Confused about wiring my Recent Purchase
Good evening guys and I hope you all can help me. I have gleaned a wealth of knowledge so far but have come here for the advice from people that know RV's. Story .... Moving into an RV for 4 mo...
Forum Discussion
@All,
Many thanks for the replies gentlemen. Some further information and it seems my discoveries now merit putting in a sub panel with 2 ground rods.
After popping the cover and taking some readings I found that the neutral buss by design was meant to be isolated in the AGED Square D Panel. I had a short to ground on 2 receptacles and no ground on one. Not only that, 2 of the circuit breaker hold down clips were snapped and one of the Live Feeds were loose at the main On/Off circuit breaker in the box. At that point, I said Screw it, and proceeded (after disconnecting the power) to remove every damn wire in the box to eliminate potential shorts and miswiring.
I did confirm my multimeter readings of 121v on each of the 2 main feeds. Scary thing is ... it had a 240v feed to a normal receptacle unmarked on the back wall. Thank the stars no-one used this barn much. I also confirmed there are NO grounding rods anywhere around the barn.
In doing so I found several corroded connections, several loose connections and 2 shorts in wiring in the walls. IMO I'm condemning the whole thing. I have at least one good wiring run receptacle in the wall which can be a barn light, but tbh I think my best bet for safety is to purchase a sub panel and @enblethan, I agree sir, from everything I have read the Neutral and Grounds can only be bonded at the main panel.
Much as I would love to take a short cut, I cannot vouch for the integrity internally of these circuit breakers and their age is going to make replacement a pain.
Plan so far if you guys agree, would be to purchase a sub panel .... Neutral and Ground Bars separate, Sink my 2 grounding rods and wire properly. I only need 120v and intend only to power a light, 2 barn receptacles and the RV ... so I'm hoping a small box will suffice.
One question I have is ... this box is powered / tapped, from the Main In from outside the house. i.e. the Box at the meter. 1 200amp breaker hits the main house and another 50amp breaker supplies the barn. I am unsure of Main and SubPanels and their difference, but I presume the subpanel will require a MAIN breaker of some sort to cut power to the rest of the breakers ? or not ? The old one had a big breaker at the top of the panel which cut power to the rest of the breakers. Can you guys shed any light on the type of box I should be asking for / looking for, when I hit Lowes tomorrow? and do I need one with a Main breaker or do they all come with that ?
@enblethen, @KD4UPL, @Dusty R, @smkettner, @wa8yxm, @OnaQuest
Thank you all for helping me figure this out :-)
For your entertainment I think I'll have to try and post some pics of the mess that I am trying to sort out tomorrow lol !
Many thanks for the replies gentlemen. Some further information and it seems my discoveries now merit putting in a sub panel with 2 ground rods.
After popping the cover and taking some readings I found that the neutral buss by design was meant to be isolated in the AGED Square D Panel. I had a short to ground on 2 receptacles and no ground on one. Not only that, 2 of the circuit breaker hold down clips were snapped and one of the Live Feeds were loose at the main On/Off circuit breaker in the box. At that point, I said Screw it, and proceeded (after disconnecting the power) to remove every damn wire in the box to eliminate potential shorts and miswiring.
I did confirm my multimeter readings of 121v on each of the 2 main feeds. Scary thing is ... it had a 240v feed to a normal receptacle unmarked on the back wall. Thank the stars no-one used this barn much. I also confirmed there are NO grounding rods anywhere around the barn.
In doing so I found several corroded connections, several loose connections and 2 shorts in wiring in the walls. IMO I'm condemning the whole thing. I have at least one good wiring run receptacle in the wall which can be a barn light, but tbh I think my best bet for safety is to purchase a sub panel and @enblethan, I agree sir, from everything I have read the Neutral and Grounds can only be bonded at the main panel.
Much as I would love to take a short cut, I cannot vouch for the integrity internally of these circuit breakers and their age is going to make replacement a pain.
Plan so far if you guys agree, would be to purchase a sub panel .... Neutral and Ground Bars separate, Sink my 2 grounding rods and wire properly. I only need 120v and intend only to power a light, 2 barn receptacles and the RV ... so I'm hoping a small box will suffice.
One question I have is ... this box is powered / tapped, from the Main In from outside the house. i.e. the Box at the meter. 1 200amp breaker hits the main house and another 50amp breaker supplies the barn. I am unsure of Main and SubPanels and their difference, but I presume the subpanel will require a MAIN breaker of some sort to cut power to the rest of the breakers ? or not ? The old one had a big breaker at the top of the panel which cut power to the rest of the breakers. Can you guys shed any light on the type of box I should be asking for / looking for, when I hit Lowes tomorrow? and do I need one with a Main breaker or do they all come with that ?
@enblethen, @KD4UPL, @Dusty R, @smkettner, @wa8yxm, @OnaQuest
Thank you all for helping me figure this out :-)
For your entertainment I think I'll have to try and post some pics of the mess that I am trying to sort out tomorrow lol !
