Popping breakers at the lake

[d2freak82]

I ran into a really weird issue while at the lake yesterday - when we turned on the AC it would run 10-15min then pop the breaker, happened over and over again. I checked the power it seemed okay as far as voltage and such. Maintenance at the lake stuck a tester into the plug to test the ground/neutral so on - seemed okay.

Yet when we pulled it home (wasn't going to be at the lake in 100 degree heat without AC) - the AC works great, no issues popping breakers.
They offered to let us move spots but by that time I thought the issue was mine so that's why we chose to pull it home.

I mean I know that these issues can happen with improper wiring of the box but I'm left puzzled trying to figure out what would've caused this, any thoughts?

 

[Neal]

Most likely a bad breaker on the pedestal. Campgrounds will deny this, point to your coach, after a fight they change their breaker (or receptacle) and the problem goes away.

 

[d2freak82]

How does a bad breaker on pedestal side make my breaker trip though? Not allowing enough amperage?

 

[Neal]

I thought you were talking about the breaker on the pedestal.

 

[d2freak82]

no the 1 on my camper

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

I checked the power it seemed okay as far as voltage and such.

Did you check voltage under load (when the AC was operating)? Were there any other electrical items running “at the lake” that were not running at home? Did you have an electric water heater running at the same time, perhaps?

Since your AC works at home (and assuming that all the same electrical appliances were operating there as well), this sounds very much like a low-voltage situation at the RV park. As voltage drops under load, amperage draw increases. The breaker at the pedestal is probably higher capacity than the one in your RV, so the RV breaker will open first.

TJ

 

[redbaron]

@TJ&LadyDi nailed it. Lower voltage increases working load to compensate.

Autoformer will help in these situations

 

[d2freak82]

I didn't think to check voltage while the device was running - go me. I shut everything else off (at the breaker) to ensure I wasn't pulling too much load, literally the only breaker that was on when it kept popping was the AC and the main (30 amp main, 20 amp AC).
We have a surge protector and I saw the lights on it or at least 2 go blank, and then flicker - which I thought was very odd. Of course they blamed my surge protector, so I tried without and same story.
While we were there I told my wife I wished I had a way to test load (amps), as I only had a multimeter with me. Again - I didn't test voltage under a load but good thinking. I looked up those autoformers, those aren't cheap at =) probably a wise plan though

 

[d2freak82]

so I tested the power at the pole again - it's running like 117v going to call the park hopefully they will do something about it, but we'll see

 

[redbaron]

117V is a good reading. What you need to know is what is it under load. Turn on your AC and test while under load.

You can safely do this test inside by testing voltage at one of your power outlets. You can also do the test inside your breaker panel by testing each line separately.

You need to test the line that the AC is on.

 

[d2freak82]

shouldn't it be 120?

 

[redbaron]

shouldn't it be 120?

rarely. Good voltage will range 110-125. Depends on length of line, and how hot the power company has turned up the circuit. 117V with no load is a good reading, and is right in the middle of the range.

 

[d2freak82]

pretty sure the ac was running when I tested that. It was 116 at the other site, when we switched it was a little cooler outside so the ac didn't run quite as much but yesterday it was 100+ and popped the breaker again.

 

[redbaron]

The load for the park will drop as more campers turn on their air conditioner. So a 10 degree temp difference can drastically affect park load.

The grid is further impacted by the surrounding neighborhood, and other consumers of the electric.

We are in the Montana Flathead valley. A lot of RV's here. When the temps climb to 100, the grid starts to suffer until someone places a call to the coop. They then push more power to the grid, and we see our voltage climb. If they don't turn it down soon enough, we will see 130-140 coming from the same grid in the evening.

This year they are trying an automated method of increasing load. They have placed voltage testing equipment at various RV parks, located within the transformer hand off, that will now allow for faster response.

I have the Autoformer always running, so I never notice when this is happening. Last year, I did notice the over power as my equipment shut off due to high voltage. Was glad I had a good surge protector that could detect that situation. Several RV's where damaged by this.

 

[d2freak82]

I just ordered the autoformer - and I have the the power watch dog surge protector that hughes also sells. It'll be here thursday - hopefully that takes care of the issue

 

[d2freak82]

why are other campers (typically newer - my camper is a 96) not effected by this?

 

[Neal]

why are other campers (typically newer - my camper is a 96) not effected by this?

I don't think it's camper specific. It's more specific to the campground with an old electrical infrastructure and pedestals that need upkeep.

 

[redbaron]

The answer is in wiring.

The campground has a master breaker pedestal located near the sites. Each 200amp master circuit then runs in a path from one site to the next. Usually 6 or 7 sites are served by the single 200 amp feed.

Site 1 will have the best power
Site 7 will have the worst.
Site 8 will be a new circuit, and have the best (just like site 1) and so forth and so on.


No 2 campgrounds follow the same path, so actual park site numbers don't relate to how it's wired.

 

[FL-JOE]

Many times the underground wiring at a campground is either really old or in some cases could be simply not up to code. Redbaron's explanation is spot on how most run their wiring to sites.