Dock Question: Getting power to the dock

[cane.mba]

Background

When I purchased our home about 18 months ago, it came with a very nice double deck or party deck dock with lights and power outlets. The upper deck or party deck has 4 garden style light posts, and the bottom deck has two sets of two flood lights (4 bulbs total) and two single bulb fixtures.

Since we live on a US Army Corps of Engineers lake we have to get a permit to do pretty much anything. Well the issue is my house is on the opposite side of a power line right-of-way as my dock, and the Corps won't grant me a permit to run power across the right-of-way.

The docks on the lake here are floating docks, and designed to be moved out if/as the water level declines. Due to that I have a 100' power extension cable to plug into shore power. The house is another 100-150' from the end of power cable.



Questions

Can I power the dock from a GFCI outlet on my home? I would like to mount a hose reel on my deck, and when I need power to the dock (lights or battery charger) unroll the extension cord and plug in the dock. Also the dock power cable has a 20a 125v twist lock plug, can I use an adapter to change that to a standard three prong 110v plug for connection to an extension cord? Should I look for a 20 or 30a extension cord given the distance from the home?



Thank you, I know this is off topic, and a little on the lengthy side, but I appreciate your response.

 

[Andy S]

You could run an underground wire, preferably in conduit, from your house to as close to the dock as you are allowed without the Corp busting you. This would basically be an installed extension cord. I am also not an electrician but based on the length I would probably run a 10-2 wire (12-2 at minimum) in the conduit. As for plugging into an existing GFI outlet, it all depends on what is currently also on that outlet circuit. If nothing then you would be okay for temporary use. To do it right you should install a GFCI breaker in the breaker panel and connect the conduit wire to that breaker.

 

[Glassman]

Considered solar lights?

just an example:
http://www.amazon.com/Bronze-Finish...d=1401307748&sr=8-6&keywords=solar+light+post

 

[jcyamaharider]

Background

When I purchased our home about 18 months ago, it came with a very nice double deck or party deck dock with lights and power outlets. The upper deck or party deck has 4 garden style light posts, and the bottom deck has two sets of two flood lights (4 bulbs total) and two single bulb fixtures.


Since we live on a US Army Corps of Engineers lake we have to get a permit to do pretty much anything. Well the issue is my house is on the opposite side of a power line right-of-way as my dock, and the Corps won't grant me a permit to run power across the right-of-way.

The docks on the lake here are floating docks, and designed to be moved out if/as the water level declines. Due to that I have a 100' power extension cable to plug into shore power. The house is another 100-150' from the end of power cable.
View attachment 6418


Questions

Can I power the dock from a GFCI outlet on my home? I would like to mount a hose reel on my deck, and when I need power to the dock (lights or battery charger) unroll the extension cord and plug in the dock. Also the dock power cable has a 20a 125v twist lock plug, can I use an adapter to change that to a standard three prong 110v plug for connection to an extension cord? Should I look for a 20 or 30a extension cord given the distance from the home?

View attachment 6420

Thank you, I know this is off topic, and a little on the lengthy side, but I appreciate your response.

As for the adapter, just unwire the existing twist lock plug and wire in the new normal 3 prong plug.

 

[jcyamaharider]

Double post for some reason!

 

[cane.mba]

You could run an underground wire, preferably in conduit, from your house to as close to the dock as you are allowed without the Corp busting you. This would basically be an installed extension cord. I am also not an electrician but based on the length I would probably run a 10-2 wire (12-2 at minimum) in the conduit. As for plugging into an existing GFI outlet, it all depends on what is currently also on that outlet circuit. If nothing then you would be okay for temporary use. To do it right you should install a GFCI breaker in the breaker panel and connect the conduit wire to that breaker.

I'd like to bury the cable, but it wouldn't be far enough to warrant the effort. That's why I was thinking the hose reel may be a good option, unwind it when I want to power the dock, and reel it back in when not in use. My local Lowes has a 10 gauge 100' extension cord, it's a little pricey, but I'd rather be safe. Right now the only thing on the circuit is three GFCI outlets, that aren't in use.

Thank you! It's nice to know I'm not nuts for trying this!

 

[cane.mba]

Considered solar lights?

just an example:
http://www.amazon.com/Bronze-Finish-Solar-Power-Light/dp/B003CHWIH6/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1401307748&sr=8-6&keywords=solar light post

Thank you! I have thought of solar landscape lights, just to provide lighting, but my main goal is keeping the batteries charged.

I plan on eventually installing a solar solution to power a lift and lights. However, that's about a $4k solution and with my wife starting her own business I need cheap for this summer.

 

[cane.mba]

As for the adapter, just unwire the existing twist lock plug and wire in the new normal 3 prong plug.

I've thought about that, but wasn't sure! Thank you, I may have to try this this weekend. If that doesn't work, I found an adapter cable on Amazon for $20. I'll post the link later, apparently it's dinner time!

 

[Murf'n'surf]

How was the dock serviced with electricity before? There should be some sign at your main breaker panel in the house. Any sub panels outside of the house?

