DIY Shore Power Cables SEOOW

[Midnightsun]

This mostly pertains to 50A cords which are rather pricey, heavy and stiff. This will also apply to 30a however the cost savings vs standard marine cable is not as significant nor as beneficial.

I went through this when I got Midnight Sun a few years ago. The shore power cable was rather stiff not to mention disgusting (whoever thought a white power cord was a good idea should be shot!) which does not float my boat. I guess this all came about after getting sticker shock when looking to replace the original unit I got with the boat. The OEM 50a shore power cord like I have is huge in comparison to the standard 30a stuff not to mention much heavier. Started looking at what was available that is lighter, more flexible, smaller in overall diameter and with better specs than the standard off the shelf marine cords out there.

Since I prefer to have a permanent dock cord that remains at my dock all season and a 65' unit on board for travel, it was a good solution for me to buy 100' of bulk and end plugs to make my own 2 cords to my desired length. After lots of research, I went with 6/4 SEOOW type cord and installed marine plugs as required. By far the most cost effective, lightest and easiest to handle solution as opposed to standard off the shelf marine cords.

Note that 6 gauge is standard for 50a marine shore power cables and rated at 55a when using less than 3 current carrying wires such as in 50a applications for boats.

SEOOW specs. https://rexel-cdn.com/products/coleman- ... 5396A66C46

[Viper]

The 6 awg wire is non UL and CSA listed. If there is an insurance claim in the future as the result of an AC cord related fire either at the pedestal, the vessel's inlet, cord, or worse, this could be your insurance companies way out. You might want to dig a little deeper into that Hans, if you give them a way out of a claim, they'll take it.

[Midnightsun]

Yep, caught that however it also does say.

Sizes 8 AWG through 2 AWG are non-UL and non-CSA Listed, but meet industry accepted standards for the insulation
and jacket thickness.

Really not worried about it however good to mention it. They would be setting themselves up for massive law suits if they sell a wire that could cause issues. Only difference IMHO is it was not CSA or UL submitted which normally hikes the cost substantially for the end user. I would be concerned if I bought this from eBay shipped from China but Southwire is a very big US manufacturer.

A little info on Southwire. Actually quite impressive. https://www.southwire.com/about-us

[bud37]

Consider the reason those Marine rated 50amp cords are so much heavier than the industrial...just sayin and the ratings alone.......please be careful.

[Midnightsun]

Thanks for looking out for me however 6 gauge is 6 gauge. Standard cable used for marine use is SOOW.

SEOOW is the same thing except the outer shell is a thermoplastic elastomer which is a step up and actually cost quite a bit more.

The thermoplastic elastomer jacket is what sets this SEOOW family apart from the SOOW & SJOOW portable cords. This thermoplastic contains chemical resistance characteristics of PVC & flexible properties of rubber.

In more general terms the SEOOW is a high-quality flexible cord engineered with plastic characteristics and rubber jacketed material while the SOOW counterpart is only made up of a rubber jacket. The SEOOW is also more resistant to water than SOOW and can be used at lower temperatures—the SEOOW temperature range is –50ºC to 105ºC.

[bud37]

Source of the post Thanks for looking out for me however 6 gauge is 6 gauge

Yes I am , but also other folk that may see this and not have your level of skill and attention to detail to make the cord properly. Its not the gage.

Please don't take offence, Honestly I like the thought to try and improve, but just don't think this is a good idea for most.

I will stick with the rubber,light colored, rated cords that have properly sealed ends etc....wonder why the soow is rated for marine dockside cord service and the other has no such mention, there has to be a reason.

[Midnightsun]

.wonder why the soow is rated for marine dockside cord service and the other has no such mention, there has to be a reason.

I suspect it has to do with the CSA standards requirement for marine use or an ABYC requirement to have CSA approved cable .

I do have many decades of experience working with 600/460 3 phase where we use a lot of SOOW so yes I have more experience than the average Joe. One thing I can tell you is 600v bites pretty hard, ask me how I know.

[mjk1040]

Midnight I'll bet you found the short a few times! YES!

[Viper]

Source of the post ....6 gauge is 6 gauge...

Actually that's not the case. Don't know the spec of the wire you're talking about but marine rated wire for example has a lot more strands than your standard stranded wire which means more surface area. That on it's own is a big beneficial difference.

The yellow and white aren't just for looks, it minimizes heat soak in the sun. Anything darker will de-rate the spec of the wire in direct sunlight. Black will certainly get hotter in the sun than yellow or white.

Not trying to convince one way or the other, if it meets your particular comfort level then that's all that should matter for you personally. Just putting the caution out there for everyone's benefit. Ultimately the decision lies with the boat owner, but you don't know what you don't know and it's all fine until something goes wrong. Consider this though, if you buy a home appliance that is not CSA approved and it is determined to be the cause of burning your house down, it's likely you'll be tied up in courts for years before realizing a settlement from your insurer, if you even get one. It's happened. And that doesn't matter whether it's made in China or the US and Canada. Look, once again I'll say that there are some things on a boat that you can get away with using unconventional parts for but if it's for a system that could have safety or legal repercussions, then why take the chance? Ya the cords are expensive but that's boating. Cut back on something else is my personal recommendation.

[tomschauer]

Hans, I personally wouldn't be as worried about the cord type, so long as the ratings meet the requirements of the elements it is subjected to, My concern is the connectors. The "packaged" power cords of course have the molded water tight connectors.
What did you use? If there is something out there that will properly do the job, I'm interested.