Forum Discussion

WallynDiane's avatar
WallynDiane
Explorer
Apr 11, 2018

Lost power alert - is there such a thing?

We have a Kropf park model permanently parked in a great campground.
Two years ago, our neighbors power box malfunctioned and they had no power. They lost everything that was in their residential refrigerator as they were gone for ~10 days.

Fast forward to yesterday, I was talking to a freind who stays in a Florida campground for 3-4 months per year. They had a problem in their campground where apparently kids turned off the power to numerous rv's. Again, they had spoiled food.

Now a lock on the power box may solve the kid problems, but not a power box problem.

Can you purchase a battery powered loss alarm that would put out an audible alarm that would tell fellow campers/campground owner that a power loss has occurred.

I did some google searches but found nothing. Our neighbors had to replace the refrigerator as the spoiled food left a terrible mess (plus the fridge was old).
Seeking Advice
  • westend's avatar
    westend
    Explorer
    Apr 17, 2018
    We just try to "eat up" most of the perishable food before we leave. If I was storing a family members body in the freezer, I might develop a better plan .
    Have anyone in mind?
    Also brings up another alternative: if the family member remains perishable, can be consumed with the rest? Just remember, "you are what you eat" so make good choices out there.:B
  • TNGW1500SE's avatar
    TNGW1500SE
    Explorer
    Apr 16, 2018
    I think what you would really want to monitor is the temperature of the fridge but what would you want done if it got above a set range, an audible alarm? Then what? Somebody there would do what? Do you have a generator there?

    If the CG power went off and then your RV started blaring out a siren or something, what would you expect to happen? Got good insurance? Everyone was sitting around in the dark, burning up, listening to your siren, who'd blame them?

    What we do is put a small baggie of ice cubes in the freezer, then I check them when I come back. If they're melted into one block, my fridge failed, (for whatever reason), my food is now ruined, it just re-froze.

    We just try to "eat up" most of the perishable food before we leave. If I was storing a family members body in the freezer, I might develop a better plan ;)
  • ependydad's avatar
    ependydad
    Explorer
    Apr 13, 2018
    GordonThree wrote:
    The sensors report data using a protocol called MQTT. They're built around an inexpensive module called the esp8266 which has built in WiFi.


    Pretty neat. Thanks for the details!
  • Mr_Mark1's avatar
    Mr_Mark1
    Explorer
    Apr 13, 2018
    Our coach has WiFi and I can check all systems from my i-phone.

    It seems to me that the important thing is that the generator should kick on in a power loss situation.
    We have two options....
    1) I can 'arm' the generator where it is programed to come on when the batteries reach a 30% charge (we have lithium Ion house batteries).
    2) I can choose the option of 'power loss' that will start the generator immediately when power is lost.

    When power is restored, the generator will turn off and everything is back to normal.

    Safe travels,
    MM.
  • GordonThree's avatar
    GordonThree
    Explorer
    Apr 12, 2018
    The sensors report data using a protocol called MQTT. They're built around an inexpensive module called the esp8266 which has built in WiFi.
  • ependydad's avatar
    ependydad
    Explorer
    Apr 12, 2018
    GordonThree wrote:
    GordonThree wrote:
    so I had a nice long post typed up, but Marcus will not let me post it. I get the I'm not a robot page, and when I complete his puzzles, I get an error invalid post ID. Tried it on good sams and rv net.

    *sigh*


    So Marcus let me post my reply in the technical support forum, but he made me split it into two posts. maybe he has a problem with the length?

    my RV monitor system


    That's pretty neat. How do the sensors feed you data?
  • GordonThree's avatar
    GordonThree
    Explorer
    Apr 12, 2018
    GordonThree wrote:
    so I had a nice long post typed up, but Marcus will not let me post it. I get the I'm not a robot page, and when I complete his puzzles, I get an error invalid post ID. Tried it on good sams and rv net.

    *sigh*


    So Marcus let me post my reply in the technical support forum, but he made me split it into two posts. maybe he has a problem with the length?

    my RV monitor system
  • GordonThree's avatar
    GordonThree
    Explorer
    Apr 12, 2018
    so I had a nice long post typed up, but Marcus will not let me post it. I get the I'm not a robot page, and when I complete his puzzles, I get an error invalid post ID. Tried it on good sams and rv net.

    *sigh*
  • afidel's avatar
    afidel
    Explorer II
    Apr 12, 2018
    MDKMDK wrote:
    GordonThree wrote:
    afidel wrote:
    MDKMDK wrote:
    Fortress Security Store dot com sells wireless GSM based home alarm systems that can easily be adapted to use in an RV. One of the features of the one I have is that the base station has battery backup, and issues AC power interruption alerts, when AC power is turned off or the unit is unplugged. It's set up to send an SMS message to my cell phone.


    GSM based? I hope they offer an LTE upgrade module and all new ones are LTE, GSM is dead on AT&T and T-Mobile has only committed to GSM through 12/2020. WCMDA/UMTS is also on the way out with both AT&T and T-Mobile already shutting it down on certain frequencies.


    LTE and GSM are two different parts of the system.

    Most of the world's LTE service is delivered using GSM


    Thanks Gordon. I should have said systems that use a SIM card versus non-GSM CDMA devices. I've always used GSM in general reference to a phone (or other device) that uses a SIM card to supply the network id and smarts. Maybe that's an outdated term of reference?


    So GSM is the 2nd generation digital standard that replaced analog phones in most of the world (places not using CDMA). The GSM software stack was expanded to support 3G (UMTS) and 4G (LTE) by the 3GPP but those standards are not actually called GSM, that only refers to the original standard or the standards group. That's why LTE devices use SIM cards and you can switch back and forth between 3G and LTE networks, the software stack is a superset of GSM, but the underlying radio technology has changed. When talking about a radio or modem GSM almost always means the early 2G standard. I only brought it up because if it really is a GSM modem then it won't work in the US in about 18 months, don't want someone to sink hundreds of dollars on a monitoring system that will stop working that quickly!
  • MDKMDK's avatar
    MDKMDK
    Explorer
    Apr 12, 2018
    GordonThree wrote:
    afidel wrote:
    MDKMDK wrote:
    Fortress Security Store dot com sells wireless GSM based home alarm systems that can easily be adapted to use in an RV. One of the features of the one I have is that the base station has battery backup, and issues AC power interruption alerts, when AC power is turned off or the unit is unplugged. It's set up to send an SMS message to my cell phone.


    GSM based? I hope they offer an LTE upgrade module and all new ones are LTE, GSM is dead on AT&T and T-Mobile has only committed to GSM through 12/2020. WCMDA/UMTS is also on the way out with both AT&T and T-Mobile already shutting it down on certain frequencies.


    LTE and GSM are two different parts of the system.

    Most of the world's LTE service is delivered using GSM


    Thanks Gordon. I should have said systems that use a SIM card versus non-GSM CDMA devices. I've always used GSM in general reference to a phone (or other device) that uses a SIM card to supply the network id and smarts. Maybe that's an outdated term of reference?

About RV Tips & Tricks

Looking for advice before your next adventure? Look no further.25,115 PostsLatest Activity: Mar 04, 2025