Power at CGs

[AlmostThere]

I know it has been mentioned that the electric at CGs fluctuates etc so I have a surger I used this past weekend. At this same CG last year, when I thought my AC wasn't working right, I noticed the same problem. It's like my AC power goes from really strong to weak. I'm wondering if the CGs electric is causing this problem?

[sharon]

Quite Possibly. Get one of these, available at Camping World, any trailer supply and sometimes Walmart. Just plug it in to any outlet and keep and eye on it. If the needle falls below 110, turn off your AC to keep from damaging the compressor. Some of the older CG's ;and even some of the newer ones just don't have heavy enough wire to carry the loads when they're full and everyone is using AC's and micro's. Also, were you using the microwave when it happened?

http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/it ... eter/29375

[Bethers]

Or a hair dryer? There are some things to try not to use at the same time as the air conditioner - microwave and hair dryers are the 2 biggies that will sap the power - and often cause fuses to blow.

And I like that volatage meter better than the one I have - cheap too - will be getting that one. Tks, Sharon. I don't use mine cuz it's confusing to me - it'll be going in the garbage.

I also recommend you get a small little thing to plug in to see if the cg is grounded properly. Mine was inexpensive and has the light diagrams right on it to say if the ground is open, hot, etc. Had open grounds in MX a lot - was careful, because we used them, but none were hot, bad - just open. It's kind of normal down there to have electric not grounded, I guess.

[avalen]

brown outs, thats what we call them here, when the power gets low from
high usage and the a/c has a hard time running, it will trip my circuit
breaker here.

[AlmostThere]

I called my X, as he's very good with such things, and he is coming to check it all out tomorrow. He agrees that it was probably the voltage at the CG. He said he uses something with his RV that keeps the voltage steady. I'll ask more about it tomorrow. He also mentioned the voltage meter. Thanks ladies!

[mitch5252]

Lenora, I'm out of town, so I'll make this quick.

This is what Beth was talking about. I have one, too...

Lowe's sells them.

[VickieP]

Okay, I know the voltage thingamajig is plugged into an outlet in the rv, but what about the other thing to check for ground? Do you leave it plugged in all the time? And what can you do if it shows something like no ground, etc., other than leave the campground? I guess my question is what precautions should you take or what should you do differently?

[BirdbyBird]

When my surge protector (I plug it in and read the code before hooking up to the rig) shows that the electric is not right...I seek another site. I have only had to do that twice.

[Bethers]

Thanks for the picture, Mitch.

I will not stay in a site in the US that doesn't test out properly for grounds, etc - as by law they have to. However, in MX, things have a different standard. That said, the electric can go bad and is more likely to go bad in the older campgrounds where the wiring hasn't been changed in a long time. My electric totally went out where I am here while staying here. No problem to me, and I don't use a surge protector. I plugged into the 20 amp for the night (that was good) and they fixed the 30 amp in the morning. I could have gone without electric for the night, but figured I might as well use the 20 amp plug in.

That doesn't mean I'm saying others should follow me without the surge protector - but that's one of the ways I'll live dangerously.

This is one of the cg's that Tina had to move sites, as hers showed no ground when she tested the site she initially was to go in. You can stay with an open ground or an open neutral - those are not ideal situations, but usable, although, again, the only place I've stayed and used open grounds is in MX. However, if you ever see a hot ground reverse or hot neutral reverse, you unplug immediately and don't use the electric.

[VickieP]

I have a 50A Surge protector like this: http://www.dyersonline.com/Products/Pro ... 17089.aspx So do I still need one of those things to check if the ground wiring is correct?

[Bethers]

Yes - the surge protector doesn't correct the cg's faulty wirings. It protects you against surges.

[VickieP]

So you plug it into the electrical post to check it BEFORE you plug your power cord in?

[Bethers]

No - it plugs into an outlet inside the rig - it's not a 30 or 50 amp plug. So you have to plug in your cord, then plug this in inside the rig or to your outside electric on the rig. (In MX I never had a 30 amp outlet - so there I could plug it in outside).

It's not bad to have one of these in a house, also. Years ago, when I had a fuse that kept blowing - turns out I had an outlet that was bad - and that would have shown the problem. And, Jean had a bad ground on something (brain not telling me what right now) but was fixed by grounding it properly - easy fix. Funny how grounding can make a diff.