SmartPlug 30A, 120v Shore Power Inlet, Stainless

Can you believe that your shore power plug was designed before World War II (in 1938, in fact)? While it has been in use for more than 70 years, it has several critical flaws.

Since it is symmetrical, we have all struggled with aligning the plug to the receptacle properly, while trying not to cross thread the locking ring on the boat's inlet. The original design uses curved blades with detents to hold the plug in the socket. The blades and detents themselves carry most of the force needed to hold the plug in place. The slightest misalignment of the plug in the socket caused by the weight of the cord and the tip of the detent to moves out of the hole on the blade. Now a tiny contact patch where the tip of the detent is touching the blade is all that is carrying the current. The small contact area creates a high resistance connection resulting in heat buildup. Heat buildup in the plug is responsible for most boat electrical fires. Lastly, the "water resistant" seal on the plug is questionable at best.

The new SmartPlug system addresses all of these deficiencies:

The plug's boat connection can only fit one way.

Two latches, one on each side of the plug snap easily home and hold it securely in the socket.

Rather than a threaded locking ring, the cover itself locks the plug into place. Hinge the cover closed and two additional tabs secure the plug in the socket. The first tab actually levers the plug fully into the socket.

The SmartPlug uses Nickel plated straight blades with 20 times the contact area of rounded blades. This provides a safe, low resistance connection to prevent heat buildup.

If all else fails, the inlet includes a built in thermal shutoff which interrupts power if the temperature reaches 200 degrees, a lower temperature than the melting point of the insulation.

Power is reconnected automatically when the temperature drops to around 135 degrees so bilge pumps and battery chargers will function properly.

An improved design waterproof seal can actually be submerged without admitting water into the plug.

Converting to this new system is easy and takes an hour or less using basic hand tools. The boat's receptacle even uses the standard mounting hole pattern, so you don't need to drill new holes.

This kit is the retrofit receptacle for the boat end only. You simply remove your old receptacle and replace it with the new one. You will need either a retrofit plug or the new SmartPlug shore power cord to connect to shore power at your old dockside connection or in any other marina providing the old standard 30A service. Your boat will be protected.

Catalina Direct has never before offered shore power components in the past. Frankly, that is because every system available has the same dangerous design flaws. And no other company has had the chutzpa to go against the entrenched bureaucrats at Underwriters Laboratories who refuse to consider that a 70 year old design could be improved upon.

The many improvements provided by SmartPlug make this power supply system both easier to use and much safer. That's a combination Catalina Direct can get behind! With the added safety and convenience of this new system, we feel this is a terrific system that is worth having.

Note: This product is designed for North American 120v systems. It is not appropriate for use with the European 240v system.