How do y'all check voltage at the campground pedestal?

[NY24]

Check the Escapees HDT Forum for instructions on how to build a "50_Amp_Pedestal_Tester"

http://www.hhrvresource.com/sites/de...tal_Tester.pdf

Ignore the early prototype on page 2

[m.hony]

The surge protector I have will shut off power to the trailer if I here is a problem.
It is very similar to the square black one a couple of y'all have posted pics of.
It shows correct wiring, reverse polarity, and open ground, but lacks a voltage display.
I think a plug in voltage meter along with the surge protector I already have will get the job done.


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[dcasr]

Like several of the other responders I use a voltage meter (mine from Home Depot) that also can show how much a particular appliance is using in watts and amps. Helps me to balance the draw on my 30 amp system. I plug it in near the sink so we can watch if the voltage drops. Heads up, in a crowded campground mid summer with all A/C units running full blast, the voltage can easily go from 120 to 105 and lower. Stayed at a KOA in Maderia Beach when every site was taken and all A/Cs going and we dropped to 109 vac. It may have just been my post, but it was the voltage coming into my unit and my A/C. Also stayed at a county fairgrounds near St. Augustine, and some yahoo decided to boost the voltage since there were so many units plugged in, and my voltage tripped my surge protector. I put the small meter on the post and it registered 160 volts. You need an easy to use portable voltage meter.

[Lkjdude]

I use a Progressive Industries EMS-TP30C surge protector. It checks for low and high voltage, broken or incorrect wiring and other faults. It has a readout which gives voltage, amperage, and cycles per second. It comes in a 30 and 50 amp model.
It also will give you a fault code and the codes are printed on the surge protector!
Now the important part.....it will automatically shut off the electricity if it gets to a point that it is too high or low or and if anything happens that would damage your equipment. It will continue to monitor the electricity and has a built in delay of 2 min and 16 seconds. After the electricity corrects itself and the delay is met it will restore power.
Thus you do not have to check it over and over. If you are away from your unit and unable to check anything it will do it for you and shut off the electricity instantly. It also works with a generator. And is water resistant.
It plugs in between the electrical source and your Airstream and you leave it there.
And you might want a lock on it as it has a metal piece to accommodate a lock.
Very good insurance and trouble shooter! And I like it!

[The Colonel]

I also use the EMS TP30C. Progressive Industries EMS-PT30C Portable EMS RV Surge Protector - 30 Amp https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003AL23TC..._mbXZxbZH2RC3V

[rvb]

I always check the grounding to the neutral at the box as well as the voltage. I have never had a problem at State Parks but I have had low voltage at 2 private campgrounds and faulty grounding at 3. If I read a problem on the 30A I try the 50A with an adapter and check it. At a campground in Santa Fe we had a faulty ground on the 30A but the 50A was ok. I told the manager and he said my meter was bad. At a private campground in E. St. Louis, they moved me to an adjacent site and replaced the entire meter box while I was hooking up.

Check Harbor Freight for an inexpensive multi meter. Check magazine adds and the Sunday paper adds for their sale flyer. They always have a 20% of coupon and occasionally run the meter as a giveaway with purchase. I carry several. I loaned one to someone at a rally to check their meter and they plugged it into 120v set on 12v. It was a freebie and I had a spare so it wasn't a big deal.

[m.hony]

I have several inexpensive multi-meters.
There may even be one in the trailer already.
How do I check the pedestal with a multi-meter?
Black lead in the center hole and red lead in each of the outer holes?
Should get in the neighborhood of 120 volts on both legs?

[jcanavera]

I've got a digital one that is also backlit that makes a nice nightlight. I keep it plugged in all the time in the outlet over the kitchen counter and is the first thing I check prior to turning anything on.

I used to have the analog gauge with colors but I'd rather know the voltage than guess on what the voltage range is for each color.

Secondly while you can check voltage initially when you pull in, I've seen voltage erode as other trailers arrive and the A/C units get turned on.

Jack

[WayneG]

Mine is a bit dated, I use a Kill A Watt unit, it does volts, amps, watts and frequency (Which is great if your generator is 30 years old.) A good investment for less than $20
http://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Electricity-Usage-Monitor/dp/B00009MDBU

It is also good to check for parasitic AC current draw. When you run an inverter off of solar, you dont want to be powering unnecessary electronics.

[MelGoddard]

I use a Shurlite plug-in meter inside my FC to monitor the voltage, but...........
Before I hook up, I check the power tower for good 'Boom-a-trons'.

First used is one of those little plug in 'polarity testers' that have two yellow and one red light. 'Two yellows, the power is good; any red showing, then NFG. (Six bucks at Canadian Tire.)

(My last trip found ANOTHER outlet with a hot neutral. the 'guy' said it had been in use for twelve years and it was never reported.)

NEXT: I use another Shurlite meter to read voltage, THEN.....
I Have a 0-150 VAC meter that is wired to a plug by one to ground, and the other to neutral. It should read zero.
Finally, I plug in my surge protector to see if it's happy. THEN....
I plug in the AS, and check the skin for 'hot skin' condition using a Fluke voltage indicator pencil.
When all is good, I'm in business.

The last campground was the fourth reversed polarity that I have found, including one complete campground.

Do your checks first before powering up the trailer.

[dhroberts]

A great question - I suspect one that is overlooked by many.

The we were about to take possession of our first RV/trailer of any type - a 2016 AS Classic with its 50amp requirement - I thought about the $$ investment being made and the risk that a poor electrical supply could have.

I purchased a Progressive Industries EMS-PT50C surge protector. Although I am not an electrical engineer, I understand that this unit performs a comprehensive set of safeguards and measurements needed to provide the needed protection.

