Testing the Campground electricity

[Lizza1975]

Hi all!
Been a very long winter and most of the summer! I'm finally trying to get out more! I have read about testing the campgrounds electricity. I do not understand a bit of it! I'm so dense I know. Ok, I have bought the two attachments:Conntek Locking Adapter with 30 Amp 125 Volt Male Plug To 15/20 Amp Straight Blade Female Connector - Conntek AND Conntek 30 Amp RV Male Plug To 15 Amp Female Connector RV Adapter. I understood the instructions to say one or the other.
Now I just don't get which circuit tester as I probably will choose wrong thing AGAIN. Or how to use it once I have the items. Oh and the 3 plug in thing. Is that just one of the regular plug in extenders like an orange one I already own? Or is this something different! I'm so sorry and would appreciate any further help! This is the sort of thing my husband would have understood immediately.  I finally realized neither of these things are what it shows in the photos of the instructions! I did buy these at amazon. And I really didn't notice the word reducer was missing. And I can't seem to find a part that says reducer--the ones I see say converter. Now, unless I'm just wrong again, I believe these are the ones I want to use to hook the electricity from the rv to my home if i want to turn on like the refrigerator while packing it up?

Also I found this...Progressive Industries PT30C 30 Amp Portable Electrical Management System. there are 2 main things that bother me with this. One of the reviews said his quit while he was away from the campsite and refrigerator had completely defrosted, etc. I have to leave 2 large dogs inside if I have to go away. Omg on a hot day this could be like leaving them in a parked car or close I think!  And then how would you keep someone from stealing it!
I really want to know how to do this electricity thing. I have read so many horrific things happening to people who don't test.

HELP PLEASE! I think i'm drowning in the muck! Someone please toss me a branch!
PS just found this RV 110 Dogbone Adapter 30 Male to 15 Female is this still wrong?
Thanks all!
Lizza

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Been a very long winter and most of the summer! I'm finally trying to get out more! I have read about testing the campgrounds electricity. I do not understand a bit of it! I'm so dense I know. Ok, I have bought the two attachments:Conntek Locking Adapter with 30 Amp 125 Volt Male Plug To 15/20 Amp Straight Blade Female Connector - Conntek AND Conntek 30 Amp RV Male Plug To 15 Amp Female Connector RV Adapter. I understood the instructions to say one or the other.

What is it you are expecting to do with those, Lizza? The locking adapter is for converting a twist-lock outlet to standard residential-stype outlet and I doubt if you have any need for that unless you have a portable generator with a twist lock outlet. Campground outlets are not the twist-lock type.

The second one, 30A male to 15A female, will allow you to plug a standard outlet tester or an extension cord into a standard RV 30A plug, such as will be found in most campground power poles. Follow the link to see an example, but you can find a similar tester at any Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, or hardware store.

To power your RV while at home. you first need to determine if it si a 30A RV or 50A. If your shore power cord has 3 blades, it is 30A and you need. Four blades means it is 50A.  Assuming you have a 3 blade, 30A power cord, the adapter you need is one like THIS or THIS. Again, you can find one or both at a Walmart RV dept or any RV store, or order from Amazon. One of them looks very much like the second of the two adpaters you already bought, but if you look closely you will see that it has slanted holes on one side for your shore power plug and flat, parallel blades on the other to match a household outlet.

Also I found this...Progressive Industries PT30C 30 Amp Portable Electrical Management System. there are 2 main things that bother me with this. One of the reviews said his quit while he was away from the campsite and refrigerator had completely defrosted, etc. I have to leave 2 large dogs inside if I have to go away. Omg on a hot day this could be like leaving them in a parked car or close I think!  And then how would you keep someone from stealing it!

That's a good choice for a power monitor and protection device. Anything you put between your RV and the power pole could conceivably fail, but agonizing over that is a waste of time. Heck, the campground outlet itself could fail too! You will drive yourself crazy worrying about that kind of thing. However, you shoud be aware that the entire purpose of the Portable EMS is to shut off incoming power if it has the potential to damage your RV. Most power tests are made as soon as you plug it in, so you know right away, but some bad power conditions may not occur till later, and it will indeed shut off power if they occur. You have to decide whether you want to risk damage to the RV, or an overheated dog. Your call, on that. Note however, that damage to the RV power system from bad shore power is also likely to knock out its air conditioning, so the pets are at risk in either case.

 

[John From Detroit]

There are basically 3 tests you need to run plus a couple of judgement things.

