30 amp 240 mistake

[tcrum]

My electrician recently installed a 30 plug for me to plug into when at home. Unfortunately, he wired it as 30 amp 240 volts. I briefly plugged the AS into the outlet. I turned the A/c on and it didn't work. I then quickly unplugged. What damage do you think I may have done?

[wmarsha]

I assume the electrician used a 3 prong rv type receptacle that you could plug directly into, because of the way you wrote your post. So that would put one hot leg onto the left prong, the other hot on the right prong, and the neutral on the grounding prong. There should have not been any damage to the A/S with this config. This would be a simple fix, but I ain't going there until I know if you understand neutral, hot, grounding, and labeling. Did He run 4 wire romex or 3 wire? or individual wires in a conduit? on edit I decided to ask: how did you decide it was 240VAC? and why(how) did you discover this after the air conditioner didn't work? as soon as you plugged the A/S in, the circuit 240VAC two pole breaker should have operated (tripped). Is that what happened? ol bill

[Nuvite-F]

What happened when you turned the A/C on? My best guess is that it would quickly trip the A/C breaker in the trailer and prevent further damage.

The wiring to the outlet can be corrected very easily--basically a matter of moving one or two wires in the breaker box--but you do have to know what wires to move where.
.

[walt c]

I had the EXACT same thing happen to my Class B Roadtrek! Fortunately,it didn't cause any damage.....walt...tulsa,ok

[Jammer]

Common mistake.

You'll want to check:
- converter
- fridge operation on electric
- air conditioner

In many cases there isn't much damage but it's a matter of luck.

[Silver Goose]

A fellow member in our local club had this happen to him. It blew the board on his fridge and took out the microwave, tv and converter. Those were his "always on" devices. since his A/C and WH were switched off, he didn't have to replace them.

Unfortunately for him this was a DIY outlet he installed for his welder using 120v components that looked like the 240v parts. You can buy anything at the lumber yard. A licensed electrician should recognize the various outlets and plugs for 120 and 240 applications and it would be darn near impossible to plug a 110v plug into a 240v outlet.

You may remember the old style 240v electric dryer plugs were 3 prong affairs that look similar to our 110v 30a plugs. The center prong was shaped and spaced differently, but at a quick glance look the same.

The plug and receptacle should display the NEMA ratings and never used in an incorrect application. This is where DIY can come back and bite ya.

As wmarsha stated, the way the receptacle was wired may have saved the day, or maybe the dual breaker in your home distribution panel was off.

[Jammer]

Many of these mistakes are made by licensed electricians.

[Melody Ranch]

I see your new here....Welcome. You should now be aware of all the great info and help that's available here as well. I can sympathize with you...I did the same thing..EXCEPT, I remembered reading about the warnings on this occurrence. I did not even try to connect up I needed to check first. When I asked the unlicensed "handyman" about the connection he confirmed the 220 connection and proceeded to open the box and unhook the offending wire leg. Yep! He did not shut down the power first. I was standing beside him for the ensuing explosion and shower of electrical sparks. Knocked him on his butt, but did not fry him. The remains of his plastic handled (lucky him) screwdriver were firmly welded to the large hole now arced thru the electrical control box. My Airstream was not hurt. I hope your will be as lucky.

[GetOutDoors]

Welcome. I don't have much to add, at least with regard to anything that has already happened. But I do have advice for the future: install an EMS (Electircal Management System). Progressive sells one (go EMS-HW30C )

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by Melody Ranch

I see your new here....Welcome. You should now be aware of all the great info and help that's available here as well. I can sympathize with you...I did the same thing..EXCEPT, I remembered reading about the warnings on this occurrence. I did not even try to connect up I needed to check first. When I asked the unlicensed "handyman" about the connection he confirmed the 220 connection and proceeded to open the box and unhook the offending wire leg. Yep! He did not shut down the power first. I was standing beside him for the ensuing explosion and shower of electrical sparks. Knocked him on his butt, but did not fry him. The remains of his plastic handled (lucky him) screwdriver were firmly welded to the large hole now arced thru the electrical control box. My Airstream was not hurt. I hope your will be as lucky.

So there is at least a modicum of justice in the universe.

[tcrum]

Got the plug wired correctly this morning. The fridge works, but the A/C does not kick on. What do you think might need to be looked at there?

[mimiandrews]

Pray first, then check the circuit breaker panel in the trailer. The breaker may have tripped and protected the AC. After that, it gets expensive.

[Nuvite-F]

Originally Posted by mimiandrews

Pray first, then check the circuit breaker panel in the trailer. The breaker may have tripped and protected the AC. After that, it gets expensive.

Very well put. I would bet the A/C breaker in the trailer tripped and protected the A/C. If not, the first thing I would look for is a blown starting capacitor on the compressor. At this point somebody has to go up on the roof of the trailer and know something about air conditioners, so you are probably looking at a professional RV fixer.

(If it is a blown starting capacitor they are not especially expensive.)
.

[68 Overlander]

Jammer is correct. I get a call EVERY day from somebody that did it. Its almost always in this order.. Converter 99% of the time is gone. Microwave about 50% of the time and AC about 25%. Sometimes all three.
It is often electricians or a "friend" that did it. That plug does look like 240.

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by 68 Overlander

Jammer is correct. I get a call EVERY day from somebody that did it. Its almost always in this order.. Converter 99% of the time is gone. Microwave about 50% of the time and AC about 25%. Sometimes all three.
It is often electricians or a "friend" that did it. That plug does look like 240.

It looks kinda like an old-style dryer outlet, except for that "30A 125V" that's cast into it.

[Nuvite-F]

Originally Posted by DKB_SATX

It looks kinda like an old-style dryer outlet, except for that "30A 125V" that's cast into it.

Yeah, it would be good if people would pay attention to what it says right on the outlet! The trouble is that in ordinary house wiring when you are dealing with circuits over 20 A they are almost always 240 V, which only makes sense. The 120 V 30A circuit is almost unique to RVs.
.

[tcrum]

The converter (Intellipower 9260C) is working, Fridge is okay. Only the A/c seems to be a problem. It is an Armstrong 14. The blower runs fine. Just the compressor does not kick on. I believe there is some kind of breaker or resetting switch that protects the compressor. There are some relay capacitors that look burnt. Any ideas?