How do you handle bad campgound power

[RRinNFla]

Here is the scenario:

Long travel day. We pulled into to a combination trailer park/campground near the interstate. Paid for the site, and was told to pick any open spot in the campground loops. I pulled into an open pull-thru site.

I have a Pioneer portable Electrical Management System. When I plugged in the EMS, I got a high voltage error code, and no power. I walked to an adjacent site, plugged in the EMS, got the same results. So, I tried a pedestal on a different loop, but got the same result. I think the voltage was about +5.

What would you do? I was really tired. There were several other rigs plugged in. I just plugged in without the EMS.

[SCVJeff]

Smoke is smoke, right ?

[Airstreamer67]

They should have included a bottle with my MG.

[TechWriter]

SCVJeff wrote:
I always carry a bottle of replacement smoke

From Lucas? Too funny.

[SCVJeff]

I always carry a bottle of replacement smoke

[wa8yxm]

I would look to see what the voltage was and then make a decision. Likely I'd move on to a different campground if management could not fix it right away but

As someone said. A/C's and other devices with compressors and blower motors do not like LOW voltage.. A few volts on teh high side wont' bother them much.

Electronics (on the other hand) are a different pail of bait,, Now if I design a power supply. LOW voltage won't bother it much (nor high but that is if I design it) many designers do allow for low voltatge, and if it gets too low the device simply does not work.. See note however.

High voltage... I recall one microwave transciver running on a generator that was a few volts HOT.. The owner said, suddenly,, I SMELL HOT RESISTOR.. He sniffed just as the part blew.. He is waving smoke away with one hand and pulling plugs with the other.. As you may know Electroincs run on Magic Smoke, and he'd just let the smoke out.. Cost him like $1.86 to fix it, but that does not include labor (he gets about $200/hr, higest paid electronics Tech in that town).

Too high a voltage tends to let the smoke out.

The NOTE: Computers.. not so much laptops which are designed to protect themselves from low voltage, but if you you have a desk top, tower or mini-tower or an All-in-One. If the voltage goes low at the wrong time it can truly mess up your hard drive. I have seen it happen on major (main frame) devices... Took quite a while to get power restored and the drive back up and spinning. My mother saw it happen as well. (The difference is the computer I used has information on it that can save a life or capture a thief) Thankfully when my Dry Cleaners got ripped off.. I knew how to bypass that computer and get to the one with the thief's name and address on it.. So when he got home, he had a welcoming committee waiting for him to take him to his new home.

Alas. I've not used that 800 number is so many ears I have forgotten it.

[hgrace56]

Not sure what the range is on your device but I have been an electrical contractor here in Southern California for over 30 years and can tell you that here we can see ranges from 108-132 volts in locations and we have not seen any ill effects. from over voltage. It is possible that some RV Parks may implement some kind of 'Line Conditioning' to creep voltages up when under max loads.

[SoundGuy]

Airstreamer67 wrote:
I don't stay in a campground if the SurgeGuard doesn't stay on.

We normally prefer electric sites but I would, and do ... if my EMS doesn't like what it's seeing I simply disconnect and dry camp. 🙂 I suppose I might consider moving on if we were camping where daily temps were well above 100F and if we were expecting to be there for several days, otherwise we can do just fine without campground power if need be. Installing a 1000 watt PSW inverter last year means that if we do lose campsite power we can still power our coffee machine, toaster, wife's hair dryer, fans, etc ... in other words, anything other than A/C we'd be powering anyway with shore power.

[Airstreamer67]

I don't stay in a campground if the SurgeGuard doesn't stay on. Even if the air conditioner runs on voltage that is beyond the safe parameters, damage will result. The life of electrical equipment can easily be shortened by substandard power.

[SCVJeff]

Sounds like late paranoia checking in. The OP inferred the CG was empty since the manager said pick a spot and he tried many, so of course it's going to be high by design, the power company isn't standing at the enterance twisting a compensation knob depending on loading. IF it's 5v over 120, who cares, that's perfectly safe, but the question in this thread he never answered is 5 over WHAT?Those saying they would leave "just incase" it might go higher are simply paranoid. The world isn't flat and the grid is not and never will be a rock-solid 120v. It simply won't happen unless the generating plant is across the street.

[rk911]

SoundGuy wrote:

rk911 wrote:
I ALWAYS check voltage AND polarity before plugging in. afterwards I depend on our Progressive surge protector to protect us. and inside the coach I have a Good Governor voltage/polarity/cycle meter plugged into an AC outlet which constantly monitors the state of our electric hookup.

