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Advice on making winter accessories easier....


MalibuWantToBe

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Recently moving to South Carolina has been great as it has extended my ski season and even plan to ski on Christmas Day, just to say I did. But the weather will change and I want to protect my boat while not having to mini-winterize multiple times this year (did it 3 times last year). If a deep freeze was coming I will still run out and drain everything, but for the lighter freezes I bought a bilge heater. I also have a wireless transponder to relay the temperature in the bilge area.

So what I'm looking for is advice or suggestions on hooking up the bilge heater and the battery charger. The boat is on lift on our pier right outside the back door. I have power on the lift piling. Last year I just ran and extension cord into the boat under the passenger hatch and plugged in the battery maintainer which was clamped on to the posts. So up until 30 minutes ago I figured I would just run two extension cords, one to the battery maintainer and the other to the new bilge heater. But then I read someone else's post on their battery charger setup and thought there must be a better way.

I'm now thinking I would like to do something similar. Where I would be able to run 1 extension cord into the boat, and plug it into a inlet that would then power a permanently installed bilge heater and a new permanently installed battery maintainer... From a parts perspective am I looking at compatible parts? Will one extension cord handle the load of both the battery maintainer and the bilge heater?

Here is the bilge heater I own: http://www.amazon.com/Hornet-Bilge-Engine-Compartment-Heater/dp/B00F996452

Based on the other post here is the battery maintainer I was considering: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F5EBR1C/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687542&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B001BSRLPW&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=11JPEG0W1TG2ZFSPN6HC

And for a inlet: http://www.amazon.com/NOCO-Genius-GCP1-Black-125V/dp/B009ANV81S/ref=sr_1_2?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1450675515&sr=1-2&keywords=port+plug

I couldn't find one that split providing two power supplies, so I was thinking of using this to split it for the two power supply lines I need.

http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-30669-Grounded-3-Outlet-Extension/dp/B003E46M2Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450676017&sr=8-1&keywords=extension+cord+2+outlet+outdoor

Any thoughts?

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300 + 360 watts (@ 6 amps) so well under the max for a 15 amp circuit. Maybe good to use a 14 gauge extension cord instead of the standard 16 gauge. Any grounded splitter would work. No need to spend $17.

Looks like you have a good plan.

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Looks good to me too. Hopefully your extension cord isn't too long. If I was feeling energetic, I might cut the edison ends off the cabling, then solder and heat shrink the cabling to make it more permanent (in a Y connection). But, making it not permanent may be a good thing too.

Steve B.

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I have a similar bilge heater, battery maintainer to 2 batteries, and a dehumidifing fan hooked up to a good quality 12g extension cord & 3 outlet adapter. No issues. But I still spend the 5 - 10 minutes to drain the engine, heater & shower. Peace of mind.

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Thanks for all the replies. I'm definitely worried about power outages. once it looks like we are in winter I drain for the piece of mind. I just want to cover myself while we are still getting good weather but the nights hit just below freezing. I want to make the hookup easy enough though that my wife or the kids can simply unplug the boat and go out and use it. And when done just plug it back in without me having to re-attach everything. Thanks again.

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I just did the same thing. Bought the plu you refunded then ran 12-3 SO cord to a receptacle I installed next to the batteries. I cam then plug in both the heater and the charger.

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Is that bilge heater going to like living in a wet environment after you permanently install it? I think I'd make it removable.

Maybe that would be a problem in Florida. But as dry as it is here, mine hasn't had a problem in almost 10 years. Winter I keep a dehumidifing fan in the boat, summer is usually bone dry unless we just had a water balloon fight in the boat. ;)

Edited by Bill_AirJunky
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Maybe that would be a problem in Florida. But as dry as it is here, mine hasn't had a problem in almost 10 years. Winter I keep a dehumidifing fan in the boat, summer is usually bone dry unless we just had a water balloon fight in the boat. ;)

How are they mounted? Would think that a heater would take a pretty good pounding in a small boat.

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Maybe that would be a problem in Florida. But as dry as it is here, mine hasn't had a problem in almost 10 years. Winter I keep a dehumidifing fan in the boat, summer is usually bone dry unless we just had a water balloon fight in the boat. ;)

I meant direct contact with water in the bilge. I try to keep mine dry, but sometimes it happens.

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How are they mounted? Would think that a heater would take a pretty good pounding in a small boat.

Mine bolted to the starboard side removable side panel, up high so it isn't sitting in any bilge water.

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Appreciate the posts on the mounting location. We have gotten a lot of rain lately and went into the boat yesterday to start checking out where I would put the heater. All the locations I had been considering were soaked. Not from the water coming up to that level, but my cover is not water tight and it puddles right on top of the rear seats. So it drips down. I like the idea of installing it on the side panel.

As much as I want a set it and forget it install, I think I will make the heater removable. It's more like Florida down here, very very humid. In fact today is muggy and humid.

Thanks Guys.

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