Electrical/Inverter Question

[Rich W.]

I was going to get into the possible open neutral condition that may be at your power source and the cause of your issues, but found this article and it explains everything much better than I can. Good rainy day reading:

Open Neutral

So read this start to finish, then check everything in your power source if its at your own property, or if you are in a camp ground, ask the owners. I have a Precision Circiuts EMS and always thought that was enough, but before this trip I bought a Progressive Industries surge protector Progressive Industries SSP-50XL form Amazon for $109 (now they are $132) and while I don’t worry much about power surges, it also tests the outlet and verifys that it is delivering power properly (although not under load) and tells you the pedestal is good (or not) before you plug in. Note the first item on the “product features” list is open neutral and ground.

My son the all-knowing genius/inventor (police detective by profession) and sine-qua-non solar and lithium guru, would say these are a waste of money, but its not his coach, and I am glad I spent the $109 to have a little peace of mind.

 

[AbdRahim]

This forum is like going to college again. Thanks Rich W.
It would be horrible to have to test each pedestal with such a high load at each campground. On the other hand, the extra time could save a lot of headache and expense.

iIs there an adapter that goes from 50A to two plugs - one on each leg?

 

[Rich W.]

This forum is like going to college again. Thanks Rich W.
It would be horrible to have to test each pedestal with such a high load at each campground. On the other hand, the extra time could save a lot of headache and expense.

iIs there an adapter that goes from 50A to two plugs - one on each leg?

I’ve never seen an adapter like that but you could make one easy enough. Not sure what you’d normally use it for. It could be used if one leg of a 50a service was bad, although if that were the case I wouldn’t even try to use the outlet. 50 to 30 amp adapters just use one hot, the neutral and the ground from the 50a plug to power the 30a outlet.

 

[Rich W.]

This forum is like going to college again. Thanks Rich W.
It would be horrible to have to test each pedestal with such a high load at each campground. On the other hand, the extra time could save a lot of headache and expense.

iIs there an adapter that goes from 50A to two plugs - one on each leg?

Ok so they do exist as shown below. The first one (yellow) could be bad news because you could easily overload the 20amp outlet long before the 50a breaker would trip. The second one (orange) has built in breakers so it would be ok to use in about any application. Still not sure why you would need one, but there it is, available from Amazon (AC Works) for $65. Maybe to power a big deep fryer outside, or for boiling crabs? I guess any cooking or anything else you wanted to do electrically outside the coach.

 

[jagpot]

Try resetting your Inverter. I have 2 switches. Had this problem in a previous coach and that fixed the issue.

 

[shursnap]

Try resetting your Inverter. I have 2 switches. Had this problem in a previous coach and that fixed the issue.

I already did that and it didn't seem to make any difference, but I think the inverter is working OK. Just need to figure out why one circuit isn't powering when plugged into shore power. I think Rich has me on the right track. Thanks

 

[AbdRahim]

Still not sure why you would need one, but there it is, available from Amazon (AC Works) for $65. Maybe to power a big deep fryer outside, or for boiling crabs? I guess any cooking or anything else you wanted to do electrically outside the coach.

To do the load test on the pedestal as described in the article posted above.

 

[Rich W.]

To do the load test on the pedestal as described in the article posted above.

Right - didn't think of that.

 

[shursnap]

Right - didn't think of that.

So here's what happened. I metered the outlet, which was just installed by an electrician last week and it metered out just fine. I plugged the cord from the RV into the outlet and went inside to check the voltages in the breaker box. Everything metered just as it should. Head scratcher. Checked the electrical and EVERYTHING is working fine now!??!! I didn't change anything. Just plugged in the cord the same as I did the other day when only Half of the RV electrical was working and now everything's fine. That makes me nervous. Happy!, but nervous. I hope that it doesn't happen again. Must have just been a bad connection, though I really didn't move anything else. Probably the cord so I'll definitely wiggle it and see. Maybe try to clean up the prongs a bit and hope for the best. Thanks SO MUCH to Rich and everyone who volunteered information. It's so nice to have a place like this where these questions can be asked and helpful people volunteer their time and knowledge to help solve them! Happy to be a member!