Very hot power cord with A/C on??

I can walk across the street when the light is red. The law says I have the right of way. BUT I look each way, why? Cause there is a chance someone like you will come run the light and hit me.

rockportrocket wrote:
Old Man, you need a new browser.

Perhaps you should post a link.

rockportrocket wrote:
Would it bother an rv cord? I doubt it , but why take the chance?

You just admitted it won't bother an RV cord.

AO_hitech wrote:
Strip off the outer insulation and wind 100 or more feet of the wire in the cord into a tight coil and then you will get a noticeable difference. But that is not what we are talking about...

Exactly. It is possible, but that is not what WE are talking about.

You CANNOT build a significant resistance in the standard RV cord from the inductance created by leaving the cord in a coil. The inductance value is just way too small. It will NOT matter in any way. Without extremely sensitive equipment you can't measure the difference in generated heat from the minuscule additional resistance from the inductance created from the coiled RV cord. Strip off the outer insulation and wind 100 or more feet of the wire in the cord into a tight coil and then you will get a noticeable difference. But that is not what we are talking about...

Old Man, you need a new browser. If you google extension cord heating up due to coiling vs straight , there must be 10000 s of answers. Including many forums that deal directly with what we have been discussing.

Inductance is resistance and it is aggravated by coiling a cord. It in itself restricts the transfer of electricity , there fore making heat.

Would it bother an rv cord? I doubt it , but why take the chance?

rockportrocket wrote:
But the property which can cause it to be potentially dangerous is the wire resistance and heat built up due to to many layers of close contact wire.

Yes, and that is a physical phenomenon of a cord which is getting hot due to being overloaded and coiled up on itself. Make sense.

But I can find nothing on the 'net about inductance or resistance causing heat due to the coiling of the cord itself.

RoyB wrote:
Those 30A pedestal connections really get a work out. i suspect the one you was plugged into was needing replaced.

I always look at them real close before connecting up. If it is burned etc I will use my 30A-50A adapter and plug into the 50A service connector if they have one on the pedestal. Otherwise I will ask to be moved to a better connection site...

This is what you 30AMP plug will look like just before you need to replace haha...



Its suppose to look nice and clean like this photo


I would definitely take a close look at your 30A Shore Power plug to see if it got burned any. It never gets better - only worse...

Roy Ken

IMHO those types of moulded ends are part of the problem. I cut those off and change out to the Yellow Camco ends. The prongs are solid not folded like the pic. Mine have stayed looking good since doing the swap. Much better connection.

yes the connection could be loose, the voltage could be low and i would have the park staff check it out

BUT

with only 30 amps service i would be sure to put the water heater on LP, and maybe the fridge, is it a french door side by side, IF so it uses TWO heaters and at least 600w power maybe more, but it on LP

mileshuff wrote:
First time use on new trailer. When leaving RV park went to unplug power cord. Connector at RV site box was VERY hot to touch. Trailer is 30amp, as is power cord. Was running A/C but I've never experienced such a hot cord. Trailer is brand new Winnebago 5th wheel. A/C unit is Dometic 15K. Is is normal for the power cord to get rather hot to the touch? As an afterthought guess is it possible the connection at the RV sites outlet was poor causing high resistance and thus heat at the connector?

Like I said above, in an RV application leaving the cord coiled is not likely to be a problem. I was just answering the specific post about a coiled cord heating up. It will heat up more than a non-coiled cord, this much is certain. How much it heats up, however, is likely never going to be enough to cause a problem unless there's some issue down the line or in a connection.

I'm pretty sure my RV cord is coiled up right now around the base of the power pedestal...

Because it would take many times that much to damage the high temperature insulation on a good extension cord. Our RV cord has been coiled and the electrical bay for the last two year with all the electric that we have used in the MH passing through it without heating issues. Melting cords will not happen unless something is quite wrong with one or more variables involved based on training and experience.

rockportrocket wrote:
This then equates to 25 watts of heat being generated along the cord. If the cord is still wound this heat will then build up and damage the cord.

Then why have I never damaged my cord? You don't limit much heat dissipation with the cord coiled up on the ground. You don't make much of an electrical coil either for that matter.