Name:   alatraveler50 - Subject:   Check your docks - Adding my two and a half cents Date:   4/21/2017 10:45:58 AM

Sounds as if there may be a few folks headed to Home Depot this weekend to replace dock receptacles.  I'm not an electrican!  I did sell electrical materials for 30 yrs. 

GFCI recptacles only provide protection 'below' the recpt not back to your panel.  One big caution on recpts, there are two sets of screws.  One for incoming power and to provide proctection to another 'non-GFCI'/regular recpt.  The other set of screws provide NON-protected power.  These screws have a sticker covering them.  I have a situation where I have power coming to my GFCI recept then I use the non- protected side to power a light switch.  Light switches will sometimes trip the GFCI if it's on the protected side.

Someone posted that he had installed his recpts with the ground hole "up".  This is how I learned and yet so many electricans install them down.  Looks like a face.  If you have the ground up and go to pull a cord out, the last prong to come out of the recpt is the ground; safer than either of the power prongs coming out last.

If you can, maybe on your next dock refurbish or when the water is down, install a small subpanel or as least a double-pole switch that is large enough to be able to kill power beyond that point for the entire dock.

I prefer using PVC (grey) conduit to UF on my dock.  UF cable is tough and is easy to run and you don't have to pull wire thru it but PVC just adds so much more mechanical protection.  Pulling UF in PVC is pretty much the ultimate without going to steel conduit, which can create another whole set of problems.

If anyone is going to be working on the power on their docks -- "Turn off the breaker before you begin"