Author Topic: Hot 50 amp plug at pedestal  (Read 2362 times)

Larry Fisk

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Hot 50 amp plug at pedestal
« on: August 24, 2020, 02:50:48 PM »
Hello fellow Members, yesterday we had a power problem at a KOA and our 50 amp service. Rhonda was using our Splendide dryer and we had both AC’s running because it was hot outside. We lost power as if the 50 amp breaker had tripped. When I went to check the breaker it did not appear to be tripped and I noticed the 50 amp cord plug felt hot to the touch. Also the breaker box felt hot, but it was almost 100 degrees outside. I turned the breaker off and then back on and the Air Conditioning was restored, but I noticed my inverter was acting strangely. It was switching from charging to inverting and back to charging over and over. As a side note I just had my inverter and transfer switch replaced a year ago due to the transfer switch failing with burnt wiring in the switch. The new transfer switch is the surge guard 40350 and the inverter is a Magnum Sine 3000 watt inverter. My question is could this be caused from a bad park pedestal problem or could it be the transfer switch in the coach causing this problem? Thanks for any thoughts.
Larry Fisk
Larry Fisk
2005 Patriot Thunder 40 ft.
525 (C-13) CAT Engine

Larry Fisk

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Re: Hot 50 amp plug at pedestal
« Reply #1 on: August 24, 2020, 03:23:45 PM »
Side note; inverter finally worked normally again and this morning plug is cool to touch with no AC’s running. 😊👍🏻
Larry Fisk
Larry Fisk
2005 Patriot Thunder 40 ft.
525 (C-13) CAT Engine

David T. Richelderfer

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Re: Hot 50 amp plug at pedestal
« Reply #2 on: August 24, 2020, 03:45:40 PM »
Was the RV park full of RVs on a hot day with all using ACs?

What were the two leg-voltages showing when things got weird?
« Last Edit: August 24, 2020, 05:01:10 PM by David T. Richelderfer »
2004 Beaver Marquis Sapphire

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Larry Fisk

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Re: Hot 50 amp plug at pedestal
« Reply #3 on: August 24, 2020, 05:00:49 PM »
Yes it was.
Larry Fisk
2005 Patriot Thunder 40 ft.
525 (C-13) CAT Engine

Larry Fisk

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Re: Hot 50 amp plug at pedestal
« Reply #4 on: August 24, 2020, 05:05:42 PM »
I don’t know what voltage was on the two legs. When I replaced my inverter last year I went from a trace inverter to a magnum. Unfortunately the magnum doesn’t communicate with my Aladdin due to the change.
Larry
Larry Fisk
2005 Patriot Thunder 40 ft.
525 (C-13) CAT Engine

David T. Richelderfer

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Re: Hot 50 amp plug at pedestal
« Reply #5 on: August 24, 2020, 05:24:39 PM »
I believe in most of our coaches, the Aladdin gets the individual leg-voltages from a wire plugged into the transfer switch.  A pair of toroids report the leg voltages to the Aladdin.

Anyways, where I was going with my post was the RV parks power system is probably underpowered for a full park with all the RVs running their ACs.  This would pull the pedestal voltages to a point low enough to make many electrical devices in the RVs act weird.  If you have a surge guard, either hard-wired or portable, I am guessing it would have kicked your RV offline from the pedestal.
2004 Beaver Marquis Sapphire

I had a dream... then I lived it!

Larry Fisk

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Re: Hot 50 amp plug at pedestal
« Reply #6 on: August 24, 2020, 05:40:51 PM »
Thank you David! I appreciate the feedback. The surge guard is hard wired in and now that you mention it maybe that’s what actually tripped and not the pedestal power. I did notice when I went to reset the pedestal breaker it did not seem tripped. I went ahead and tripped it off and back on. So, the surge guard would trip due to bad power coming from the pedestal. I’m glad I have that protection.
Thank you,
Larry Fisk
Larry Fisk
2005 Patriot Thunder 40 ft.
525 (C-13) CAT Engine

Larry Fisk

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Re: Hot 50 amp plug at pedestal
« Reply #7 on: August 24, 2020, 05:48:14 PM »
Also the guys at the shop plugged in my communication cable to the new surge guard unit, but the Aladdin still doesn’t see it. Old unit was a Surge Guard also so I’m thinking things must have changed in the way it processes information in the last 15 years since the original unit was made. Original model number was 40250, new one is a 40350.
Larry
« Last Edit: August 24, 2020, 06:12:46 PM by Larry Fisk »
Larry Fisk
2005 Patriot Thunder 40 ft.
525 (C-13) CAT Engine