3000W Chinese Gensets Info.
professor95 wrote: EDIT ADDED 45/5/2013- When this thread started in March of 2005, I never expected to see it survive this long or amass the quantity of information that has been shared here. In...
Forum Discussion
have the RV electrical surge protector with GFI shown in this link:
http://www.campingworld.com/browse/skus/index.cfm?deptID=&subOf=98,55&skunum=18337
Should that item protect me and the RV appliances provided I am using it on whatever source of power the RV is connected to, generator or shore power?
I have one of these as well. It is the 30 amp unit I spoke of that is around a $100.00.
Your device will protect you from a ground fault, or current in one of the two legs of the supply voltage that is greater than the other. I consider it a "MUST HAVE" item from an electrical safety standpoint in any RV.
But, when connected to a generator it does not provide a gounding connection unless the generator is bonded to earth ground. As long as the GFCI is operating properly, it would detect any leakage from an appliance through you to a ground, providing a level of protection otherwise not present. The key word here is "working properly". We both know that it is not a question of if the GFCI will fail or not, but when. Hopefully, it will give good protection for many years - but can we always be sure? For 100% safety, you still need the earth ground bonded to the generator frame and the RV frame in addition to the GFCI. That said, this is rarely ever done. The additional risks are minimal when using a GFCI in the suply line - but they are still there.
