30 AMP plug 220V

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cyclegirl1943 said:
The owner is saying:
1. There are national standards that say an RV 30amp plug can also be wired for 220v and
2.  The damage may not have been caused by the increased voltage. 

Guess the good news is they are admitting it is wired incorrectly. They say they have RVS plug in there requiring a 30amp 220 service.
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I say BS on their explanation.  There's a 220 volt, 30 amp DRYER plug and outlet that looks very similar to the RV 120 volt, 30 amp outlet.  But the two have differently shaped ground pins so you can't plug a 120 volt plug into a 220 volt outlet and vice-versa.

The park is plainly at fault if they wired a 120 volt RV outlet (that your 120 volt RV can plug into) to 220 volts.  It's just plain incompetence on the part of whoever wired the outlet.

Of course, this assumes the plug on the end of your shore power cord is intact.  If it's missing it's ground pin there's nothing to stop you from plugging your defective cord into an outlet of the wrong voltage.

I'd like to see a list of those RVs that need 30 amp, 220 volt service.  The only ones I can think of are Europeans with 240 volt service at home, and they wouldn't have an American 120 volt plug on the end of their shore power cord.
 
However, the security guard had told us they have run into this problem before.
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Unfortunately "the security guard" is just that and is likely going on hearsay and not a professional knowledge of what may have happened before. Other 'victims' might make better witnesses if they can be located. Be sure the person who committed the error, professional or not, will not admit to anything. Taking apart the park power pedestal might reveal the true problem, but good luck in doing that if there is likely a liability situation and $$$ involved. The park would be remiss if it has not rushed out there and had it fixed it already removing all evidence of wrong doing.

Is it still possible to get photos of the offending pedestal in enough detail to prove the existence of at least the plug, correct or otherwise? Photographs of a meter plugged into it and showing the bad voltage would be ideal. Even a photo of an obviously repaired pedestal might be beneficial.
 
Our ground pin is intact.  We have an appointment with camping world to asses the damage and get a written statement that the damage was due to the 220v service Thursday morning that I am supposed to email to the owner.
 
SeilerBird said:
The campground might be liable, but no lawyer ever takes a case without a large down payment and I doubt that they would even win anyway.
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Unless it's class action and there are multiple plaintiffs.  If this situation fried the electronics in one RV, it did the same in others.  I would be absolutely livid with the park, and would go as far as to post their name and the situation on every public forum and social media possible. 
 
cyclegirl1943 said:
Can anyone lead me in the direction of the national standard that says an 30 amp plug for RV use should be 110v?
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Here's a cut and paste from the National Electrical Code (2011 version):

Every recreational vehicle site with electrical supply shall be equipped with at least one 20-ampere, 125-volt receptacle. A minimum of 20 percent of all recreational vehicle sites, with electrical supply, shall each be equipped with a 50-ampere, 125/250-volt receptacle conforming to the configuration as identified in Figure 551.46(C). These electrical supplies shall be permitted to include additional receptacles that have configurations in accordance with 551.81. A minimum of 70 percent of all recreational vehicle sites with electrical supply shall each be equipped with a 30-ampere, 125-volt receptacle conforming to Figure 551.46(C). This supply shall be permitted to include additional receptacle configurations conforming to 551.81. The remainder of all recreational vehicle sites with electrical supply shall be equipped with one or more of the receptacle configurations conforming to 551.81. Dedicated tent sites with a 15- or 20-ampere electrical supply shall be permitted to be excluded when determining the percentage of recreational vehicle sites with 30- or 50-ampere receptacles.


Here's a link to the book:

https://www.inkling.com/read/nfpa-national-electrical-code-handbook-2011/chapter-5/vi--recreational-vehicle-parks
 
....equipped with a 30-ampere, 125-volt receptacle....
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Yes, but.....

The remainder of the paragraph does not say much else other than parks wired to that standard have to provide x number of sites with 50 amps, y number of sites can have 30 amp connections and permits sites to provide both along with a 20 amp plug. The devil is in the details of 551.81 and figure 551.46C

Older parks were likely built to other standards. There does not seem to be any requirement to upgrade existing sites to the standard being quoted, at least not in the paragraph's quoted here.
 
Alfa38User said:
Yes, but.....

The remainder of the paragraph does not say much else other than parks wired to that standard have to provide x number of sites with 50 amps, y number of sites can have 30 amp connections and permits sites to provide both along with a 20 amp plug. The devil is in the details of 551.81 and figure 551.46C

Older parks were likely built to other standards. There does not seem to be any requirement to upgrade existing sites to the standard being quoted, at least not in the paragraph's quoted here.
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But nowhere is there any mention of a 30A 240V circuit, which is what the park management is claiming in this case.  The park may be older but at no time has a 30A 240V outlet been specified on an RV pedestal.
 
Lou Schneider said:
I say BS on their explanation.  There's a 220 volt, 30 amp DRYER plug and outlet that looks very similar to the RV 120 volt, 30 amp outlet.  But the two have differently shaped ground pins so you can't plug a 120 volt plug into a 220 volt outlet and vice-versa.
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Actually the dryer outlet in my parent's house looked EXACTLY like a TT-30... This was put in oh, perhaps 50 years or more ago.  And these outlets are still used today... They are not as common, but they are still used today.. 

