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
I will try to explain my point once again.
My original post was about a survey in the USA where RVers were asked whether they have had problems with electricity in RV parks or campgrounds when connecting their RV to provided electricity. Presumably, those who responded were mostly RVers in the USA. I also suggested readers could go to the survey website where lots of FREE information about electricity and RVs can be found - I did not suggest buying anyone's book.
Though that survey and website were not about Mexico I thought it might be of interest to people on this forum that there can be problems when hooking your RV up to electricity and that there are steps you can take to protect yourself and your RV.
Further on in this thread it was implied that there is no code in Mexico. That could have meant there is no code enforcement in Mexico. I am not sure what the writer meant. But it led me to research electrical code in Mexico and I found that it does exist.
I do not know who is supposed to enforce electrical code in Mexico or if anyone does. It seems from my research that there are electrical inspectors in Mexico. It also does seem that CFE is the government agency tasked with all things electrical in Mexico.
So here is what I know about some code regulation enforcement in the US. When there is new construction or a permitted remodel there is a requirement that an electrical inspection be done and that the work receive a passed certificate from the inspector. Usually this is a sticker the inspector puts in the main panel but it can also go into the file for the permit. In new construction the power company providing electricity to the building will not turn the power on until the wiring is approved by the inspector. You cannot get a “Certificate of Occupancy” for a structure in the US until all inspectors sign off on that structure – all building inspectors that is – not just electrical. In most cases you cannot sell a structure in the US until it has a certificate of occupancy.
BUT – (in the USA) once a property has been inspected and the power is turned on there is usually no reason for the inspector to return to the property – there are exceptions to every rule of course. Now that the property has been approved and the power turned on there is little or no enforcement of codes within that property. Property owners can (though perhaps not legally) alter almost anything about the wiring within that property as there is little or no oversight. I have done a great many modifications to electrical wiring in properties in the US – but I am always very careful to comply with codes because I know they exist for safety reasons. I would assume there would be similar situations in Mexico where there is not oversight of the property once power is approved and turned on - though I have not idea what the requirements would be.
When I posted code and wiring information here on this forum it was aimed at informing people that there are codes and that wiring is supposed to be color coded so it is easy to determine which wire is supposed to do what. Someone asked about wire gauge so I posted something about that. My intent was to inform the people on this forum who might be interested in some of this information. It was not intended to tell the Mexican people what to do nor was it intended to condemn the Mexican people for how things are done in Mexico. It was intended to be informational only to those who read this forum.
I have tried to provide information to readers of this forum who might be interested in some very basic electrical rules. These rules exist for reasons. There are laws of physics that apply to how much current a wire can carry over any given distance. There are laws of physics about voltage and amperage. These laws do not exists because someone thinks they are a good idea and put them in a code book for no apparent reason. These laws exist because experts have learned over many years of experience that electricity works in very specific ways and to be safe we need to comply with the laws. Wire gauge and circuit breakers are the size they are and must comply with the laws because any other configuration would be unsafe. If you install a 30 amp breaker to protect 12 gauge wiring the breaker will not trip before the wire begins to burn up.
Then there is the color coding. It exists because of the reasons I tried to point out. If any of our readers finds reason to question the wiring of an outlet in and RV park they may now have some idea of what colors of wire are supposed to go where. I am well aware that in Mexico – as well as the US – we are going to find places where only one color wire was used to wire everything and there is no way to determine which wire is the one carrying the power. Those with more knowledge can use a meter to try to figure out which wire does what. I have done this in several RV parks in Mexico – as well as the US – where I teach the owners or maintenance people how to correctly wire these outlets.
If no one cares then no one cares. But I have learned that some people actually do care. So I direct my posts to those who might be interested and not to those with little or no interest. There are certainly RV parks in both the US and Mexico that could care less whether their guests are safe or not.
This topic has absolutely nothing to do with how people drive in Mexico (or toilet paper) or any other topic other than electricity. There are certainly some horrible drivers in the US as well. But if you want to delve into other topics perhaps it would be best to start a new topic. Please try to stay on topic.
