Outlets Outlets Everywhere

We spent last night on the boat as we are going to the Delta in less than two days (YEA!) so thought we'd get a couple of things done.  One thing we really NEEDED to do was launch the dinghy, but the car was in the shop so we had no tow hitch so THAT project was out.  We did an inventory and made a grocery shopping list, emptied the dock box and took the loaner steps back over to Joe.  Then cast around for something else to do.

Ah, the OUTLETS!  When we first tried the inventor, two of the three GFCI outlets emitted a buzzing sound.  After some research (thank you Google) we found a) it is harmless b) if we use Xantrex approved GFCI outlets the noise should go away.  Finding the Xantrex approved outlets proved more challenging--the model they specified is no longer in production.  I decided to try a newer model from the same company.  I got one installed, turned on the inverter, and .... buuuuuuuzzzzzzzzzz... Yeah, NO improvement.  Ok those are going back and we will just live with the noise. 

Now what?  AH, I had bought one of THESE awhile back and hadn't installed it yet:

It is an outlet with two built in USB outlets, to conveniently charge gizmos like the iPhone without needing the "wall wart" charger.  The outlet requires an oversize junction box so we chose and outlet in the base of the settee in the saloon as the easiest place to both access the junction box and charge the phones.  Like all simple projects, it proved more complicated than anticipated but at least did not require any trips to the store!

To start with, the outlets and junction boxes on the boat are not installed like in a home.  The cut out in the wood is not as large as the junction box, so the box has to be attached from the back side.  In the course of removing the old outlet I somehow caused a ground fault and tripped the shore power.  Kind of scary considering the power was off to the outlets.

Once the old outlet and junction box were out, it was time to start installing the new.  The existing power wire was BARELY long enough to come in from the back of the new junction box and reach out the front.  The old junciton box was VERY small, half the depth of a standard home box, and the new one was MUCH deeper.  In order to get enough play in the wires to attach them to the new outlet, we had to loosen the wire back about six feet where it went around some corners inside the settee base to then get us a few more inches of play. 

Ok, have enough wire, hook it on, and... the new outlet is so much larger than the old that it will not go into the hole in the wood to be pushed back into the junction box.  Great, ok what tools do we have?  A putty knife, a large screw driver and a dull utility knife?  CHECK.  Every wood workers dream.  We disconnected the outlet and Matt set about hacking the opening larger.  He said some woodworker in Taiwan was probably cringing.  He managed to hack it enough to get the outlet in place, then we rewired, secured the junction box from the back and refastened the wire inside the settee.  The outlet cover does not sit flush on the settee base but it is at shin level and probably nobody will ever notice.  It works great and will give us a very convenient place for charging our phones!  So one thing accomplished!  Now we just have a few 12 volt "cigarette lighter" style outlets to install around the boat.  Yeah we'll get to that... eventually!