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RoadKingMoe · 04-06-2003, 07:44 PM

Finished the parallel cord with some 12/3 cable, a metal conduit box and a weatherproof in-use cover. Here's some pics:

RoadKingMoe · 04-06-2003, 07:53 PM

And another:

WayWard Wind · 04-06-2003, 08:07 PM

Went all over town last Friday looking for a weather proof outlet box ( simular to the one you picture ) that a RV outlet will fit in & no one had one. Wondering where you found yours & also are you using just regular 12-3 cord. Ground connection ?
Best,

Pick · 04-06-2003, 08:07 PM

Looks a lot beefier than the big buck unit Honda sells. You're set now!

WayWard Wind · 04-06-2003, 08:09 PM

Missed the ground connection & went back to the pics, it was the first thing I noticed. Great looking set-up.
Best,

RoadKingMoe · 04-06-2003, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by A.E. Milliman
Went all over town last Friday looking for a weather proof outlet box ( simular to the one you picture ) that a RV outlet will fit in & no one had one. Wondering where you found yours & also are you using just regular 12-3 cord. Ground connection ?
Best,

I finally went to an electrical supply house. Got a metal conduit box with threaded plugs for the hole on top and in the back. The cords go out the two holes in the bottom.

The cover is separate with a gasket between its back and the box.

The cord is PVC 12/3. I might also mention that the Mueller plugs barely take the 12 gauge wire, and I had to drill the back part of them and the cable clamp part one drill size over (1/32" larger if I recall correctly) to get them over the individual wire insulation, and even then I had to use silicone spray on the insulation to get them to slide on it.

For now I'm just screwing the wire ends down under the ground screw. Will probably wind up with spade lugs, but would like to come up with something that didn't require a screwdriver. Maybe a wingnut or thumbscrew if I can find a metric one, or maybe back the screws out a bit and use an alligator clip.

RoadKingMoe · 04-06-2003, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Pick
Looks a lot beefier than the big buck unit Honda sells. You're set now!

Thanks! One of the issues with the Honda cables was that they weren't polarized. You could plug the right (hot but not marked as such) outlet on one generator to the wire going to the hot side of the 30A outlet, and the other generators right (hot) outlet to the wire going to the common side of the 30A outlet, and the inverters were smart enough that one will swap phase and the whole thing would still work. Problem is that the 120V outlet on the generator that swapped phase now had hot on the common prong. So if you used a tool in it that tool would be hot with respect to the trailer common. This was something discovered by a guy on RV.net, so I don't take credit for it.

I like knowing the black lead is hot and goes in the right prong.

Here's a closer picture:

Pick · 04-06-2003, 08:49 PM

A few ideas......

1. Put a spade or ring connector on the ground screw with a wire opening large enough to insert a banana plug.

2. Use an alligator clip on the ground wire and insert into a ring/spade connector on ground screw.

Gene Wissink · 04-07-2003, 08:59 AM

What are you using for the ground source? We had the problem of getting bit when using electric power tools run off the fire truck, the only way you could ground it was to run a wire to a ground sourse like a rod driven in or a water pipe.

RoadKingMoe · 04-07-2003, 11:23 AM

While it doesn't come anywhere close to the 8' copper plated steel rod required by code, I ground my trailer with a metal tent stake and some ground wire. But most of the outlets on the trailer (other than the bedroom, converter, microwave, and electric hot water element) are GFCI protected and will trip if there's the slightest difference in current on the hot and neutral lines.

wlanford · 05-23-2012, 12:42 PM

I just bought two pairs of the Mueller shrouded banana clips for my parallel assembly, but I cannot figure out where the small white plastic part goes. I assume it slips over the metal prong, but in which direction? And does it push all the way up over the hole and against the top ring on the metal prong?

RoadKingMoe · 05-23-2012, 01:20 PM

It's a compression fitting that goes over the wire insulation and is snugged down by the rear plastic piece.

wlanford · 05-23-2012, 01:35 PM

Does the small end of the compression fitting end up sliding into the hole in the metal piece? It doesn't seem like there is room for that fitting to fit and still screw the end-piece all the way down.