3 phase camp site wiring

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
w5kgt

w5kgt

Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2018
Posts
7
Location
North Louisiana
I have a friend that has a RV campground that has 30 amp receptacle's. it has a 400 breaker box for the sites. two 100 amp breakers feeding the sites.
What wiring diagram do I need to convert these to 50 amp. Not sure how to figure the load factor for three phase. he has 50 sites. installing the 50, 30 20 amp pedatals.

Kevin
 
Wow!  You first off need to change the title  of your post.  RVs do not use 3 phase wiring.  Doing so could potientially kill people.  Have you searched the internet for RV electrical box wiring diagrams?  There posted everywhere.  Smart move would be to hire a certified electrician.  Which in most places is exactly what local ordinances will require.
 
^X2^ on a qualified electrician. Not trying to hurt your feelings, or down you in any way, but if you have to ask that question, you really have no business taking on that project.
 
Agree to the comments above. 

First, nothing you described implies that three-phase power is involved. Those 400A and 100A load centers (breaker boxes) are probably standard split phase, 120/240v panels.

Second, to get 50A. 120/240v service to a campsite, more and larger wires would need to be run to each site.  A 50A pedestal requires 6 gauge, 4-wire conductors to each, but the present 30A panels would have only 10 gauge 3-wire service.  Besides physically running the wires (underground or overhead), the sites need to have more actual power available.  Typically a 200A 120/240v load center would serve a max of 5 sites, each with 50A/40A/20A outlets. This campground does not have enough power in that 400A box to power more than 10 50A sites.  Actually, it doesn't have enough power for 50 x 30A sites either. If the campground is half full and each site is using a modest 20A, that is still a total of 500A load.
 
Sorry about the confusion, I was half asleep.
What i need is some guidance on a campground that is already set up with three phase wiring.
I've done a bunch of single phase campgrounds but this is my first three phase. It has two 400 amp distribution panels with six three phase breaker slots in each. I could stop and do some research thru
NEC and figure it out.
But I was hoping someone has already wired a campground with three phase. Want to know the formula for a 3ph wiring on the sites between the three legs. I will be replacing everything with new wire and equipment.
 
Ok, I see I'll figure it myself. Been an electrician since 1975. Residential and comercial for about 15 years. Been a industrial electrician/maintenance guy for 25 years. Done a lot of installs from large sewage plants to banks, schools, and numerous other facilities.
I am perfectly qualified to do and kind of electrical work except hi-line work.

But I have never daisy chained a 3phase campground and was wondering if someone had already done one.
But I'll do my homework and do it myself.

Sorry for the inconvenience on this page.
 
w5kgt said:
Ok, I see I'll figure it myself. Been an electrician since 1975. Residential and comercial for about 15 years. Been a industrial electrician/maintenance guy for 25 years. Done a lot of installs from large sewage plants to banks, schools, and numerous other facilities.
I am perfectly qualified to do and kind of electrical work except hi-line work.

But I have never daisy chained a 3phase campground and was wondering if someone had already done one.
But I'll do my homework and do it myself.

Sorry for the inconvenience on this page.
Click to expand...

Then you should already know RVs do not have 3 phase power.  Heck, homes do not have 3 phase power.  3 phase is a commercial aplication.
 
I think I know what you are saying you have and it would be a Y wired transformer giving you giving 3 equal legs of 120 volts and 208 across any two legs (a good way to check if you have a Y system), its common on some ground mounted transformers common in RV parks.

All you have to be concerned with is balancing the load between the phases. Look at your breaker and label them A,B and C, hook one set of power leads to A and B and the second two B and C and the third to C and A, that will give you 3 balanced circuits to feed your pedestals.

The other thing I did when wiring RV Parks was to reverse the line leads between pedestals to balance the load if you get a lot of RVs using 30 amp at one time, all pedestals are wired the same from the factory so all the 30 amp rec will end up on the same leg.

Denny

 
I highly recommend that you review the current NEC and any applicable state or local variations from it. Pay particular attention to "Article 551, Recreational Vehicles and Recreational Vehicle Parks." Your locality may require a licensed electrician as a minimum and possibly even a registered electrical engineer for the design of a public use system.
 
w5kgt said:
...Been an electrician since 1975. Residential and comercial for about 15 years. Been a industrial electrician/maintenance guy for 25 years. Done a lot of installs from large sewage plants to banks, schools, and numerous other facilities.
I am perfectly qualified to do and kind of electrical work except hi-line work.

But I have never daisy chained a 3phase campground and was wondering if someone had already done one...
Click to expand...

I think had this information been in your OP this thread would have gone in a very different direction.
 
donn said:
Then you should already know RVs do not have 3 phase power.  Heck, homes do not have 3 phase power.  3 phase is a commercial aplication.
Click to expand...
The OP did not say that RVs have three phase power. He was asking about the wiring in a commercial RV park. The park itself is wired in three phase.
 