In October, we are heading to Arizona and will be staying at a park that only has 30amp service. After speaking with Progressive's tech specialists, I purchased a converter (not a dog bone) that has a 30amp male / 50amp female configuration. Should be all set.

I highly recommend the Progressive Industries product line. Best wishes.

[GinaNBob]

The Progressive Industries EMS-PT50C is what I use. I bought it based on research on this forum and elsewhere. I am pleased with my decision.

I hope not to offend any of the previous posters, but I recently retired from a career in industrial manufacturing (mostly in maintenance and engineering) and am living proof that a cheap multimeter is a dangerous meter. Your life can be on the line when working with electricity. Any time you plug something in to any outlet the power must be safely controlled. Cheap meters may not always do that. Plugging in to an unknown outlet like the power posts we use at campgrounds can expose us to unexpected risks such as single phase 220 or even 277 volts. We don't know who wired up the power poles or how they are wired up. I have seen 110 VAC outlets suddenly become 220 when someone down the line plugged in a faulty device. Spend the money to buy a reliable meter.

Bob

[m.hony]

Originally Posted by WayneG

Mine is a bit dated, I use a Kill A Watt unit, it does volts, amps, watts and frequency (Which is great if your generator is 30 years old.) A good investment for less than $20
http://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Electricity-Usage-Monitor/dp/B00009MDBU

It is also good to check for parasitic AC current draw. When you run an inverter off of solar, you dont want to be powering unnecessary electronics.

I just ordered this one from Amazon for $18.92.
There is a newer version available, but it looks more complicated/less user friendly.
Rather than directly labeled buttons, the new one has a menu button to select modes or functions.
I'm kickin' it old school on this one.
Plug it in.
Press volts button.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by m.hony

So...
The $9.99 Camco one that plugs into a wall socket/receptacle in the trailer will work?
It is a round/oval yellow thing that plugs into a 110 receptacle and has an analog gauge on it.

I have one of those in my Cayo. In the winter, they're susceptible to static electricity buildup, which makes the needle move to one side or another by a few volts.

In the Airstream, I installed amp and volt meters permanently in the breaker panel. There's a thread here somewhere on airforums with photos.

[QUOTE=m.hony;1846881]I have several inexpensive multi-meters.
There may even be one in the trailer already.
How do I check the pedestal with a multi-meter?
Black lead in the center hole and red lead in each of the outer holes?

30 amp pedestal: measure the voltage between the left and right diagonal slots.

50 amp pedestal: Two voltages to measure, one between the center and left slots, one between the center and right slots.

Should get in the neighborhood of 120 volts on both legs?

If you're lucky. Few campgrounds will deliver that on a hot, busy day.

For RVs, anything over 130 volts would be a problem. In houses, excessive voltage is mainly a problem for 120v incandescent lights, which will have a reduced life with anything over 125 volts.

Again for RVs, anything under 110 volts at the pedestal would be cause for concern. Measured in the trailer with the air conditioner running I figure anything down to 105 volts is tolerable.

So here's the thing. Usually low voltage problems in campgrounds affect most of the loop to some degree. Typical practice is that they'll run 250 kcmil aluminum direct-bury cable, with a 200 amp breaker, and have it serve 8-10 sites with 30 amp service in a sort of daisy chain fashion. The cable goes from the big breaker box to the first site, then from the first to the second, then the second to the third, and so on. The idea is that all the sites supposedly won't draw the full 30 amps at once. But times have changed since the standards were set and most RVs have air conditioners and various other appliances and so the loop can easily draw close to 200 amps. Well at that draw with that cable you're doing to lose 1 volt for every 40 feet you go from the breaker box, so in a nice campground where things are spread out you've lost maybe 10 volts by the time you're halfway down the loop (I'm simplifying). There's less additional loss per site in the second half of the loop because they use the same size wire.

Usually on a hot day there will still be 120 volts at the transformer but depending on how things are set up it's pretty easy to lose 5 volts by the time the power gets to the beginning of the loop, so you're at 115, and then if you lose 10 volts halfway down the loop, well, half the sites are at 105 volts.

That's not unusual. And it's not just one campsite, it's usually a quarter to half of the sites in the campground, and so the manager can't solve it by moving people around.

On 50 amp sites this sort of thing is much less of a problem for a variety of reasons but mainly because these outlets are designed to deliver 100 amps at 120 volts (50 amps in each of two legs) and even the largest RVs don't draw nearly that much. The second reason is that 50a sites use 3-wire service and the load is balanced enough across the two legs that there isn't much voltage drop to speak of in the neutral, which cuts the total loss almost in half.

[MelGoddard]

Ok, the question is:
30 amp setvice; air conditioner draws voltage down to 110-108vac. (Shurlite meter)
Therefore unable to use other appliances. (fridge is on ac)
Would it be possible to use a 50-30 amp dog bone to increase the available amperage?
Or would there be circuit breaker issues?

[TG Twinkie]

50 amp service is 2 120 volt legs. Unless your coach is wired with that in mind going to 50 amps does not help with the voltage drop.
Is the voltage dropping at the pedestal or in the coach? Or both?
Are you using the 30amp cord from the coach to the pedestal?
What is the voltage with the AC off?
Does it increase if you put the refer on propane? How much?

[BAB]

I also have a Progressive Industries set up (50 amp) hardwired into my trailer. Last week I was in a campground in RI that was only able to put out 103V. This was on a hot day. An undervolt situation of 17 volts does not do much for the health of your air conditioner. The meter TOLD me it was 103V. I have a Magnum MSH inverter set-up and it will convert from DC to AC if necessary. It did its job. Yup, an expensive mod to my trailer -- once you buy one, and the big AGM batteries as well. It does eliminate my concerns about RV parks that undervolt, have open grounds, or reversed polarity. I have encountered all three of those in the last couple of years.