Power Pedestal Connections
We read an online RV newsletter that comes out each Saturday. Electricity is often a topic of discussion. Today there was a survey to try to tell what percent of readers have experienced some sort of ...
Forum Discussion
Take a Mexican pedestal apart. You will not find a ground rod nor anything running to the receptacle ground. The correct way is to do a ground rod and neutral bond at the service drop panel at the main power board of the park. Check CFE regs about this. Any CFE office will even make copies for you, free.
Because of a solid rock ridge I had to use a 2nd ground point in Flores de Las Penas. Then tie all seven sites to the 2nd point.
Even so, the 1st site had .4 - .7 volt difference between L1-LO versus L1 to earth ground. Site 2 was closer to one volt difference.
Chances of it being 0.0 are almost mil. I have found too many parks with bootstrap grounds. The owners invariably offer the excuse that "It satisfies the customer when they plug their little colored lights tester into the receptacle"
Do you realize you lose >50% of the protective circuit when an earth path is not there? MOVs and TVS components need a dual path to be effective if the consumer circuit is 3-wire.
You can satisfy your own curiosity about this on your next trip south. Do the receptacle test yourself. Pull the receptacle if necessary to check for a L0 to earth ground jumper.
I used a three burner electric range to verify phase to earth viability. Through a 20 amp breaker and 12 gauge wire. Direct short from phase to earth. Each receptacle. This is how I verified a 18" ground rod pounded 12" - 14" into the earth makes a wonderful verified ground. Below that was solid rock. The trick? Saturate the area around the stake with water. This makes a great dedicated rig bonding point. I use an 8 gauge green wire simply for mechanical strength. A hose clamp is used for a strain relief. The wire was soldered to a length of varilla, re-bar. Top 4" was elled for a driver spot and yank out.
The earth ground verifier does not have to open a breaker to prove it's point. Use a makeup receptacle and wire it in series with a phase. This proofs a shorter ground rod will do the job. just wet it down every third day. If ground integrity is lost the heater or a hair dryer will not operate.
In particularly sandy areas away from a beach a short varilla can be exchanged for a longer one. Just make sure the ground is thoroughly wet.
My ground system burned the underground twist and tape park circuit at Boca de iguanas. An idiot electrician came in and worked on the main panel. He did a reconnect with reversed L1 L0. Smoke rolled out of the access plates on the ground. 1960's truck camper of mine had neutral bonded to the vehicle chassis.
A real hoot was the 1997 tour of Barra de Navidad's Gran Bay Hotel. Our tour took us up the elevator shaft to the thousand dollar a day presidential suite. I looked at a few unconnected receptacle sockets. you guessed it. One blue, one brown wire. But the suite had his n her bedside telephones and a TV placed low in the wall - right across from the toilet seat.
Because of a solid rock ridge I had to use a 2nd ground point in Flores de Las Penas. Then tie all seven sites to the 2nd point.
Even so, the 1st site had .4 - .7 volt difference between L1-LO versus L1 to earth ground. Site 2 was closer to one volt difference.
Chances of it being 0.0 are almost mil. I have found too many parks with bootstrap grounds. The owners invariably offer the excuse that "It satisfies the customer when they plug their little colored lights tester into the receptacle"
Do you realize you lose >50% of the protective circuit when an earth path is not there? MOVs and TVS components need a dual path to be effective if the consumer circuit is 3-wire.
You can satisfy your own curiosity about this on your next trip south. Do the receptacle test yourself. Pull the receptacle if necessary to check for a L0 to earth ground jumper.
I used a three burner electric range to verify phase to earth viability. Through a 20 amp breaker and 12 gauge wire. Direct short from phase to earth. Each receptacle. This is how I verified a 18" ground rod pounded 12" - 14" into the earth makes a wonderful verified ground. Below that was solid rock. The trick? Saturate the area around the stake with water. This makes a great dedicated rig bonding point. I use an 8 gauge green wire simply for mechanical strength. A hose clamp is used for a strain relief. The wire was soldered to a length of varilla, re-bar. Top 4" was elled for a driver spot and yank out.
The earth ground verifier does not have to open a breaker to prove it's point. Use a makeup receptacle and wire it in series with a phase. This proofs a shorter ground rod will do the job. just wet it down every third day. If ground integrity is lost the heater or a hair dryer will not operate.
In particularly sandy areas away from a beach a short varilla can be exchanged for a longer one. Just make sure the ground is thoroughly wet.
My ground system burned the underground twist and tape park circuit at Boca de iguanas. An idiot electrician came in and worked on the main panel. He did a reconnect with reversed L1 L0. Smoke rolled out of the access plates on the ground. 1960's truck camper of mine had neutral bonded to the vehicle chassis.
A real hoot was the 1997 tour of Barra de Navidad's Gran Bay Hotel. Our tour took us up the elevator shaft to the thousand dollar a day presidential suite. I looked at a few unconnected receptacle sockets. you guessed it. One blue, one brown wire. But the suite had his n her bedside telephones and a TV placed low in the wall - right across from the toilet seat.
