Electrical - High Voltage
Hello Friends, My name is Carlos and my wife's name is Susan. We are new to the Open Roads Forum so we hope we have reached the correct topic. We have a 35' Cardinal Fifth Wheel (The Lodge) equipp...
Forum Discussion
Thank you all for your replies. I can see by some of the replies that perhaps more detail is needed from me. Susan and I have enjoyed three motor homes and three travel trailers. We have traveled and camped all over the United States and gone to many NASCAR events over the years. We have chosen this 35' Cardinal Fifth Wheel because it has all the amenities that we have always wanted, and because we intend to become full time campers in the near future. We are no strangers to owning a travel trailer and love the lifestyle.
But I am probably the worst when it comes to electrical issues, thus my confusion with volts and amps.
Some background facts: We do not own this property. We are leasing it while we build a new home, have been here a little over two months, and have no idea how much power comes into the main house, what type of breaker feeds the barn nor what type of wiring runs from the house to the barn. We simply wanted to have a 50 AMP plug installed in the barn so we could plug in our lodge. Thus the reason we contracted a licensed electrician. In our previous home we installed a 30 AMP plug for a 27' Fleetwood Terry trailer ourselves and everything worked perfectly for seven years, but this is not the same scenario and we felt more comfortable having an electrician do the work.
The barn is huge, sits about 300 feet away from the house and like the house, it is a big old barn, about 30 years old in our estimation. It has eleven stalls and an office with a working refrigerator and ample lighting throughout, although some of the fixtures have worn out and no longer work. We have asked for information from the owner but he is at a very advanced age and has not been able to supply us with sufficient information. The lodge is approximately 30' away from the barn.
We asked the electrician to survey the layout and give us an estimate to install a 50 AMP plug in the barn. He did walk back and forth from the house to the barn several times and spent some time at the breaker panel inside the house. And at the intake panel at the barn. He also used meters to determine the power running from here to there. As I stated in my earlier post, the electrician informed us that there was not sufficient power at the barn for a 50AMP plug, but that he could install a 30AMP plug. His estimate was $575. Going on the advice from the expert, we agreed. We would run our lodge on 30AMPS, and we knew what that entails.
The incoming panel at the barn has 2 fuses, not breakers. I believe the fuses are 240V, 30AMP. (I have pictures but have not figured out how to post on the Forum). The electrician tapped into this panel then ran a 10 gauge wire from the panel to the location for the 30 AMP plug for the lodge, a distance of about 100 feet. We then used the 50AMP electrical cord from the lodge with a 30 AMP adapter and plugged it in, resulting in the delivery of 104V to the lodge. The electrician suggested that the thing to do was to install a power booster. That would be another $126. Again, going on the advice from the expert, we agreed. This resulted in 138V to the lodge.
There is no separate meter to the barn. The electrician never mentioned or suggested upgrading/repairing/replacing the electrical service to the barn. Otherwise we would have considered that option, but it was never brought up. We are not looking to save some money; we just want it done right.
The power booster he installed, (sans an ability to post a photo) is:
• HPS (Hammond Power Solutions) HPS Universal Dry Type Isolation/Buck - Boost Transformer
• 120 X 240 V
• LV/ST 16V / 32V
• Part Number QC50ESCB
• KVA 0.50
• Type Q
We have unplugged the lodge to avoid damage. The electrician is saying that he will disconnect the power booster and give us a refund, and that if we purchase the Hughes Autoformer he will install it for us. That will be another $368 ++.
We are amazed that it can cost this much to install a plug and be able to plug in our lodge, and that we are having so many issues to begin with. It's either we contracted the wrong electrician, we need to rewire the whole thing from the house to the barn, or forget about having the lodge plugged in, which we do not want to do.
Yours frustrated,
Carlos & Susan
But I am probably the worst when it comes to electrical issues, thus my confusion with volts and amps.
Some background facts: We do not own this property. We are leasing it while we build a new home, have been here a little over two months, and have no idea how much power comes into the main house, what type of breaker feeds the barn nor what type of wiring runs from the house to the barn. We simply wanted to have a 50 AMP plug installed in the barn so we could plug in our lodge. Thus the reason we contracted a licensed electrician. In our previous home we installed a 30 AMP plug for a 27' Fleetwood Terry trailer ourselves and everything worked perfectly for seven years, but this is not the same scenario and we felt more comfortable having an electrician do the work.
The barn is huge, sits about 300 feet away from the house and like the house, it is a big old barn, about 30 years old in our estimation. It has eleven stalls and an office with a working refrigerator and ample lighting throughout, although some of the fixtures have worn out and no longer work. We have asked for information from the owner but he is at a very advanced age and has not been able to supply us with sufficient information. The lodge is approximately 30' away from the barn.
We asked the electrician to survey the layout and give us an estimate to install a 50 AMP plug in the barn. He did walk back and forth from the house to the barn several times and spent some time at the breaker panel inside the house. And at the intake panel at the barn. He also used meters to determine the power running from here to there. As I stated in my earlier post, the electrician informed us that there was not sufficient power at the barn for a 50AMP plug, but that he could install a 30AMP plug. His estimate was $575. Going on the advice from the expert, we agreed. We would run our lodge on 30AMPS, and we knew what that entails.
The incoming panel at the barn has 2 fuses, not breakers. I believe the fuses are 240V, 30AMP. (I have pictures but have not figured out how to post on the Forum). The electrician tapped into this panel then ran a 10 gauge wire from the panel to the location for the 30 AMP plug for the lodge, a distance of about 100 feet. We then used the 50AMP electrical cord from the lodge with a 30 AMP adapter and plugged it in, resulting in the delivery of 104V to the lodge. The electrician suggested that the thing to do was to install a power booster. That would be another $126. Again, going on the advice from the expert, we agreed. This resulted in 138V to the lodge.
There is no separate meter to the barn. The electrician never mentioned or suggested upgrading/repairing/replacing the electrical service to the barn. Otherwise we would have considered that option, but it was never brought up. We are not looking to save some money; we just want it done right.
The power booster he installed, (sans an ability to post a photo) is:
• HPS (Hammond Power Solutions) HPS Universal Dry Type Isolation/Buck - Boost Transformer
• 120 X 240 V
• LV/ST 16V / 32V
• Part Number QC50ESCB
• KVA 0.50
• Type Q
We have unplugged the lodge to avoid damage. The electrician is saying that he will disconnect the power booster and give us a refund, and that if we purchase the Hughes Autoformer he will install it for us. That will be another $368 ++.
We are amazed that it can cost this much to install a plug and be able to plug in our lodge, and that we are having so many issues to begin with. It's either we contracted the wrong electrician, we need to rewire the whole thing from the house to the barn, or forget about having the lodge plugged in, which we do not want to do.
Yours frustrated,
Carlos & Susan
