length of 30 amp line

Thanks for the replies.

Paul D. wrote:
Soundguy,
A question you may be able to help with. I recently installed a Progressive surge protector like the one you have pictured. Put it in the cord bin under the dinette seat. My issue is the Humming noise the contactor makes while powered up. Tried sound proofing the compartment and it helps. Is the "hum " normal, and any thoughts for quieting it down with out restricting cooling air flow?

Our 30 amp PI EMS is under a dinette seat. Never hear a thing from it. There's a number of things that can cause contactors to make noise and things you can do to fix or reduce the noise, but rather than try and monkey around with it, I also suggest calling Progressive Industries. They might just send you a whole new unit.

Paul D. wrote:
Soundguy,
A question you may be able to help with. I recently installed a Progressive surge protector like the one you have pictured. Put it in the cord bin under the dinette seat. My issue is the Humming noise the contactor makes while powered up. Tried sound proofing the compartment and it helps. Is the "hum " normal, and any thoughts for quieting it down with out restricting cooling air flow?

Interesting question I wish I could help with but I can honestly say mine makes a barely detectable sound which has never been noticeable at all. The best I could suggest is to give Progressive a call and ask if they'd swap yours out for another one OR send you a new contactor.

Soundguy,
A question you may be able to help with. I recently installed a Progressive surge protector like the one you have pictured. Put it in the cord bin under the dinette seat. My issue is the Humming noise the contactor makes while powered up. Tried sound proofing the compartment and it helps. Is the "hum " normal, and any thoughts for quieting it down with out restricting cooling air flow?

3oaks wrote:
140'? I think I would use my generator instead, if it was permissible. Or do without 120v electricity if it weren't available within 50'. (My on board cord plus one extension cord)

By always ensuring we're only running one high draw device at any given time I've never pulled any more than 20 amps total from a 30 amp campsite source - a few amps for the trailer itself and ~ 15 amps or less for whatever high draw device we may want to use at the time, be it A/C, microwave oven, water heater electric heating element, supplemental electric heater, toaster, coffee maker, hair dryer, or whatever. If I plug those numbers into the voltage drop calculator - 140 feet of 10 gauge cable, nominal source voltage of 120 vac, and a maximum 20 amp draw voltage drop is still less than 6 volts, which would only be a concern if the unloaded source voltage were much lower, say 112 vac. JMO, but it makes far more sense to me to limit total power consumption so I can reach a distant campsite power post. :)

140'? I think I would use my generator instead, if it was permissible. Or do without 120v electricity if it weren't available within 50'. (My on board cord plus one extension cord)

SoundGuy wrote:

myredracer wrote:
The NEC and NFPA specifies where a pedestal is to be located on a site in an RV park and the NEC also specs where the point of entrance of a power cord is to be on an RV. You shouldn't normally need more than 25' of cord.

From my perspective here in Ontario that's rather humourous as I wouldn't recommend anyone head to any Ontario provincial park without at least 75' of main service cable. [snip]... last summer when we were lucky enough to get a premium site in the newly opened 3rd campground at that park I used all of my 140' to reach the post. [snip] ;)

Wow, that is insane! Have only been to a Canadian CG twice (BC) and the pedestals were both in a decent location. We do all of our camping in the US. When it comes to the CEC and CSA, we're usually very progressive and recognized for what we do, but on RV matters are woefully behind the US. Imagine getting to a CG in Ontario and finding you need 140' of cord. Besides the cost, a lot of bulk and weight to tote around, even if just #10. No camping in Ont. for us then, lol.

myredracer wrote:
The NEC and NFPA specifies where a pedestal is to be located on a site in an RV park and the NEC also specs where the point of entrance of a power cord is to be on an RV. You shouldn't normally need more than 25' of cord.

From my perspective here in Ontario that's rather humourous as I wouldn't recommend anyone head to any Ontario provincial park without at least 75' of main service cable. Most trailers are supplied with a 25' cable so that therefore means carrying at least one 50' extension - minimum. In older provincial parks such as The Pinery the most common setup is one power post set between two adjacent sites BUT because of topography that post is rarely equidistant from where two adjacent trailers would be located. Occasionally one gets lucky and 25' will do it but for sure your neighbour will have a l-o-n-g way to go. The situation is even worse in newer parks, Inverhuron Provincial Park being a great example as it was rebuilt from the ground up a few years ago and all the main service trunk lines are buried alongside the campground roads, with the campsite power posts set just in from the road. That in turn means the runs can very often be at least 100' or more to get to those posts ... last summer when we were lucky enough to get a premium site in the newly opened 3rd campground at that park I used all of my 140' to reach the post. "Shouldn't need" is nice in theory but irrelevant in practice as the amount of main service cable required very much depends on where you're camping. ;)

If this is a rare occurrence at one of the CGs you happen to visit, 2 x 30 amp 25' shore power cords will likely work if you monitor the voltage and restrict the load as needed and providing the voltage at the pedestal isn't too low. If you want the most power possible at a CG and want to get the volts up, get a Hughes autoformer to boost the voltage.

An EMS is a really good idea to protect your appliances and components and is highly recommended - Progressive Industries makes the better one. A PI EMS will automatically shut you down at 104 volts and the Surge Guard at 102. 102 is too low IMO.

The NEC and NFPA specifies where a pedestal is to be located on a site in an RV park and the NEC also specs where the point of entrance of a power cord is to be on an RV. You shouldn't normally need more than 25' of cord. Have run across 2 of them so far where the pedestal was at the front of the site. We carry a spare (detachable) 30 amp cord and have a generator adapter that allows 2 shore power cords to be plugged in together for 50'.

The CEC (Canadian) in the past has not specified where a pedestal should be located or where a power cord should exit an RV. There was a proposed amendment to the 2012 edition to harmonize pedestal location with the NEC. It doesn't look like it made it into the '12 edition tho.

If you get around to enough CGs, you will find that low voltage is a common problem with CG wiring, esp. in the summer with a lot of AC units running. An EMS and autoformer are a very good investment. A plug in or hardwired voltage monitor inside is a very good idea at a minimum. I installed both a hardwired AC voltmeter and ammeter (plus have an EMS and autoformer).

valhalla360 wrote:
We have a voltage monitor we plug into an outlet in the kitchen ($25 at home depot). It's easy to see and just stays plugged in. As long as the voltage stays above 110v, I don't worry too much but it's a good idea to check when the air/con or other heavy load kicks on that it doesn't drop too low. It will dip for a second during startup of the compressor but shouldn't go too low and should quickly rebound to 110v or better.

Better still - invest in a surge protector of your choice that not only constantly monitors and displays incoming source voltage under load but also includes automatic low / high voltage shut off should that voltage fall outside acceptable limits, along with the ability to protect the A/C compressor by delaying power restoration by 2+ minutes. :B