First. Using a 15 to 30 amp adapter Plug in a common 3-light tester (Any hardware, Mosty RV's Wal-mart) and make sure the proper TWO lights light, IF you get only one light or (Usually) the red light,, Inform management and try a different site.

Second plug in a volt meter.. My favorite is the popular Kill-a-watt which is about a kilo-buck worth of meters in a 20 dollar box.  But there are other meters and you need a multi-meter later

The third test is an "Under load" voltage test.. Same meter plugged inside the RV is often good enough, on a 20/30 amp site you can often meter the 20 amp outlet and get a good indication if the problem is yours or theirs  A better test would require you build a "Break out box" Basically this box is a short pigtail with a 30 amp plug, a 30 amp socket and in between a 15 amp socket.

However I use the 20 amp outlet on most 30 amp sites..

On a 50 amp site, if you have a 30 amp rig, these same tests will do you (Save for don't trust reading the 20 amp, settle for an outlet indoors)

On a 50 asmp site with a 50 amp rig mesaure the side to side voltage with the multmeter, We are looking for 240


The final test on ALL outlets, no matter the current rating, is a judgement call... If you plug in (Circuit breaker OFF please) and the outlet feels "Loose"  You very likely wish to plug in somewhere else.. What is Loose,  Well you will understand in time.

Moose lodge where I parked twice this spring... The 30 amp outlet on one of the boxes was clearly fried... When I showed up the next tme hoping to park in that spot I brought a new TT-30 outlet with me and installed it.

 

[Lizza1975]

Hello John!
Ty for reading and the great reply! I do understand a little of what you wrote! I have actually put in a call to a friend of my late husband. I got your reply printed. I am also reading. The man is calling me back to try to walk me through all of this when he is not at a customers home!

Oh yes, I'm in a 30 amp travel trailer.

Some about Rving is coming much easier than this. This part hit me like bricks! I know absolutely nothing about electricity as I never had to bother with a thing about it. That was all my husband's department as he understood it well. Heck, I think I'm even beginning to the get the basics of plumbing! (that's almost scary!)
I have been reading so much. And honestly very little made any sense at all! I have read where so many campgrounds, especially some of the older ones improvise with the electric boxes. This is scarey! I probably have gone overboard but I also bought these neoprene gloves one site said they use to test boxes.

The really scary part about all of this. I would never have thought to check any electricity if it weren't for this site! I just imagined all of these things were safe!

I am getting the surge box. I read where one person used a padlock and chain to help deter thieves. All I can imagine figuring out is how to make it harder to steal. I am trying to figure out what it would take to get someone to hard wire this type of surge protector to the camper trailer.

Ok off to peek at the voltage meters until my friend calls me. Maybe I can at least say which one do you suggest!

 

[Lizza1975]

To Gary,
Ok I found the right ones this time! Thank-you so much! Yes, I'm in a 30 amp travel trailer. I want to test the electricity at the campgrounds before I plug in.

I understand the risk of leaving the dogs. So, I have a question? Let's say I have to leave them inside and I have at least some shade. Would you just leave the windows open?  It seems to me that might be safer than leaving them inside a closed space if there were power failure. One of the goldens is my service dog and my best friend. The other is my beloved companion that is now crippled!  They both are very special to me!

Thanks so much!
Lizza

 

[Ned]

You don't have to learn all those various voltage tests if you get the Progressive Industries PT30C you mentioned in your original post.  It will do all the tests for you, and continuously monitor the power for faults, something you can't do manually.  If it does detect a problem, the readout will tell you exactly what it is so you can tell the appropriate person what needs to be done.

You would be better to get the permanent mount model EMS-LCHW30 however, so you won't be tempted to not use it when it's raining or worried about it being stolen.

 

[Lizza1975]

HI Ned! Have you every had someone tell you an answer to a question that you didn't even know enough to ask! Well that's just what you did! I love it! Now I can go straight to the electrician or Rv man whichever one knows how to install this for me! Oh this is finally coming together! I just can't believe I'm starting to get the drift here!
TY TY TY TY TY TY TY TY ALL!

Ps this is about the same price as the external one...wonder how much it will be to install it!

OK sorry one more question. Could this be something similar to what I have installed in my home? It's a surge protector that my husband had installed in our back room. It covers the whole house. It has twice shut off power to the entire house during a bad storm! My husband called the electric company and complained enough that they came and change the outside wiring to the house! It's had nothing of interest to display in last 3 years now. Does shut off my computer once in awhile still though. We once lost our electric stove, refrigerator, computers, phones and I don't even remember what all to a bad hit to the house.  I won't mention the fire damage to my craft room! So when we remodeled he had this installed and discovered that we still had bad wiring outside.

