30 AMP wiring requirement

[johndorst]

Hi - This is an electrical newbie question, but my fears are based on past disasters.

The question is, does it matter which leg is hot and which is neutral? I have a neighbor who tested how the cable contacts at the trailer. The attached picture shows what he tested. The x is next to the hot contact. Is that right? Does it matter? If 120 hits the converter "backwards", will that blow it up again or impact it negatively?

The reason I ask is because we had a new AC system installed at our house and the contractor added a 30 AMP RV outlet to the side of our house since the location was adjacent to where the heat pump was going. Unfortunately, he wired it 220 and I blew up the converter and some circuit breakers. Also, this was a week before we were leaving for a trip with my brother and sister-in-law who were renting an RV for the first time. Anyway, a very stressful pre-trip week for my wife and I. Having spent a bunch of money of a new converter and breakers, I don't want to do that again if I don't have to.

Thanks!

[Alumineer]

I don’t have a reference handy for that plug but you do not want to have the hot and neutral mixed up. It will not damage any of your electrical parts but it can cause the skin of your trailer to become energized if there is a connection between the neutral and ground in the breaker box of your trailer. That is a potentially fatal situation. So, double check all your connections against the relevant standards and do not take the word of someone that does not know RV wiring.

[RandyNH]

Short slot - white/neutral
Long slot - black/hot
Hook slot - ground

http://www.generatorsforhomeuse.us/l5-30/

[xrvr]

Originally Posted by johndorst

Hi - This is an electrical newbie question, but my fears are based on past disasters.

The question is, does it matter which leg is hot and which is neutral? I have a neighbor who tested how the cable contacts at the trailer. The attached picture shows what he tested. The x is next to the hot contact. Is that right? Does it matter? If 120 hits the converter "backwards", will that blow it up again or impact it negatively?

The reason I ask is because we had a new AC system installed at our house and the contractor added a 30 AMP RV outlet to the side of our house since the location was adjacent to where the heat pump was going. Unfortunately, he wired it 220 and I blew up the converter and some circuit breakers. Also, this was a week before we were leaving for a trip with my brother and sister-in-law who were renting an RV for the first time. Anyway, a very stressful pre-trip week for my wife and I. Having spent a bunch of money of a new converter and breakers, I don't want to do that again if I don't have to.

Thanks!

Always have an rv savvy electrician to do your work. Dont guess And Dont Use Neighbors.

[ITSNO60]

The silver screw always gets the neutral and the brass colored screw always gets the hot. Note that the vast majority of plugs use the larger slot for neutral but this one (LS-30) does not.

[A W Warn]

FIRST, look at the breaker for the new outlet to make sure it is a single switch breaker (120v) not a double (240v).
Then, plug the trailer into the outlet.
Use one of these to check polarity of an outlet inside the trailer. I keep one in each of my trailers so I can check at each new location. Any hardware store has them.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Power-Ge...FUEeHwodNr0HXQ

[helwigc]

Turn off the power and remove the receptacle from the box. The white wire which is neutral should be under a silver screw. The black wire which is the hot wire should be under the gold screw and the ground should be under the green screen. Just make sure the wires are connected correctly to the breaker and the buss bar in the box.

[Wazbro]

Originally Posted by A W Warn

FIRST, look at the breaker for the new outlet to make sure it is a single switch breaker (120v) not a double (240v).
Then, plug the trailer into the outlet.
Use one of these to check polarity of an outlet inside the trailer. I keep one in each of my trailers so I can check at each new location. Any hardware store has them.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Power-Ge...FUEeHwodNr0HXQ

Also get a 30 amp male to 15 amp female adapter to use with that tester to directly test the 30 amp outlet before you plug your trailer into it. https://smile.amazon.com/Camco-55233...70_&dpSrc=srch