Thinnest in-line mains connector...

[TaDa]

I just drilled a hole in my garage wall to allow me to run cables through it.
Originally I planned only to use it for christmas lights and the like.
But now I see how useful it will be for charging the car battery!

Problem is, though, the hole, with tube liner, is only about 23mm in diameter.

I don't want to keep rewiring the plugs all the time

Are there any slim in-line mains connectors that would fit down such a hole?

 

[Diver300]

I would just wire an extension lead through the hole and plug in what I wanted afterwards.

 

[TaDa]

I see where you're going with that but then I'll have to make the socket outside a waterproof one

(and I might as well have put an external socket in there all along)

Nope - I definitely want a thin mains connector that will fit in the 23mm diameter tube.

I'm wondering if a 'C6' 'cloverleaf' socket comes in an in-line 'flavour' - I know the 'kettle' lead connector does - hmm....

 

[Gary B]

The size of a connector is related to the amount of current it has to carry. That will set the minimum size of any inline connecter. If you use 3 inline, single conductor, quick disconnect connectors and stager them, the total size shouldn’t be more than 1¼ times the diameter of the original power cable at any one point. Granted, you are still removing and reconnecting the standard plug on one of the power cable but, at least it can be a tool-less operation.

 

[TaDa]

I was wondering about that too - I'm reasonably sure that if I'm running it 'out the hole' it probably won't be too power hungry (christmas lights, car charger etc) Anything more powerful will probably have the garage door open.

That said your solution is a good one - I'll just make sure that its as hard as possible to mix up the connections

To be honest its beginning to look like the best solution is to drill a bigger hole

 

[canadaelk]

The closest I can think of to fit would be the Neutrik NAC3MP, rated at 32 Amps. E

 

[Gary B]

If you stagger them you have the 3 wires each of a different length on each end so messing them up is not easy. Also, standard US circuits will be on a 15 amp breaker and European circuits tend to carry half of that. Your battery charger is probably the largest load. I have a 50 amp rated unit and it pulls 11 amps when I use it to crank the engine on a cold morning. The miniature Christmas lights probably don’t pull more than 1 amp per string.

Actually, the best solution is the one you didn’t want. Just install an external outlet. They sell waterproof boxes with the gasketed cover plate at the home improvement stores like Home Depot. All you do is mount a standard outlet in the box and run the wire through a hole in the back. Personally, I like to use a stub out of conduit if the wall is insulated to help seal the penetration and it makes a cleaner installation on the inside.