Doing a very quick web search here are some for you to check out: NEMA 7-20 (Likely will not mate with a TT-30 plug)
NEMA 7-50 Likely will mate with a TT-30

Here are my source documents: http://www.stayonline.com/reference-nema-straight-blade.aspx  And Nema Chart check out line 7


That said: I do agree there is no excuse for an RV park wiring 240 volt to a TT-30.. They (At least) should know better.  And they should make you whole .
 
Perhaps a complaint to the electrical inspector in that town is in order. It should be a little harder for the campground owner to BS the inspector.

The inspector isn't going to get involved in your dispute, but he is required to enforce the code and his report is a public record.
 
I doubt these hookups have been here for more than 50 years. The electric company does the inspection in this rial area.  They told me they only do inspections when they hook up the meters. I could not find anyone with information on a requirement of inspection on the posts before putting them into service.
 
Im going to go get the estimate and opinion on the cause of the damage. If nothing else it will give me starting place on what I need to fix if I can't get them to pay up. I can't imagine they don't have insurance as they put rafts on the water for float trips and also served food. But getting the insurance information may be difficult. We will see what they say when I email the estimate to them.
 
Cyclegirl - You should know that most experienced RVers carry an electrical meter with them and test for the proper voltage before plugging in. You can get a nice digital multmeter in the Walmart auto section for under $20 or order one like this one from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/INNOVA-3320-Auto-Ranging-Digital-Multimeter/dp/B000EVYGZA/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1408491958&sr=1-1
 
Yes, ive been told this several times throughout this post and I get it I made a rookie mistake, you can rest assured I will have a way of testing the voltage before I plug it in at a strange place again like all you savvy RV owners.  However, knowing that now doesn't help me with how to get the repairs paid for... I appreciate everyone's info on standards and such and anything anyone else has to add on standards, laws, and codes surrounding RV plugs is greatly appreciated.  I will keep you guys posted on my progress.
 
When I was installing my 30A outlet at the house, I found these two pages useful:
http://www.myrv.us/electric/
http://www.dasplace.net/RVWiring/wiring.html

I would definitely invest in one of those "dogbone" surge protectors with LED light readout. Something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Surge-Guard-30amp-Portable-Display/dp/B008EUEOY6/ref=pd_sbs_auto_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=0QSQGFH3S4YJ19V3S6TT  I bought a similar one just to protect my rig from this sort of situation.  I do not leave it hooked up because it is a valuable item.  Once I test the circuit, I put it away.  I'll probably pay the price for that some day.

If you are still in the area, you should get an electrician to check it out and give you a written report before they get it fixed.  If you have to take them to small claims, remember that "He who has the most paper wins."  Small claims is usually $5000 and under, no lawyers, kind of like Judge Judy.  Hey, that's a great idea.  You both win if you go on Judge Judy.
 
I work for the government I know how to produce paperwork :) they actually aren't denying it's wired for 220v they told me 220v was also a standard wiring they offer both 30amp 110v and 30amp 220v was her exact words.
 
It seems to me the point is that there are no "standard" production RVs that require 30A/220v power. None. RVs are built to use 15A/120v, 20A/120v, 30A/120v, or 50A/240v. I believe the RVIA standards would specify those as the possible valid configurations for an RV shore power system, but they sell those documents for a hefty price and I don't have a copy. Maybe a large public library would have one?

A campground, or any other business, can provide any sort of power outlets it wants on its premises. Their dereliction of responsibility was in directing you to a site that had a power outlet that is unsuitable for your RV, without warning you not to use it.  Since they are in the business of providing sites for RVs to use,  they, at the very least, should have inquired as to your power needs and assigned a site accordingly.
 
they told me 220v was also a standard wiring they offer both 30amp 110v and 30amp 220v was her exact words.
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I'm guessing the lady doesn't have a clue and thinks 110 + 110 = 220 and she really doesn't have any understanding of what 30 amps and 50 amps are all about.

ArdraF
 
Gary RV Roamer said:
A campground, or any other business, can provide any sort of power outlets it wants on its premises.
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I suspect though that this freedom is limited by both national and local electrical codes, and building codes.  I don't know the chapter and verse.... but i have to believe that it is illegal in some way to lets say wire a std 15amp residential type receptical as 220VAC with two hot legs.
I guess all bets are off with this plug type which seems to be acceptable to wire at either voltage.(?)

Regardless..... it's a shame and I am happy that nobody was hurt.
 
Nema specifies different configurations for different voltages and amperages to avoid just what happened to you. A TT-30 is NEVER permitted to be wired 220 (that is why it says 125 volts 30 amps on its face) It's no different than if you plugged into a standard 15 or 20 amp house outlet only to find that someone wired it to 220 volts. While possible to do, it is not to code, dangerous, and will most likely fry whatever is plugged in. I stand by my previous comment about the park being responsible.
 
ok, TT-30.  that's helpful for my understanding.
I thought it was a NEMA 10-30

I agree with you Water Dog.  They need to fix it too, before a rig burns to the ground or worse, somebody gets hurt!
 
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