 

[Ned]

Could be, but it's not common to install a power protector like this for a house.  Surge protectors are often used to protect electronics from voltage spikes but those aren't the same thing as the Progressive Industries power protection.

 

[Lizza1975]

Ah okay! Thanks for replying again! Part of what my husband was protecting was my computerized sewing/embroidery machines. Well mostly really! We could buy at least a dozen refrigerators for the price of one of those. He wanted this entire room especially protected. There are 2 computers here...a computerized long arm quilting machine, industrial embroidery machine and we won't talk about my viking and bernina machines hehe. I'm so NOT spoiled! But it was my business also.

I think I'm finally getting it! Wow I think I got a little headache from all this reading so I'm about to go rest...Well want to check a few more posts then....
Thanks again so very much!

 

[Ned]

Just don't overthink things.  RVing does have some unique aspects, but none of them are overly complicated, unless you make them so

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Let's say I have to leave them inside and I have at least some shade. Would you just leave the windows open?

You probably can't go wrong that way. The dog may be uncomfortable, but probably not so hot it is fatal.

But what do you do at home? The power could fail there as well? There are always things that can go wrong, the question is "how likley are they?"

 

[Quillback 424]

Lizza1975, if you Google the EMS-LCHW30 that Ned suggested you will probably see a cost of around $237. Add tax and shipping if necessary and it will still cost less than the portable PT30C. If you purchase it from an RV repair shop, expect their "book" to show the cost at $300 - $325.

If you have an RV tech install it they should be able to do the job in about one hour and their hourly charge could be $80 - $120. If they estimate more than an hour then it's your call.

If you elect to install it yourself you may need a drill, bits, self tapping screws, nut driver, hacksaw and box knife. You will probably be on your knees during most of the installation, with your head and shoulders in the shore cable compartment. If you decide to install it, then post some pictures of where your shore cable connects to your RV and the surrounding area inside that compartment. You'll get plenty of help from this forum.

 

[Ned]

Installation of a power protector isn't difficult in most cases, but does require some knowledge of electrical systems as well as mechanical skills.

 

[Lizza1975]

Thank-you for the wonderful information. At least this year, there is no possible way I can do that type of repair myself. I still need a surgery on both shoulders. The surgery won't be a huge deal but while I still have partial thickness tears of the tendons it feels like a great big deal!  Plus soon as they do that I finally!!!!!!!!!! get my last new knee! Lol that poor kneecap has been fractured now for over 2 years.  The knee is too far gone for it to heal now.

So this is the reasons I'm not able to do much of any repairs.  I can still sew! Anyone need anything LOL  Oh yes, I'm trying to make a quilt that I'm learning to digitize an rv on!  So far my Rv is red and black...having problems with the side designs I want. I do not want to do an exact copy of someone's for fear that is copying someone else's work. So trying to blend this altogether. And I'm sure not the best digitizer; so, now I have the stitches a bit too thick...Having fun......Hey maybe I can do an Rv forum community one. I'll have the original! Do we have an original logo? You all know I'm going to be checking this out now!

OKAY I have ordered the surge protector.  I'm positive someone will put it in. I will check the prices on the work. Of course if the price is a bit higher here at home it would be worth it for not having to drive it too far with the gas prices.

Thanks again!
Lizza

 

[John From Detroit]

i USUALLY split this RV putting one A/C (The only one I'm using just now) on a seperate circuit.. NOT run through the Hughes autoformer.. Well they knocked on my door today to tell me that I'm taking so much electricity (I'm not,m perhaps 20 amps peak) that others are not able to plug into the box where I had the other (main) cord plugged in.

So I pulled off the 20 amp cord and plugged the primary A/C in with the main loads.. That ... Makes the park's problems... WORSE.  Don't bother me however., I'm only using one A/C and not much at that.

 

[Jim Godward]

OKAY I have ordered the surge protector.  I'm positive someone will put it in. I will check the prices on the work. Of course if the price is a bit higher here at home it would be worth it for not having to drive it too far with the gas prices.

Where is here, i.e., what area??  If one of us is close maybe one of us could install it.  Some things I can still do.

 

[Lizza1975]

Hello again.

I'm located between Indianapolis and Ft. Wayne Indiana. I am approximately  halfway between; but, actually much closer to the  airport in Ft Wayne. It takes me about 40 minutes to reach the Lutheran hospital there at exit 302 which use to be 102 until a very short time ago!

Lizza

 

[Jim Godward]

I can see I won't be much help on this project, sorry.