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Shore Power Question
I’m adding a Progressive HW50C to my Marathon XLII. There’s not a lot of room to make this work so I’m extending the incoming power to a vacant area on the wall where I intend to mount the unit. My plan is to mount a box to join the additional extension wire to the original shore wire. Then I will run the extension to the Progressive unit and then using a length of new wire to return to the main Marathon shore power switch. I’m being advised by an electrician friend to use either 6/4 Type SO or Type SJ. The reason is the turns the wire path must make to accomplish the job.The incoming shore power wire is 4/3 W/G TYPE NM-B.Do you folks with more electrical savvy than I think that 6 gauge wire is heavy enough for the amperage we draw?– Ron -
8 Replies
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Stick with 4.
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Just a quick question….What is your modification purpose ?
AL
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Al, it’s to add a hard-wired surge protector.
– Ron
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I had a expensive surge protector explode during my confirmation process in Texas several years ago. Had the surge protector been inside a bay…probably would have lost the coach.
NO damage to my coach…and IMHO the surge protector should be the test on the power pole. This seems to be where 99.9 % of the problem happens.
Maybe there are some other opinions on this ? And this is why PC gets more attention then other forums.
BTW..opinions are free of charge !
My $300 surge protector save me a huge problem. …just saying
AL
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This will be the fourth coach I’ve used the Progressive HW50C in. One time I had a failure (Relay quit). I can recall 3 times where it saved my coach from issues at the pole. I’m sure the pole mounted unit is good too, but I like the remote read-out in the coach.
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Remote reading may be nice, however you can get that many different ways….You will be adding a lot of extra connections that can cause issues with having no power in the coach at a minimum….as tight as the space is I would not add one hard wired…however like everything else opinions are free….
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Jeff, I couldn’t agree more that opinions are free. The difference on THIS forum is that the opinions expressed here are either based on years of experience or professional expertise. I regard everyone’s opinion on this board as relevant and helpful. Thoughtful responses here are the norm as opposed to some “other” forums. – Ron
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Jeff is correct in that hard wiring the device can present some issues, and in particular a device failure can prevent you from getting power into the coach.
But having the protection is important and if you prefer a hard wired solution to an external box that plugs into the shore power pole locate it where you have room and are not making access difficult. Then run new cable from the incoming power to the device and then back to where you supply the coach. The cost for having a roomier location is the use of a greater length of wire cable and that should be heavy, not #6. To address the concern Jeff expressed add a parallel circuit with a very heavy duty by-pass switch so if the device does fail, you can throw the switch and restore power to the coach. I would also take a look at how your converter provided circuit protection and if necessary add some heavy duty breakers just in case.
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