How do you handle bad campgound power
Here is the scenario: Long travel day. We pulled into to a combination trailer park/campground near the interstate. Paid for the site, and was told to pick any open spot in the campground loops. I ...
Forum Discussion
westend wrote:
Typical utility voltage standard is +,- 5 percent. 5 percent of 120V is 6 V.
This is correct - normally. Utility company nominal voltage throughout North America is 120 volts. Always. Voltage must comply with the ANSI C84.1 standard. Discusion by PG&E here. Utility company service voltage should normally be +/- 5 percent (114-126), but utilization voltage is allowed to be as much as +6 to -13 percent (104.4-127.2). "Service" voltage is what the utility company provides to your property and "utilization" voltage is what you get at the point of use after voltage drop is included as allowed by the NEC.
If OP is talking about 5 volts over 120, that is nothing to worry about. If that is with no load plugged in yet (open circuit voltage), it may go down a little or a lot depending on how the CG/RV park is wired. An EMS should not shut down at 125 volts. NEMA says that appliances should be able to operate between +/- 10 percent on nominal (120) volts. Note that a PI EMS unit won't shut you down until at 132 volts. Perhaps a PI EMS range of 104 to 132 volts may come from the min. allowable from ANSI/NEC of 104.4 volts and max. NEMA figure of +10 percent?
Sometimes voltage can deliberately be set high to compensate for a change from lightly loaded to heavily loaded conditions such as in rural areas with long runs or seasonal facilities like CGs. Low voltage is the usual issue in a CG and is relatively common, esp. in the summertime.
It is a good idea to have a plug-in or hardwired voltmeter in your RV. Some will even use a voltmeter at a pedestal before plugging in which is a good thing to do if you don't have an EMS unit. Some CGs have poor or outdated wiring and the voltage may *seem* okay or high at first but once you add load, it can take a nosedive. The NEC has a lot to do with this as the min. wiring requirements are way behind today's RV power demands.
Maybe OP plugged in after someone in a previous post said to just go ahead and plug in and his rig either blew up or he got electrocuted...
