Multi meter and pedestal power
How does one use the meter to test 30 amp voltage? Which post is hot and which is neutral, looking straight at the pedestal? What would a safe low and high voltage reading be? thanks
Forum Discussion
Tennessee_Nomad wrote:kcmoedoe wrote:
In answer to your questions, the left hand slot would be the Hot and the Right hand slot the neutral. Voltage should be 120 volts with the National Electric Code allowing a 5% variance which would be +/- 6 volts. Given the possible variance of a meter you can be pretty comfortable with a voltage between 112 volts and 128 volts. Anything higher or lower is probably going to be trouble, since voltage will vary slightly over time and you are probably not going to be testing at the absolute highest or lowest reading of the day.
Good information... A multi-meter is good for testing the "right now" voltage, but the only sure way to catch the dangerous drains or spikes is a good surge protector. I've never run into a bad pedestal, but it only takes once to mess up some really expensive equipment.
Exactly. Nothing wrong with checking with a meter. But what happens when the voltage spikes or drops after you set up. A good surge suppressor is designed to continuously monitor your incoming voltage.
Check with a meter will help you detect a pedestal that is broken, however it will not fully protect your RV.
Invest in a surge protector in you want full protection. No need to test pedestal each time. Install a Progressive hard wired surge guard and forget about it. The Progressive will do all the monitoring for you.