Yes, that's correct. I work for the Louisiana Park system. I'm out here now at a park doing electrical checks on all the buildings, lift stations, and campsites.

Kevin Thomas
Louisiana State Parks
 
Hammster said:
I think had this information been in your OP this thread would have gone in a very different direction.
Click to expand...

Yep.

SeilerBird said:
The OP did not say that RVs have three phase power. He was asking about the wiring in a commercial RV park. The park itself is wired in three phase.
Click to expand...

Yep.

rvpuller said:
I think I know what you are saying you have and it would be a Y wired transformer giving you giving 3 equal legs of 120 volts and 208 across any two legs (a good way to check if you have a Y system), its common on some ground mounted transformers common in RV parks.

All you have to be concerned with is balancing the load between the phases. Look at your breaker and label them A,B and C, hook one set of power leads to A and B and the second two B and C and the third to C and A, that will give you 3 balanced circuits to feed your pedestals.

The other thing I did when wiring RV Parks was to reverse the line leads between pedestals to balance the load if you get a lot of RVs using 30 amp at one time, all pedestals are wired the same from the factory so all the 30 amp rec will end up on the same leg.

Denny
Click to expand...

Gary and Denny gave good advice.
Just check to make sure you don't have a delta with a 208 high leg.
Sorry I gave you such a hard time earlier. A lot of folks get on forums that don't have a clue about electricity except for replacing an outlet in their house, and try to do a project such as this and get themselves killed or kill someone else. That's why I hesitate to give advice and recommend a licensed electrician.
 
w5kgt said:
Ok, I see I'll figure it myself. Been an electrician since 1975. Residential and comercial for about 15 years. Been a industrial electrician/maintenance guy for 25 years. Done a lot of installs from large sewage plants to banks, schools, and numerous other facilities.
I am perfectly qualified to do and kind of electrical work except hi-line work.

But I have never daisy chained a 3phase campground and was wondering if someone had already done one.
But I'll do my homework and do it myself.

Sorry for the inconvenience on this page.
Click to expand...

With all those qualification you should already understand that the only 3 phase that will work in a camp ground is 4 wire 208/120 3 phase.  Energy management systems in 50 amp coaches may not respond well to 208. In an case, make sure and balance the load on the 3 legs. You may want to consult a more qualified electrician, as camp grounds do not use 3 phase for RV hook up sites.

Richard
 
rls7201 said:
With all those qualification you should already understand that the only 3 phase that will work in a camp ground is 4 wire 208/120 3 phase.  Energy management systems in 50 amp coaches may not respond well to 208. In an case, make sure and balance the load on the 3 legs. You may want to consult a more qualified electrician, as camp grounds do not use 3 phase for RV hook up sites.
Click to expand...

This campground does have 3 phase and has 50, 30amp sites. He wants to up grade to the new 50,30,20 amp Pedestals.
Just thought I would bypass the load calculations by asking.
I'll do the math tonight and figure out how many sites will go on a 4/0 or 250mcm Al. 3phase line with a 225amp breaker.
 
w5kgt said:
I'll do the math tonight and figure out how many sites will go on a 4/0 or 250mcm Al. 3phase line with a 225amp breaker.
Click to expand...

Which is likely what you should have done in the first place, since anything you got on a public forum from folks with unknown qualifications would need to be independently verified anyway. You're certainly welcome to ask us to validate your calculations, but expecting us to do the work accurately for you in the first place is not a good idea when human lives and public safety are at risk.
 
rls7201 said:
Energy management systems in 50 amp coaches may not respond well to 208.
Richard
Click to expand...

I could be wrong... but I don't think the 50 amp EMS systems ever looks at the two 120 phases as a 220 volt service, (or 208 in this case).

  Instead I think it sees them as two 50 amp 120 volt circuits,  as nothing in a motorhome is 220 vt.... so they can even be the same phase.
 
TonyDtorch said:
I could be wrong... but I don't think the 50 amp EMS systems ever looks at the two 120 phases as a 220 volt service, (or 208 in this case).

  Instead I think it sees them as two 50 amp 120 volt circuits,  as nothing in a motorhome is 220 vt.... so they can even be the same phase.
Click to expand...


2 out of faze 120 volt circuits (240 volts) is how the EMS determines weather the RV is on 30 or 50 amp service.

Richard
 
it will see 2 out of phase 120 volt circuits,  each one is capable of 50 amps to neutral.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 585 (members: 6, guests: 579)

Forum statistics

Threads
131,923
Posts
1,387,496
Members
137,673
Latest member
7199michael
Back
Top Bottom