Shore Power Plugs In Europe

[Roy M]

In the US, we typically have available shore power at either 30 or 50 amps, 120VAC and 60 cycle, and the connections are standard three prong twist locks, sized by the supplied current. The power cords are generally #10/3 wire in 50 foot (16 meter) lengths.

In other parts of the world it's different, and specifically, in those parts of Europe I've visited, its 240 volts at 50 cycles.

I'm asking this question because, should I ever choose to visit Europe, I will probably be staying at docks, from time to time, and I'll want to charge my batteries. My plan is to install a marine battery charger for 240/50. For my onboard needs I will use my inverter to convert the 12VDC to 120 VAC/60 cycle to operate my onboard equipment that uses it.

Is there an equivalent standard shorepower plug that is used in Europe, now that the EU has had a chance to get organized? I want to install a plug on the boat, connected to a breaker and a couple European outlets, say, to use an electric heater. I am most interested in those systems I'd find in Great Britain and Ireland, Scandinavia and the Baltic ports. And just for curiosity, what about Southern Europe and the Med (including Turkey)? I though I could buy individual shore side female plugs and change them as needed , but I'd like to have a single male, ship's plug for the power cord. I would also like to know if there is a standard length of power cord used by our forum members. Please include weblinks, if possible.

[goboatingnow]

Almost Universal in marinas ( and caravan and camp sites) in Europe including Ireland & UK is the IEC 60309 3 pin round " blue plug". Either as a standard size 16A version or the bigger 32A version. Generally the smaller is common ( and ubiquitous in Ireland the the Uk) you can then rig a 16 to 32 A fly lead so to accommodate some marinas with larger supply. The IEC 60309 system is available in the US.

Yellow plugs 110v
Blue 230 v
Red 3phase 440

See http://www.internationalconfig.com/D...4Catalog/j.pdf or google " Iec 60309 plug" there's as common as mud in Europe you'll get them in chandeliers,hardware stores etc. occasionally there is a " funny" marina plug/socket usually to stop you stealing the electricity. But it's rare now.

Also the shore side supply pillars will have local trips and integrated earth leakage breakers. IMHO the setup is superior to typical US marinas setups. I suppose it has to be given its 230 vac.

As to lengths I make up two 15 metre lengths with male/female IEC 60309 sets. This lets me have a "normal" and a extended set and a backup as well.

The IEC 60309 is far superior to the US Marino flat blade connectors as it has far more pin contact area. The arcing common in that plug is eliminated in the 60309. The downside is the disconnect force is much higher.

If you want to be truly to code that wire it with " blue" outdoor cable known in the Uk & Ireland as " Artic" cable. It's the type used on construction sites to power portable devices. It should be marked BASEC approved or equivalent ( there are some knock-offs). Remember in Europe "blue" signifies 230vac.


Note the shore side of the cable will be a male plug and the ships side is female. IEC 60309 females trailing sockets contain an integrated sprung loaded lid to close off acces to the female sockets pins when in use.

So in general theres no need for lots of connectors at all.

I would also rig a small fly lead with a 60309 plug and socket with the live and neutral reversed. Handy when you come across a marina pillar wired incorrectly.
Dave

[Roy M]

Dave, thank you for answering my question so completely. I'm sure this thread will be a great resource for anyone from our side of the pond considering a visit to your side.

One more question, please: I would like to install a "generic" 230/50 outlet inside my boat to access Euroelectrical power when I need it. I foresee the advantage of being able to purchase a small electrical heater, or have an outlet to power a European power tool on occasion when at a dock.

For all other times, using my onboard 120VAC/60 Hz microwave, blender, computer power supply, cordless battery chargers, etc., I will be using my Magnum 2000 inverter, without the charger function. To recharge the battery bank, I would install an appropriate 230/50 battery charger as a separate unit. My plan is to connect the shore power cordset to the boat's 60309 male receptacle, and send the power to a separate 230/50 distribution panel allowing me to have separate circuit breakers for the 230/50 charger, and another for the 230/50 generic outlet. Then, I can get a set of international adaptors at a travel store (assuming this is still the normal condition today) to allow me to use small Euro tools and appliances onboard. Your thoughts?

