Plugged in 24/7 - Page 2

Skater · 12-03-2006, 11:44 AM

Even if it's not plugged in, there's still an active 12 volt system in the camper that could also cause a fire if there's a short somewhere or something similar. I don't think that you significantly increase the risk by leaving it plugged in.

Besides, if it's going to short out and catch fire, I'd much rather have it happen in my driveway then when I'm SLEEPING in it.

2airishuman · 12-03-2006, 12:24 PM

thanks for asking the question ck...

it seems to be an important issue and,

like many things here, there is more to the issue, than just yes or no...

not my area of expertise so i hope the 'powerful' will sort out the wires and charges and grounding....

1. plugged in to what?
2. plugged in with what?
3. plugged in where?
4. plugged in how far away?
5. plugged in with who else?
6. plugged in for what purpose?
7. plugged in for how long?
8. plugged in for who?
9. plugged in 2 power what?

1. plugged in to what....
new properly wired junction box with current gfci?, 50 amp, 30 amp, 20 amp or 3 amp?
rv park, rv storage lot, your neighbors 100 ft extension cord,
a professionally installed home outlet, 2 wires in a tree with keys hanging from them...
a wire found in the ground while digging....

2. plugged in with what...
a power booster, a surge suppressor, a charge monitor,
a new 10ft, 30 amp rv cord, a 15 year old rv cord with the plugs replaced how many times?
3 adapters and some duct tape using old lamp cord?
what year was the converter invented?

3. plugged in where......
a new rv village, a state park, mixed use industrial park, the local power company parking lot, your back yard,
an rv storage lot, the local football field

4. plugged in how far away...
living in the trailer? your garage, next to the house, storage lot 3 hours away, your vaction property 3 time zones removed....

5. plugged in with who else....
just you, a full rv park, only trailer in the rv park,
a bunch of 50 amp 5th wheelers each using 4 aircondtioners, 3 other trailers on trickle charge,
10 others in the rv storage lot all using space heaters 24/7,
the local construction crew but they are only using 4 jack hammers today,
one other guy running a meth lab...

6. plugged in for what purpose...
full time living, keeping batteries topped off, to keep the beer cold, to keep the pipes thawed,
to keep the insulin safe, i've sublet'd to a guy making something,
i'm using the solar panels to 'give energy back' to the environment...
there is water in the batteries...who'd have thunk it...

7. plugged in for how long....
over night, till the batteries are topped off, a week, till the next trip, all season,
till h3ll freezes over,
till a democrat is elected president...

8. plugged in for who.........
you; between camping trips, so the grandkids can watch tv/play or video games, for guests, for the inlaws,
till the wife says it's ok 2 come back in the house,
for the homeless of the world...

9. plugged in 2 power what......
just the converter,
+ the fridge, + the furnace, + 3 space heaters, + the water heater, + the home a/c, + all the xmas lights...in the neighborhood,
+ the local hospital icu...

so i think chaplain, as you will agree, it's pretty simple. the answer is...

who's paying for the juice....

cheers
2air'

Cracker · 12-03-2006, 04:27 PM

I'm currently plugged in to competent shore power - but, aside from keeping the batteries charged, the electronic pest control requires 110 volts. Laugh if you must - but I've never had a mouse problem with the AS! In its' new parking spot the AS is sitting on plastic pads on an asphalt apron. The separation from the adjacent grass area is such that it provides a good "killing field" (---via birds) for any mouse that ventures forth! That said, I am considering the use of a solar panel to keep the batteries up - at which time the shore power will get disconnected. I just don't like taking the batteries out of the AS to store them indoors using a trickle charger.

SafeHarbor · 12-03-2006, 09:26 PM

Hi, folks,

My Excella and my Argosy stay plugged in 24/7.

The Univolt (a replacement Parallax) in the Argosy is unplugged, and all that's running in the trailer -- on AC -- is the fridge. I personally think that the best way to avoid problems with an ammonia cycle fridge is to keep them circulating all the time. That one has been running since 1992 without problems. I stuck my nose in it yesterday, and it's still making cold.

The Excella is my never-ending work in progress. I'm sitting in it now on a cold night typing this on my laptop with a wireless card. This trailer still has the old Univolt, and I service the batteries weekly.

I did have an electrical issue in the Argosy a couple of years ago. I was living in it at a campground near Jacksonville, FL, and I was having low voltage problems. Then something in the (rear-bath-mounted) utility closet smoked. It was the reverse-polarity warning light. It had shorted out and skinned some wires. Of course, this was after I had pulled and inspected every outlet in the trailer and replaced several of them with no effect.

In my opinion, the risk of leaving them plugged in is not great.

That said, I've had both trailers a long time, and I've been in the electrical boxes in both of them. I've repaired or replaced the main power cords on both, and I know fairly well what I'm dealing with.

I'm also the second owner of one and the third owner of the other. Age says my trailers are vintage, but I don't think of them that way. (To do so would be to admit that I am vintage, too. Hell, I remember the trouble I was getting into the year each of these trailers was assembled - paradise by the dashboard light, yeah, right! I wish.)

I guess the point is that I know the wiring practices that were used in my trailers, and I trust that they are not only safe, but also protected by harm because of the way they were constructed. So little of the system is exposed in the way of connections, and they are all outside of the skin or just under the outlet covers.

But then again, I only know about Airstreams of the seventies. If I had an even older model, or a newer one with all the circuit boards and parasitic drains, I'd have to peer at the system and make some decisions the same way I have with what I have now.

Lamar

klattu · 12-03-2006, 10:23 PM

Everything that could go wrong, could happen the first night.
Not really a big differeance between 1 day or many

Silvertwinkie · 12-04-2006, 07:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by klattu

Everything that could go wrong, could happen the first night.
Not really a big differeance between 1 day or many

Though that does make sense, my take is that this is a moving house. Though designed as such, the electrical, plumbing, structure, etc are subject to movements that a static house just doesn't see. With those variables in mind, I wouldn't fully subscribe to the statement above, considering Murphy and his set of laws.....and well owning two Airstreams so far with mindboggling issues that have come up along the way......

To add, the recent post that may have spurred this conversation was a early 70s coach that went up if I recall correctly....about 36 years from day 1.

http://www.airforums.com/forum...lost+airstream

klattu · 12-04-2006, 08:14 AM

Then with all the varables in mind...
A new coach is in order after each use.

Silvertwinkie · 12-04-2006, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by klattu

Then with all the varables in mind...
A new coach is in order after each use.

A disposable Airstream. Like the way you think....... mind is willing, but the wallet is weak.

In reality though, life is a gamble. No one knows what is right around the corner. Heck, I've seen things happen to my Airstream, now nearly 3 years out that never showed any sign up until very recently. So although another one is one of the options, so are a number of other solutions to the problem...so long as it hasn't caught fire or been totaled in some way.