Ah, Ha! Just as Arild said, inherently unsafe and probably fattening. Ron -----Original Message----- From: Keith I use mine (home-made from marine parts) to plug in my shop fan and a couple of times a year, guitar amplifiers and PA systems

No good mariner would be without one of these little adapters. I have a Marinco 81A. I have used it exactly as suggested, to run a power tool on the docks. I have also found it invaluable in diagnosing a shore power problem. Just this summer we pulled into an assigned transient slip and daisy chained power cords to a horrible looking shore power outlet and came up empty. The guy on the radio at the marina did not want to walk down the dock and insisted that their power was good. The only way I could get him to move his butt and flip a breaker that I did not have access to was to plug in a drill directly to the 30 amp outlet and show him his power was dead. Do we know that it is unsafe to run 30 amps through a 14 awg wire? Uniform building code says it is not acceptable. That is a very conservative standard for construction of buildings. I have a hunch that it is safe for a short term temporary connection. Anyone willing to run the test? My little 81A says "CAUTION Amperage drawn thru this adapter should be limited to the lowest rated end" It also has the UL emblem. It does not say "Drawing 30 amps is a misdemeanor and will void all insurance policies" <g> The bottom line is use common sense. These things are very handy. Eric Thoman Abyssinia

----- Original Message ----- From: "Kim Boyce & Eric Thoman" <kimeric@gocarefully.com> > Do we know that it is unsafe to run 30 amps through a 14 awg wire? > Uniform > building code says it is not acceptable. That is a very conservative > standard for construction of buildings. I have a hunch that it is safe > for > a short term temporary connection. Anyone willing to run the test? > The bottom line is use common sense. These things are very handy. REPLY okay here is the deal. The majority of #14 Ga extension cords are rated good for 15Aand will have PVC insulation rated for 75C or maybe 85C at most. In theory this insulation will carry 20A for a short while. But the wire will get hot. In fact it will get so hot the PVC softens. It will not burst into flame. (yet) BUT unless the cord is run exactly in a straight line you will develop problems where it bends. The softened plastic isulation will deform under stress at the bend and the wire inside will push out to the side. If the insulation allows the wire to move far enough it will exit the insulation. The other wires will also shift. Tests have demonstrated that this usually results in a short circuit, sometimes with an arc that could cause fires. Its one thing to tap-off for one power tool right there on the dock and run a tool that inherently limited to less than 15 amps. It is quite another to plug in a boat system or other large load using a #14 Ga extension cord. This was the implication of the original post. Electrical codes have developed because so many people demonstrate a lack of common sense. But I suppose in the land of the free everyone should be allowed to place themsleves at risk. Just don't involve somebody else. Arild

<2elnav@netbistro.com> writes: >Electrical codes have developed because so many people demonstrate a lack of >common sense. But I suppose in the land of the free everyone should be >allowed to place themsleves at risk. Just don't involve somebody else. Yes, it's a good thing that there have never been any fires at docks caused by overloaded electrical connections. Such a fire might endanger not only your own boat but every other boat on the dock. But I guess that's pretty unlikely. After all, these electrical codes are just stupid rules dreamed up by pencil-necked bureaucrats with nothing better to do. Scott