Electrial Question

Candie4749 wrote:

myredracer wrote:

Ed_Gee wrote:
Your campground host is in denial. He either has a wiring problem with his 'new' system, or it is simply over-loaded by all the campers plugged into the system. Not much you can do about it...and you're probably doing the right thing by not using your A/C if the voltage is under 108VAC on your meter.

And it makes you wonder if it was done to Code and if done by a friend of the owner's friend. Ya know, the guy who's an electrician (wink wink)...

Some guy who camps there did the 30AMP upgrade and no I do not think he is an electrician. :E

Not good and a potential safety hazard. If it were me, I'd be contacting the local authority having jurisdiction.

myredracer wrote:

Ed_Gee wrote:
Your campground host is in denial. He either has a wiring problem with his 'new' system, or it is simply over-loaded by all the campers plugged into the system. Not much you can do about it...and you're probably doing the right thing by not using your A/C if the voltage is under 108VAC on your meter.

And it makes you wonder if it was done to Code and if done by a friend of the owner's friend. Ya know, the guy who's an electrician (wink wink)...

Some guy who camps there did the 30AMP upgrade and no I do not think he is an electrician. :E

Ed_Gee wrote:
Your campground host is in denial. He either has a wiring problem with his 'new' system, or it is simply over-loaded by all the campers plugged into the system. Not much you can do about it...and you're probably doing the right thing by not using your A/C if the voltage is under 108VAC on your meter.

Is that 5 campers each with 30 amps plugged into the same RV pedestal or fed off the same power utility company's pole ? Did they add more 30 amp receptacles to an existing pedestal?

It makes you wonder if it was done to Code and if done by a friend of the owner's friend. You know - the guy who's an electrician (wink wink)...

Thanks everyone I will pass this information on to my husband. I think we were okay the first three or four weeks because there was only us and one other camper there using electric from that pole and now there are four or five and the party next to us just is leaving their air running constantly and are not even there most of the time. I'm beginning to think this is the reason our air did not work the first time we turned it on and we took it back to the dealer who was adamant that it work when we took delivery but still fixed it free of charge. It might be time to start looking for a new seasonal site.

I'll agree with what most folks have already said. You definitely need to get power issues resolved as quickly as possible.

We use this model. Found a reversed polarity on a SC State Park campground last year.

The reason I had the surge guard is from a previous experience, where the camp host assured I, and our neighbor, everything was fine. However, our neighbor had power issues which led to the demise of his 15 year old fridge.

Ed_Gee wrote:
My, " not much you can do about it " comment was meant to point out that the original poster had little recourse to remedy the situation if the campground manager was in denial... and yes, short of leaving, unplugging from that low voltage system would probably be prudent.

Understand, but my point was that if one has an EMS unit such as a Progressive Industries EMS-PT30C that has the ability to detect multiple errors with the source supply then it would be darned near impossible for any campground owner, manager, host, maintenance man, etc, to deny there is an issue when the EMS clearly shows that there is. A unit such as the PT30C shows up to 10 error codes and printed in English right on the face of the unit it says exactly what each code means. Measuring with a DVM is fine but try arguing with someone who has no idea what those readings mean and it's a losing battle ... show them what the EMS says and there's no way they can deny there's an issue with the source supply that needs to be fixed.

test your voltage at the pedestal. Ideal should be 120 volts.
If you are only getting 115 or less, it is time to move away. It will damage any thing you have that is motor driven.
If you are getting a decent reading there, then check one of your trailer receptacles. If the voltage is low there, it is in you trailers electrical system

Jack L

SoundGuy wrote:

Ed_Gee wrote:
Your campground host is in denial. He either has a wiring problem with his 'new' system, or it is simply over-loaded by all the campers plugged into the system. Not much you can do about it...

Of course there is - unplug immediately and remain unplugged until the situation is resolved. In the meantime, invest in "protection" so regardless of what transpires in the future it will shut down power to the trailer and thereby protect it's electrical system if it senses anything wrong with the incoming source power. It's also clear proof to any campground host that is in denial that there really is an issue with the park's power system.

My, " not much you can do about it " comment was meant to point out that the original poster had little recourse to remedy the situation if the campground manager was in denial... and yes, short of leaving, unplugging from that low voltage system would probably be prudent. If it were me in my motorhome I'd start my generator and get the manager's attention that way....

You did not mention if the other campers in your immediate area are having this trouble also. I would ask them and if they have the same problem they could report it also. If you can not work anything else out you can get a professional to take a reading and then provide the results to the campground management.

I recommend the use of the surge protectors that have built in power monitoring. The monitor will turn the power off to your camper until the voltage returns to a safe level. This works for voltage that is too low, as well as voltage that is to high. Some of these units also provide protection for an incorrectly wired pedestal. You can get the units that go inline with your power cord, or they make a version that mounts inside of your camper and is permanently wired into your power supply. No matter what version you choose remember to get one with power monitoring as well as surge protection.

The other thing that would be smart to do is have a RV to standard plug puck adapter so you can also test the voltage and polarity at the pedestal - Do this before complaining to the park management so they can't try to blame your cables/system where you are currently measuring.

The one CG where I had a low voltage issue kept tripping my surge protector. And since the management offered excuses rather than fixes, I posted appropriate information on RVParkReviews.com