My original post was about a survey in the USA where RVers were asked whether they have had problems with electricity in RV parks or campgrounds when connecting their RV to provided electricity. Presumably, those who responded were mostly RVers in the USA. I also suggested readers could go to the survey website where lots of FREE information about electricity and RVs can be found - I did not suggest buying anyone's book.
Though that survey and website were not about Mexico I thought it might be of interest to people on this forum that there can be problems when hooking your RV up to electricity and that there are steps you can take to protect yourself and your RV.
Further on in this thread it was implied that there is no code in Mexico. That could have meant there is no code enforcement in Mexico. I am not sure what the writer meant. But it led me to research electrical code in Mexico and I found that it does exist.
I do not know who is supposed to enforce electrical code in Mexico or if anyone does. It seems from my research that there are electrical inspectors in Mexico. It also does seem that CFE is the government agency tasked with all things electrical in Mexico.
So here is what I know about some code regulation enforcement in the US. When there is new construction or a permitted remodel there is a requirement that an electrical inspection be done and that the work receive a passed certificate from the inspector. Usually this is a sticker the inspector puts in the main panel but it can also go into the file for the permit. In new construction the power company providing electricity to the building will not turn the power on until the wiring is approved by the inspector. You cannot get a “Certificate of Occupancy” for a structure in the US until all inspectors sign off on that structure – all building inspectors that is – not just electrical. In most cases you cannot sell a structure in the US until it has a certificate of occupancy.
BUT – (in the USA) once a property has been inspected and the power is turned on there is usually no reason for the inspector to return to the property – there are exceptions to every rule of course. Now that the property has been approved and the power turned on there is little or no enforcement of codes within that property. Property owners can (though perhaps not legally) alter almost anything about the wiring within that property as there is little or no oversight. I have done a great many modifications to electrical wiring in properties in the US – but I am always very careful to comply with codes because I know they exist for safety reasons. I would assume there would be similar situations in Mexico where there is not oversight of the property once power is approved and turned on - though I have not idea what the requirements would be.
When I posted code and wiring information here on this forum it was aimed at informing people that there are codes and that wiring is supposed to be color coded so it is easy to determine which wire is supposed to do what. Someone asked about wire gauge so I posted something about that. My intent was to inform the people on this forum who might be interested in some of this information. It was not intended to tell the Mexican people what to do nor was it intended to condemn the Mexican people for how things are done in Mexico. It was intended to be informational only to those who read this forum.
I have tried to provide information to readers of this forum who might be interested in some very basic electrical rules. These rules exist for reasons. There are laws of physics that apply to how much current a wire can carry over any given distance. There are laws of physics about voltage and amperage. These laws do not exists because someone thinks they are a good idea and put them in a code book for no apparent reason. These laws exist because experts have learned over many years of experience that electricity works in very specific ways and to be safe we need to comply with the laws. Wire gauge and circuit breakers are the size they are and must comply with the laws because any other configuration would be unsafe. If you install a 30 amp breaker to protect 12 gauge wiring the breaker will not trip before the wire begins to burn up.
Then there is the color coding. It exists because of the reasons I tried to point out. If any of our readers finds reason to question the wiring of an outlet in and RV park they may now have some idea of what colors of wire are supposed to go where. I am well aware that in Mexico – as well as the US – we are going to find places where only one color wire was used to wire everything and there is no way to determine which wire is the one carrying the power. Those with more knowledge can use a meter to try to figure out which wire does what. I have done this in several RV parks in Mexico – as well as the US – where I teach the owners or maintenance people how to correctly wire these outlets.
If no one cares then no one cares. But I have learned that some people actually do care. So I direct my posts to those who might be interested and not to those with little or no interest. There are certainly RV parks in both the US and Mexico that could care less whether their guests are safe or not.
This topic has absolutely nothing to do with how people drive in Mexico (or toilet paper) or any other topic other than electricity. There are certainly some horrible drivers in the US as well. But if you want to delve into other topics perhaps it would be best to start a new topic. Please try to stay on topic.
