shore connection(s) (not the cord). Are there any brown stains?

if so, spend the money and convert to this:

https://smartplug.com/marine/

Brendan

Brendan,

I have 120 volts at the panel. My power cord and splitter are new. I think I just have a worn out breaker. The fact that it also blows the main breaker for the whole panel had me worried. After some study, I realized that these are, I think, just magnetic breakers. I do not think they are "arc fault" breakers like are required in commercial solar applications. An arc creates a spike in current that will trip the breaker or damage it. This is typically caused by worn connections or conductors. I have watched the inside of the panel when the breaker trips and have not seen an arc. I am thinking it arcs inside this worn out breaker, creating a current spike that blows the whole panel. Just a theory of course. Simplest thing is to just replace.

Tim