 

[jcyamaharider]

I've thought about that, but wasn't sure! Thank you, I may have to try this this weekend. If that doesn't work, I found an adapter cable on Amazon for $20. I'll post the link later, apparently it's dinner time!

That will work, we do it all the time at work.

 

[davel501]

These electrical lines that divide your house from the dock....are they transmission lines or regular service? Could you get a new service at the dock?

Otherwise something like this might be easiest: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Vert...ie=UTF8&qid=1401315621&sr=1-23&keywords=solar

 

[cane.mba]

How was the dock serviced with electricity before? There should be some sign at your main breaker panel in the house. Any sub panels outside of the house?

The dock was powered by the previous owner at their location. It's never been powered here... The investor that we bought the house from removed the swim platform that was permitted, and replaced it with the dock to help boost the sale of the home.

 

[cane.mba]

These electrical lines that divide your house from the dock....are they transmission lines or regular service? Could you get a new service at the dock?

Otherwise something like this might be easiest: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Vert...ie=UTF8&qid=1401315621&sr=1-23&keywords=solar

They are high voltage transmission lines, so that's not an option. My wife was so worried about the company come out to do EMF readings before we closed on the home. It was pretty funny when the guys cell rang and the detector went through the roof! Then he showed me the cell was nothing compared to the microwave! All I can say is we quit worrying about the power lines....

 

[cane.mba]

I'm heading to Lowes to pick up some landscaping stuff, but going to check and see what they have in stock. I want to confirm that a 100' cord will reach, and that I won't need 150'.....

Here's the adapter. I found on amazon. It's a L5-20 to 5-15R adapter, now if it had a circuit breaker installed, it would be perfect! However, I like the idea of replacing the plug!

http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Cable...316017&sr=8-1&keywords=L5-20+to+5-15r+adapter

 

[davel501]

Here is another idea...get direct burial cable and run it to wooden posts on either side of the easement. Add a much shorter (less expensive) thick cord to connect the 2 posts when needed.

 

[Papa]

Your GFCI at the house in GA is wired to a 15 amp breaker. So you are starting off with a power feed of only 15 amps. The distance you want to run will probaly not work on that size breaker. You can't put a 20 amp breaker on a GFCI. I would put a seperate run to the dock, or as close as the Corp. will alow, with 30 amp breaker and put the GFCI at the end of the run. you can also get a GFCI breaker for the end of the run.
The twist lock cord end is for safety. Keep it.

 

[Papa]

After re-reading your post, are you only running 100' of wire or 100' plus another 100' to 150'? Either way I would not recommend running from the GFCI. It is probably on 14 gauge wire and only 15 amp breaker. Start new from the panel and use #10 gauge wire and a 30 amp breaker. That also looks like an aluminum dock. Make dang sure it is properly grounded. Google grounding an metal dock for the proper way to do this. Just my two cents.
Papa

 

[Bruce]

What electrical devices do you plan to use on the dock? Do you know what lift you plan to use and how many amps it draws at 110?

I bet that you can convert the dock to solar power for less than $1K. First convert the bulbs to LED. At 10 watts each, which is a really bright LED, you would be using 100 watts while the bulbs are on. I am assuming that the LEDs would run for four or fewer hours per day and all other loads would be occasional. This $450 kit will give you 200 watts of solar charging, a charge controller and a $1500 watt inverter http://m.ebay.com/itm/251402772891?nav=SEARCH . Not saying that kit is the best option but it is an example of what is available. Then you add two 6 volt golf cart batteries in series as storage for around $200. The solar panels will charge the batteries and the batteries will power everything. If you decide you need longer run times than you can add another pair of batteries. If you decide you need faster charging then you could add more panels.

This setup would allow you to run the lights every evening, charge the boat batteries and play music. If you wanted to run a microwave, stove or electric smoker on the dock the system would need to be enlarged. With the lift being an occasional use item you would need to make sure that the inverter is large enough to run it but I am guessing that the batteries would have time to recharge on days you are not using it.

 

[Bruce]

If you are going to use extension cords I suggest looking for a tool store geared toward contractors. They often have the same or better quality 12/2 cords for much less than Lowes.

 

[cane.mba]

After re-reading your post, are you only running 100' of wire or 100' plus another 100' to 150'? Either way I would not recommend running from the GFCI. It is probably on 14 gauge wire and only 15 amp breaker. Start new from the panel and use #10 gauge wire and a 30 amp breaker. That also looks like an aluminum dock. Make dang sure it is properly grounded. Google grounding an metal dock for the proper way to do this. Just my two cents.
Papa

The total run will be close to 250', and my goal is to use 10ga. The existing dock cable is 10g, at least I am assuming it is, it's at least 3/4" thick. I just verified that my GFI circuits all have 20a breakers, I had assumed they would be 15a.

However, I need to stop assuming anything with this home. It was started by a builder that specialized in multi-million dollar homes, and was to be his personal home. Being an IT Geek, I fell in love immediately, all the structured cabling is Cat5, there are 12 zones for whole house audio, central vac, etc. the best room in the house is my bar though. Sorry, off track...

The dock is angle iron, with plastic encapsulated floats, which is why I really wanted to use the GFI circuits. I will start researching grounding ideas though, great advice. Thank you