SurgeGuard warns of a pedastal problem

Redterpos3 wrote:
a reverse polarity isn't too big a deal, and the electrician just secured the connection, and made it correctly.

Thanks. I've often wondered about that since, by definition, ac current 'reverses' itself 60 times a second.

2oldman wrote:

Redterpos3 wrote:
Electrician shows up, and fixes the problem!! Just a little snafu,

Do you know what he or she did? (Funny, you never think of an electrician as a woman, do you?)

As a previous poster noted that a reverse polarity isn't too big a deal, and the electrician just secured the connection, and made it correctly. Didn't take long, he said these pedestals are set up a bit differently than at home. He did say this was the first time he had seen a surgeguard :h guess not many use them.

Redterpos3 wrote:
Electrician shows up, and fixes the problem!! Just a little snafu,

Do you know what he or she did? (Funny, you never think of an electrician as a woman, do you?)

I carry one the 120VAC circuit testers just for this reason.


This will tell you the same thing. Of course since this only plugs into a 120VAC 15A/20A receptacle you have to use an adapter to mate up with the service you are testing on the pedestals.

I have to admit I don't do this everytime and really should be. In your case the surge protector is always used so this is a big plus for you as you have just found out...

Since the majority of the hookups use the 30AMP connections on the pedestals you can imagine the wear and tear they get. I always look for burn marks before plugging in. I usually don't go to 50AMP service pedestals but if the 30AMP side didn't look good to me I would switch adapters and plug my 30AMP trailer into the 50A side using the proper adapter.

You know this has to be a big effort for the CG management to keep up with their used-up connections... Got to be a big job for them...

Roy Ken

When you consider that a lot of CG's will just have an employee go out and install a new plug etc. there is a big chance for mistakes. Reverse polarity is simply having white on brass instead of black, but could still have serious problems in the right circumstance. Glad your SurgeGuard caught it and am always amazed when I see people plug in without a SurgeGuard, EMS or anything to check the pedestal.