Combined 12v and 115v wall socket

[Kelly Coker]

Has anybody seen a wall socket that would have 1 12vdc socket and 1 115vac socket on the same mounting? I would think that would be great for the sleeping area.

[bobhenry]

I installed a 12v light bulb in a 120 ac fixture and some
on the forum were concerned I would go up in flames
with a a/c to d/c short.It's been a little over a year and
I haven't yet.

I, like you, was un-able to locate a box mountable d/c
female receptical. I WAS able to locate a dc female
receptical in some old junk from a scrapped out large
rv camper. This cigarette style plugin was mounted on
a small flat plate I bolted this plate to a full depth carlon
blank box cover in which I had drilled a 7/8" ( I think)
hole dead center.
With the socket bolted to the box cover I wired it
into the 12 v circuit and screwed the "blank" cover onto
a full depth carlon electrical box. Carlon boxes are the
blue or gray plastic ones you see at all the lumber and
hardware stores. The same ones you may have in your
walls at home. My teardrops side walls have the shallow
1/2 depth boxes and would not accept the 12 volt female
socket ( It's almost 2" long) so to have 12 volt available
at the sidewalls I purchased one of those "Y" adapters
2 female ends on one male plug in. ( Wally world about $3.00)
I cut off the 2 female ends and wired them for 12 volt.
My 12 volt wireing arrives at the 120 volt duplex box but
since there wasn't enough room in the box , the female dc
receptical hangs just outside the wall plug in. It's somewhat
hidden behind a wall mounted little red lantern that is our
inside lighting (wired a/c and d/c also) This dangling
receptical may not be the most eloquent answer but my
12 volt is available when I want it. My album should
show the galley wall where the full depth boxes are
located and there are a couple inside pictures of the
sidewall lanterns and electrical installations.

Bob

[ZendoDeb]

As has been noted elsewhere, there is already some confusion with the color codes on wires.

AC is typically black=hot, white=neutral, green=ground

DC used to be black=ground, red=positive (this is in negative ground systems - don't know what folks in positive ground areas do.)

Recently there has been some push - in the marine industry anyway - to change DC from black and red to yellow and red.

The concern - and it has happened - is that someone not paying attention will connect the AC hot to the DC ground. (Actually the concern is because someone did.) This can do anything from short out the inverters/battery chargers to explode batteries and start fires. Fires in small enclosed living spaces aren't pretty. On a small boat at sea - which I usually worry about - a fire is almost certainly a death sentence unless you put it out fast.

[Miriam C.]

You are unlikely to find such an animal. Manufactures run 120vac and 12vdc in separate wire ways to prevent accidents. I suggest you do the same. AS Deb stated if there is a short you are looking at a fire.

You can put them side by side though. Is there a reason you want them together?

[DonK]

It's a little kludgey but here's one way to do it:

Start with a 2-gang mixed-voltage box. It's essentially a high-voltage box and a low-voltage box stuck together.

http://www.hometech.com/techwire/cn-sc200dv.gif

Install a decora AC socket in the high-voltage side.

https://www.addison-electronique.com/ca ... 222004.jpg

Mount a 12v socket into a decora blank and mount it in the low-voltage
side.

http://image.basspro.com/images/images2 ... 280-00.jpg

http://cache.smarthome.com/images/865160w.jpg

Cover with a decora 2-gang faceplate.

http://ak.buy.com/db_assets/prod_lrg_im ... 098861.jpg

Before you start buying things, check to make sure that the 12v socket really does mount well in the decora blank. The 12v sockets require a 7/8" hole. The decora blanks are about 1 1/4" wide. You should be able to mount the 12v socket in the decora blank without compromising the rolled edges. Some decora blanks may be stronger than others.

I think it will work but I haven't tried it. Let us know if you try it.

Don