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Roy M

Dave, thank you for answering my question so completely. I'm sure this thread will be a great resource for anyone from our side of the pond considering a visit to your side.

One more question, please: I would like to install a "generic" 230/50 outlet inside my boat to access Euroelectrical power when I need it. I foresee the advantage of being able to purchase a small electrical heater, or have an outlet to power a European power tool on occasion when at a dock.

For all other times, using my onboard 120VAC/60 Hz microwave, blender, computer power supply, cordless battery chargers, etc., I will be using my Magnum 2000 inverter, without the charger function. To recharge the battery bank, I would install an appropriate 230/50 battery charger as a separate unit. My plan is to connect the shore power cordset to the boat's 60309 male receptacle, and send the power to a separate 230/50 distribution panel allowing me to have separate circuit breakers for the 230/50 charger, and another for the 230/50 generic outlet. Then, I can get a set of international adaptors at a travel store (assuming this is still the normal condition today) to allow me to use small Euro tools and appliances onboard. Your thoughts?

Yes while the external plugs and sockets are standardised the domestic plugs and sockets are country specific. The German Schuko socket is fairly generic, and adapters are easily bought. The other thing is the euro 2pin plug can be " forced" into the uk/ Irish socket also. But if picking a socket I'd avoid the 13 pin uk Ireland one and still go for Schuko see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schuko. The hybrid cee 7/7 Schuko socket is the nearest thing to a standard euro domestic socket.

Dave

[Roy M]

Thanks Dave! I especially appreciated the reference to sources and the background info. My best option is to plan to install the charger and ship's power cord when I make the decision to go to Europe, and to hold off purchasing the domestic side of the circuit until I get to the first real place I will be using it. Perhaps, by then, some new configurations will shake themselves out. I love Cruisers Forum.

[CharlieJ]

Your plan looks solid. Note that in the EU residual current devices (essentially, whole vessel GFCIs with 30mA/100mS trip) are required. Many cruisers buy RCDs that are purpose built for construction sites and use them rather than install them onboard.

Fundamental to this discussion is that normal shore power in the EU is 230VAC/50Hz @ 16A for 3.68kW. Note that this is nearly identical to the US version of shore power: 120VAC/60Hz @ 30A for 3.6kW.

The EU system has three conductors: brown > hot; blue > neutral and green w/yellow stripe (or just green) which is a non-current carrying safety ground.

[nigelmercier]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

... The German Schuko socket is fairly generic, and adapters are easily bought...

Nearly all of mainland Europe uses Schuko sockets, except Italy. Be warned that the earth/ground normally uses the prongs on the outside edge of the plug, adapters are often missing these.

[Auspicious]

I took a slightly different approach that worked for me. I stumbled on a Marinco adapter between Euro mail and Marinco/US female. Coupled with a UK tool transformer (230VAC to 117VAC) and a battery charger that was happy with 50 Hz I was set. Note that I have a 12VDC boat, so other than battery charger (sorted) and the A/C (not used) I was fine.

[AtlanticX]

I know this is an old thread, but I was hoping to get verification on one additional aspect... We are preparing to take our boat from the US to Ireland and Europe next year, and we have a US 50amp shore power connector. Our plan is only to use shore power to charge our 12V batteries and run everything off the inverter (and not use AC, etc.) since our battery charger can handle 50Hz just fine. I found this IEC60309 332P6 Male Plug to NEMA L6-30 Connector and was wondering if it is common practice to use two of them with a US 30amp->50amp Y-Cable adapter to provide us our 50Amp connection to our boat?

[CharlieJ]

@AtlanticX #9:
Does your boat have a 50A/125V (3 wire) shore power inlet or the more common 50A/250A (4 wire) connection?

Also, read #6 above: it is my understanding that a berth with more than 32A/230V (three wire) is rare and that you will generally find 16A/230V (three wire).

[AtlanticX]

@CharlieJ, thanks for your quick reply. Our boat has a NEMA SS2-50R 50A 125/250V (3-wire) shore power connector. We also have a Y Shore Power Adapter that we use when the dock only has 30A connections which can get us to the 50A we need for optimal charging.