inexpensive long-term stay in Sonora?
I'm thinking of going to Mexico this winter rather than the US as I'm getting dangerously close to spending enough time in the US as to have to file income tax there. :E Going to Mexico is really i...
Forum Discussion
Hi Rae,
There is no such thing as having too much monitoring equipment! :B
I'm a retired Marine Electrical/Electronics/Communications/Navigation Systems Designer and you should see how my 37' class A is wired! I don't think there is a single thing in here that doesn't have my 'touch' on it. Including the solar power systems (plural as in 2!)
And, although I occasionally hook up (mainly when I need air conditioning) in Mexico, I agree with you, why bother if you don't need it.
However, if you do decide to plug in, there are a few things you can do to prevent damage. The things you need to look out for are, spikes, low voltage (brown-outs), and high voltage. As you probably know, all of these can be prevented with the proper equipment. I carry a surge protector and auto-transformer for these. Plus I run shore power through my inverter, which also looks for these things.
One of the mechanical things to look out for is reverse polarity. It is so common that I carry a home-made reverse polarity pigtail just for those cases. I also normally offer to rewire the post if they want. They usually don't realize that there is a polarity on a receptacle.
Which brings up the other problem; and that is that Mexico is still in the 50's in that you seldom find a ground plane on anything, including their distribution boxes and outlets. When I blew a GFCI receptacle in Quintanna Roo the local electrical supply house said that they would have to special order a replacement. I ended up putting a non-ground 2 prong receptacle in.
Also, I always have a 3' copper ground stake and jumper cables with me to ground my coach.
Hope this helps
There is no such thing as having too much monitoring equipment! :B
I'm a retired Marine Electrical/Electronics/Communications/Navigation Systems Designer and you should see how my 37' class A is wired! I don't think there is a single thing in here that doesn't have my 'touch' on it. Including the solar power systems (plural as in 2!)
And, although I occasionally hook up (mainly when I need air conditioning) in Mexico, I agree with you, why bother if you don't need it.
However, if you do decide to plug in, there are a few things you can do to prevent damage. The things you need to look out for are, spikes, low voltage (brown-outs), and high voltage. As you probably know, all of these can be prevented with the proper equipment. I carry a surge protector and auto-transformer for these. Plus I run shore power through my inverter, which also looks for these things.
One of the mechanical things to look out for is reverse polarity. It is so common that I carry a home-made reverse polarity pigtail just for those cases. I also normally offer to rewire the post if they want. They usually don't realize that there is a polarity on a receptacle.
Which brings up the other problem; and that is that Mexico is still in the 50's in that you seldom find a ground plane on anything, including their distribution boxes and outlets. When I blew a GFCI receptacle in Quintanna Roo the local electrical supply house said that they would have to special order a replacement. I ended up putting a non-ground 2 prong receptacle in.
Also, I always have a 3' copper ground stake and jumper cables with me to ground my coach.
Hope this helps
