Power cord 30 amp melting!

pianotuna wrote:
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~

Deoxit is a good product.

Was at a campground helping out as the 'handy man' once and was asked to go check the 30 amp plugs to see if they were needing replacement as it had been a few years since they were checked. The campground had just under 140 sites. I ran out of plugs at the 30 mark and they went and got another 2 cases. I ended up replacing about 125 plugs. They were burnt and cracked, allowing the rv plug to get hot and get damaged too. I suggested they check them more often and buy another case of plugs, just in case.. That changed how I looked at the parks plugs when I went into a new campground. Looked to burnt or cracked areas before I ever would plug in, and if found i asked for a replacement or another site.

Something that I use is a electrical connection enhancer. Google Stabilant 22A. You might think this stuff is "to good to be true", but it really does work. I carry a small bottle and put one drop on each CLEAN terminal and plug into the dead outlet. I have never had any hot or melted plugs. I have used Stabilant 22A on electrical connectors in the automotive and truck repair industry for 15 years. It does work!
Bob

One of the primary causes of a meltdown as OP described (and mentioned by PapaNIes60 above) is from plugging into a pedestal (or receptacle at home) when the power is live. Always shut the power off via a breaker or disconnect switch. If you don't, every time you plug in, the converter causes an initial zap that causes pitting on the plug blades and inside a receptacle. You can hear a zap and in the dark you can see a flash. The pitting results in corrosion/oxidation and the attraction of dirt which creates resistance, and eventual overheating. Once in a while, you may actually find a CG pedestal that has a label stating to turn the power off before plugging in, but not often. Having a twistlock plug/receptacle will not help this and would be harder to clean.

You should always keep your plug blades clean with steel wool or light sandpaper. With receptacles, you can't do that and you can't see inside to tell how bad it is. Some RV-ers yank their cords out as well which eventually reduces the blade retention force, further leading to increased resistance.

Some pedestals are downright scary looking like in the photo and you should avoid plugging into it. Sometimes, an entire CG can be like this (as in where the photo was taken) and you have no choice. Sometimes the pedestal receptacles are so loose, you need a stick to prop your cord up to stay in. For situations like this, we carry an 18" long 30 to 30 amp extender made by Camco so that if there ever is a meltdown, you will hopefully only lose the $20 extender.

If you have a 30 amp service, moving to a 50 amp pedestal is a great idea as they tend to get treated better and used less. Note however that the current NEC code only requires a CG to have 20% of pedestals at 50 amps, and that is up from about a dozen years ago when only 5% were required to be 50 amps. Older CGs can have no 50 amp pedestals.

If you have no option to move to another site or to plug into a 50 amp recept., minimize the current you are using and run on "life support" mode to avoid the chance of a meltdown. If you have an extender, use that too. If the pedestal has a 20 amp GFCI recept., that is another option along with a 30-15 amp adapter. If you have a generator, it would be better to use that.

TRC has a new model of "surge suppressor" (30 amps) #34830 which prevents a plug and recept. from overheating which might be a good option for those wanting to use a portable one.

A circuit breaker does not trip the instant current reaches 30 amps. They have an inverse time-current operation as shown in the graph (better image here.) You could draw 45 amp for about 100 to 400 seconds before the breaker trips, or at 38 amps, it could take up to 1000 seconds (16+ min.) to trip. Point is, you be drawing a lot more than 30 amps and not know it at all. More current = more heat.

If you have a portable "surge suppressor", if plugging into an iffy looking pedestal, you run the risk of that suffering a meltdown. That's one reason I have our PI EMS mounted inside.

I have seen pics of both the pedestal end of a shore power cord totally fried and melted and also at the power inlet on the side of an RV. Turn off that power before plugging in!!

Sounds like a poor connection but could be a bad breaker not tripping when it is supposed to. Breakers do fail.

Make sure, before you plug in to a power pedestal, that all of it's breakers are in the off position. Never plug into or unplug from an energized receptacle. This causes some electrical arcing on the blades of your plug and over time oxidizes the plug blades prematurely. As the plug blades become more and more oxidized they will get hot since the oxidization prevents a good connection and the voltage it carries drops and as voltage drops, amperage increases causing the plug (and it's wires)to heat up even more. By first powering the pedestal breaker off, you are essentially putting the arc on the points of the pedestal breaker which are designed to handle it. This practice will extend the life of your electrical system especially the plugs. Remember "Breaker off before plugging in and before unplugging." Note: this is not the only cause for the issue in the OP, however, it is something that not all RVers know.

It is to bad that the RV industry choose the straight blade as opposed to "twist lock" plugs. In the construction industry they never use a straight blade. Twist locks are a positive way to have a proper connection.

Your problem is dirty/loose connection! As pointed out are you plugging into the same outlet? If yes then replace it or have it replaced. For some reason, 30 amp fixtures with the three prongs tend to get loose over time. This causes increased resistance and heat, which will melt things! Good luck!

Outlets and inlets do get worn. Which is the culprit? A poor connection will lead to heating through higher amperage trying to get through a bad contact.
Its kinda like a small water hose, when you want the volume to shower and wash dishes at the same time, the 1/2" x 25' hose can't do it through your regulator,inlet check valve and interior piping with pressure even though you know the camp pressure is good.
Do not hesitate to ask the camp to inspect and verify their equipment is in good order, its a liability issue as well as a service issue.