Shore Power Cables-gctid825217

[MerlinV]

Does anyone have a solution to cleaning up shore power cables that are really dirty? Our 50A cable looks like hell, and the yellow cover has faded for the first 25-30 feet, (the most used) and it has also become tacky, so it marks the gelcoat anywhere that it touches. The marks require either cut polishing or a wipe with Acetone to remove, but either way it's a real nuisance, particularly on the non-skid. I have tried most of the usual cleaners, including the Marinco shore cable cleaner, none of which did the trick.

As we have a Glendinning Cablemaster with about 75 feet of 50A cable, with a bonded male plug at one end, and a direct connection at the other, I'd rather not just throw this away and purchase all new cable if there was some way of getting it clean, and stabilizing the outer surface finish - any ideas?

[boatworkfl]

Some type of cleaning solution or solvent has contaminated the cable surface, it is hard to remove as it penetrated the surface of the jacket.

Contact some company like Marinco to see if there is a solution to cleaning that cable.

[Bay39]

First thing I did when I bought the boat was to purchase a brand new set of cables and Y-adapters (Marinco) - WHITE. These white cables blend in with the boat so well you hardly notice them. The yellow seems to fade faster and get black marks quicker. As far as cleaning them I use Seapower brand cleaner wax. Acetone will clean them but they remove the protective coating on the outer sleeves. I still kept the yellow cable for haul out and shipyard use or as an emergency. Marinco has also come out with a gray color if you want to go that route.


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[smitty477]

"MerlinV" post=825217 wrote:
Does anyone have a solution to cleaning up shore power cables that are really dirty? Our 50A cable looks like hell, and the yellow cover has faded for the first 25-30 feet, (the most used) and it has also become tacky, so it marks the gelcoat anywhere that it touches. The marks require either cut polishing or a wipe with Acetone to remove, but either way it's a real nuisance, particularly on the non-skid. I have tried most of the usual cleaners, including the Marinco shore cable cleaner, none of which did the trick.

As we have a Glendinning Cablemaster with about 75 feet of 50A cable, with a bonded male plug at one end, and a direct connection at the other, I'd rather not just throw this away and purchase all new cable if there was some way of getting it clean, and stabilizing the outer surface finish - any ideas?

Although I have not done it myself I have had a a couple of friends paint their cables with spray paint specifically designed for plastics and flexible materials.

They located the plastic/vinyl paint in the 'safety' yellow color which was a very close match to the in-faded parts of their cables.

FWIW - when we had to replace our 50/250 cable we went with a black cover mining cable which did not fade ,discolor, stain or fail in any way over about 10 years up till we sold the boat.

[Sunbird]

I have had pretty good luck cleaning cables up with lacquer thinner. After I get them clean I coat them with armor all or 303 protectant. This restores the shine and they look very good.

[businessgetmoney]

Dont they make a fabric sleeve for them?

[SuperiorDiver]

We had good luck with Goo Gone. Works on the fiberglass for the yellow marks from the cord, too.

[Timcup]

Acetone also works well. Then 303 to protect.

[igiftmon]

Hey Rob,

I have the same issue and was thinking of cleaning the cable jacket with a solvent or some sort, but then as I thought about it, I decided against it due to fear of residual fumes. If the cable was stored differently I wouldn't be as concerned. But with the enclosed auto-reel system that we have, the circuit breakers located just above the storage area of the cable and given the jacket's substrate's potential of retaining solvents, it is possible to create a fire hazard if one of the breakers of any of the connections corroded and/or got hot for some reason. This happened to me and I realized if I had many fumes it couldve caused an issue. I'm not trying to be a Henry Penny, just figure better safe than sorry.. This issue is something that we try to be aware of in aerospace applications, as many substrates, from vinyls to polychloroprenes, can absorb and retain certain solvent chemistries,

Instead of replacing the cable, I've decided to install a heat shrinkable cross-radiated polyolefin sleeve the entire length of my cable. You can order this material in large rolls. It is a military spec'ed material (m23053/X) that is used often for cable assembly jackets. It is available in many colors and is double oversized so it shrinks down about to half its size. There is a size that shrinks twice that, but I don't suggest it as the a jacket wall can be thinner.

I get marring on my deck walls from the rubbing of the cable when I'm hooking up th epower. As such, I believe installing polyolefin will cure that ,as well.

I haven't installed it yet as I have to remove the connector to slide th material on and haven't had time, but hope to do it soon. It should hold up fairly well.

I hope this helps,

BJ

[boatworkfl]

Some fine grained cleanser on a wet rag and rub well until clean, then rinse well.

When dry use some type of protectant coating, such as armor all.

Do not use a solvent.

[Woodsea]

The cables that came with our boat were pretty grimy. The ends are in good shape. They are the ones that I leave on our home dock semipermanently. They run down the dock on the S side. They are supported by vinyl strap from the rail. That reduces the strain on the boat connection and helps keep the dirty cords from touching the boat. They are really grimy now after three years. I just turn off power, unhook the boat end and go. I bought another set that gets stored in S locker on deck. That is what I use when we travel and drag around the boat.

[mmichellich]

GelGloss works well to clean fenders and power cords. It is a fiberglass cleaner/wax. Avail in lots of different stores. Also same as Sea Power in marine stores.

[guntar]

Mermaid brand inflatable boat cleaner. They will look like new when done.