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Lost half of shore power?
Guys,
We are at Dakota Medows RV park in Prior Lake MPLS… nice place but the breakers on the 50 amp at least on our site are different from any I have seen.. .it’s a 30/20 split breaker that has a little metal rod connecting them… everything was great last night then today it got hot and I had a couple ACs on and was doing laundry… when the dryer started acting really weird.. would run a few minutes and then a electrical buzzing noise… and shut down… Thought I was pulling to much power so I shut down an AC didn’t change anything… So I figured Asko crapped out after 14 months of a couple of loads a day. Called Asko and they said to get it checked out…
Then I went outside to get something out of the bay where the main breaker inside the bus was and I noticed that the LEDs indicators for one side of the 50amp service were out… I went inside and sure enough the #1 invertor was inverting but there was no other inidcation that anything shore wise was not working correctly.
Anyone else had anything like this happen? How common are breakers like this? I will give Leon a call in the morning to see if there is anything wrong with the way the coach responded to this…
Bill
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7 Replies
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Disconnect the shore power and start the generator. I bet the dyer works. I have stayed at 2 campgrounds that had some kind of weird power. Washer and dryer would not work connected to shore power, but would work on generator.
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If you don’t have a true dual 50 amp circuit such as those we typically find and you aren’t managing power based on your true power available it is likely you are overloading that weird set up.
You are used to having a total of 100 amps available and it sounds like you have 50 and maybe even not that. Your coach was likely operating off the inverters from the sounds.
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If you are comfortable using a Volt-Ohm Meter, reset all breakers and measure between the two rectangular, parallel slots on the 50 amp power point. If correct, you should see 240 volts. Those are your Leg 1 and Leg 2 connections.
Sometimes they are wired incorrectly, each having 120 volts but “in phase”, meaning there is only 120 volts between them. Without one leg being “out of phase”, you don’t have 240 volts. Your dryer and any other 240 volt appliance (like a cooktop possibly) will not work.
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Typically temporary power outlets which are what we use when we plug into a campground have alternating legs of input power.
The “30/20” receptacle described is out of the ordninary, yet if the receptacle used is the conventional 50 amp receptacle we typically see measuring across the two main parallel slots is likely to show 240 volts. The problem is someone got creative and used a pair of circuit breakers other than the double pole 50 amp breaker that should be used. The fact the shore power was rigged up that way is a huge red flag because it raises a lot of questions beyond any relating to the affect it had on Bills coach.
Assuming there is a four wire system supplying the power outlet is the wire size adequate? Was the outlet previously supplied with a double pole 50 amp, and if so why or how did it end up with a 30/20? The impact on a coach is predictable and because of the weird selection of breakers the coach owner has no choice but to shed normal loads because so little power compared to normal is available.
Bill, based on the loads you described you just were drawing far more current than the goofy shore power box could provide and the breaker(s) tripped. I will bet your coach is fine. Run the generator or go to a site with real 50/50 power.
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We ahve stayed there many times and I never had any power issues. Go to the office and have them check the outlet. Maybe there is something amiss there. If it is correct, then you have a coach issue.
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Mark,
I will go and talk with them in the office… I am pretty sure it’s a park pedistal problem. as soon as I reset the 20amp part of the split breaker everything including the dryer works…. we are heading out today… so I will confirm when we get to the next stop.
Bill
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My former company that my daughter now owns built shore power pedestals for several major manufacturers as well as producing the entire product line under its own brand name “Jamestown”
We bought circuit breakers by the tens of thousands. I have NEVER seen a 30/20 double pole breaker.
The cynic in me suggests they had a 50 amp double pole breaker fail, didn’t have one on the shelf and the customer in that site needed power so someone made a double pole breaker by stacking a 30 and a 20 and using the pin between the two switch levers.
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