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wrknowles asked

Phoenix 12/500 NEMA to SCHUKO

The inverter that drives a Kabola diesel heater on my sailboat failed in the middle of a bareboat charter. (Needless to say, it wasn't a Victron device). Since most of the rest of the power system on that boat is Victron, the electrician doing the emergency repair suggested (and I would have suggested to him, but he beat me to it) that I put in a Phoenix 12/500 to replace the failed device.

That's a great idea, but I don't think there is a single Phoenix 12/500 in North America for sale with a SCHUKO (two round pin) socket, and there definitely isn't one in NorthWest Washington state, because we checked! So, since it is getting cold, and we need to get the charter back in service, the electrician installed a new Phoenix with NMAE sockets and as a three-day fix, stuck a little travel adapter to accept a SCHUKO

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2 Answers
wrknowles avatar image
wrknowles answered ·

...Looks like the internet ate a few bytes....

... accept a SCHUKO plug from the Kabola. Now that's not a great way to do things, but it will work until we get it right.

What I'd like to do is swap the NMEA socket in the inverter for a SCHUKO socket. It would probably void a warranty, but that's better than someone sticking a 110v device into a 230v socket. Failing that, is there a clean way to run a pigtail out of the inverter into a box with a SCHUKO plug in it?

Thanks for your help!

Walt Knowles

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Justin Cook answered ·

The Phoenix 12/500 SCHUKO is a 230v output inverter, while the 12/500 NEMA 5-15R is a 120v output inverter, so I don't see that any kind of a pigtail is the solution to your problem - if the heater has a SCHUKO plug, surely it's because it needs 230v?

That said, the PN you're looking for is PIN121501200 (Phoenix 12/500 VE.Direct 230v output with SCHUKO outlet) and there are about a dozen in Victron North American warehouses. You might find a distributor with one in stock, or most reputable distributors will be able to special-order one from Victron US warehouses for you.

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