For greater convenience I built this dongle so I can quickly check the campsite source for errors with a Prime Products AC Line Meter before plugging in.



Inside the camper I've used a Kill-a-Watt meter to monitor incoming voltage but now prefer using my Progressive Industries EMS-HW30C Monitor Panel to keep an eye on incoming source voltage, confident the EMS will shut off the incoming source if it falls out of spec.

I use the same exact meter to check the voltage/polarity at the post before plugging in. mine is just not in a nice dongle like yours. nice job! the monitor for our Progressive Surge Guard is also mounted inside.

[SoundGuy]

rk911 wrote:
I ALWAYS check voltage AND polarity before plugging in. afterwards I depend on our Progressive surge protector to protect us. and inside the coach I have a Good Governor voltage/polarity/cycle meter plugged into an AC outlet which constantly monitors the state of our electric hookup.

For greater convenience I built this dongle so I can quickly check the campsite source for errors with a Prime Products AC Line Meter before plugging in.



Inside the camper I've used a Kill-a-Watt meter to monitor incoming voltage but now prefer using my Progressive Industries EMS-HW30C Monitor Panel to keep an eye on incoming source voltage, confident the EMS will shut off the incoming source if it falls out of spec.

[rk911]

TyroneandGladys wrote:

2gypsies wrote:
We wouldn't plug in. We'd ask for a refund and find another park or else wouldn't use the electric. Why would you risk damage?

X2
Yes you check the voltage and it might only be 5 volts over when you plug in but what will the voltage be later. Checking voltage only protects you that very second. Unless you are going to to stand by the pedestal staring at the meter ready to unplug if voltage goes up or down meters are no protection.

no, they're not but checking voltage AND polarity before plugging in is prudent. can something go wrong afterwards? sure it can and that's where a surge protector can protect you. remember, a tire can go flat 5-mins after checking. doesn't mean you don't at least occasionally check your tire pressure before taking off.

us? I ALWAYS check voltage AND polarity before plugging in. afterwards I depend on our Progressive surge protector to protect us. and inside the coach I have a Good Governor voltage/polarity/cycle meter plugged into an AC outlet which constantly monitors the state of our electric hookup.

[TyroneandGladys]

2gypsies wrote:
We wouldn't plug in. We'd ask for a refund and find another park or else wouldn't use the electric. Why would you risk damage?

X2
Yes you check the voltage and it might only be 5 volts over when you plug in but what will the voltage be later. Checking voltage only protects you that very second. Unless you are going to to stand by the pedestal staring at the meter ready to unplug if voltage goes up or down meters are no protection.

[myredracer]

westend wrote:
Typical utility voltage standard is +,- 5 percent. 5 percent of 120V is 6 V.

This is correct - normally. Utility company nominal voltage throughout North America is 120 volts. Always. Voltage must comply with the ANSI C84.1 standard. Discusion by PG&E here. Utility company service voltage should normally be +/- 5 percent (114-126), but utilization voltage is allowed to be as much as +6 to -13 percent (104.4-127.2). "Service" voltage is what the utility company provides to your property and "utilization" voltage is what you get at the point of use after voltage drop is included as allowed by the NEC.

If OP is talking about 5 volts over 120, that is nothing to worry about. If that is with no load plugged in yet (open circuit voltage), it may go down a little or a lot depending on how the CG/RV park is wired. An EMS should not shut down at 125 volts. NEMA says that appliances should be able to operate between +/- 10 percent on nominal (120) volts. Note that a PI EMS unit won't shut you down until at 132 volts. Perhaps a PI EMS range of 104 to 132 volts may come from the min. allowable from ANSI/NEC of 104.4 volts and max. NEMA figure of +10 percent?

Sometimes voltage can deliberately be set high to compensate for a change from lightly loaded to heavily loaded conditions such as in rural areas with long runs or seasonal facilities like CGs. Low voltage is the usual issue in a CG and is relatively common, esp. in the summertime.

It is a good idea to have a plug-in or hardwired voltmeter in your RV. Some will even use a voltmeter at a pedestal before plugging in which is a good thing to do if you don't have an EMS unit. Some CGs have poor or outdated wiring and the voltage may *seem* okay or high at first but once you add load, it can take a nosedive. The NEC has a lot to do with this as the min. wiring requirements are way behind today's RV power demands.

Maybe OP plugged in after someone in a previous post said to just go ahead and plug in and his rig either blew up or he got electrocuted...