110 electrical shut down

[sfretts]

Hi,

The weatherman tells us we have a cold snap coming this week here in the NW. Last night I took the electric heater out to the trailer and warmed it up. Wanted to make sure it would work ok. I have used this 1500 watt heater before with no problem. I had nothing else on in the trailer except the heat and the portable heater.

I came back in awhile later to check progress and I had no shore power. It was completely gone. I did have the batteries shut off, so shore power was all that was working inside.

I turned on the batteries and all the 12 volt stuff works. I checked the breakers in the panel below the fridge and all are ok. The question is: are all outlets on one circuit? I have not checked the gfi which is on a plug in the bathroom sink area above the electrical panel. Are there any other breakers I am missing?

Thanks for the input in advance

[H. John Kohl]

Stave & Lori,
First check your shore power source. What amperage feed were you using for your shore power feed. Was your Hot Water Heater turned on. Was your trailer winterized?
What outlet did you plug the electric heater into?
I think we need more information before we can help you trouble shoot it.
Most important let us know what you find.
Cheers,

[HamRad]

Sfretts,

What John said plus......

Quote ---are all outlets on one circuit?----- End Quote
No. All circuits are not on one circuit. Unfortunately they do put a lot of load on the GFCI circuit. You should check the circuit breaker that is supplying the power to the rig. Also check the AC breaker box in the rig. You may have thrown a breaker there. Also check the GFCI outlet. It could very well be that the GFCI tripped.

Good luck and let us know when you find the problem.

HamRad

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

Gotta watch what kind of power cord you are running TO the rig, from the house.

Is the cord large enough, and how far are you running it?? Al, my electrician, always tells me, the longer the run, the larger the wire?? Something like that. Thankfully, I have him around to know the numbers, the sizes of the cords, etc etc etc.

Thing is, I do know this, if you are running a 50 foot extension cord, it better not be something like a lamp cord, eh???

OKK guys, fill in the techy details for me!

[sfretts]

Hi again:

Here is the "tech stuff"...

50 amp service going to 30 amp step down and then to 14 gauge 25 foot extension cord in garage. All circuits are good at the garage. Checked wires and connections, all good. Have power to plug in at trailer. This setup is ok for only having the heater running.

Heater was plugged into outlet on living room slide out. Had it in back at first and decided a central location would work better. Had power to everything at that point.

I did check breakers and all are ok. Didnot check GFI plug as it was in bathroom and heater in slideout. It definitely acts like a breaker as there is nothing working on the shore power side.

[kerry]

Sounds like a GFI problem. There might be more than one GFI in your trailer. Kitchen and bathroom. Kerry (maybe even one outside)

[H. John Kohl]

I think you will find you have two GFI breakers.

You will have to divide and concur now.

• Check your 14 gauge cord and see if it has power. I would upgrade that 14 gage 25 foot extension cord to a 10 Gage one at least.
• Double check all the circuit breakers at the panel to make sure one has not tripped.
• Check all 110 functions to see if they work
  • Does the refrigerator work on 110
  • Does the ceiling fan/light work
  • Check Television
  • check all outlets

[jimcol]

You might want to reset all the breakers in your box. Sometimes when they trip they don't always appear to be triped. Take them to the off position and then to the on position.

[MAMalody]

I would also recommend using the outlet that is for the dryer, if you are prewired for that. That is on a 20amp breaker and much harder to trip.

[sfretts]

Hello again and here is an update:

I stopped at the local Home Depot (they are getting to know me on a first name basis lately) and looked for a heavier extension. Only one in 25 foot was a 12 gauge, but I am not putting much of a load on it.

Checked the GFI (only found one) and it was ok. Went out to check voltage in cable and pulled the 30 amp to three prong adapter off. Noticed it had water in the ground plug. Cleaned it out and dried and yep, everything started to work.

I have checked the cords and not even warm from current draw, so thankfully it was a simple fix. Seems I had power, but the draw somehow caused the plug to not work. Very strange, but typical. The good news is that in the process I have learned where everything is and how to access stuff if anything ever does go wrong.

Thanks for the input. I plan to switch over to the dryer plug as I am prewired for that and that will help the system also. Off to batten down the hatches, the wind is here and heavy rain with snow and very cold expected tonight.

On a side note, I called Tacoma RV and spoke to the service guys about it. They were very helpful and begged me to bring it in so they could work on the problem. He kept telling me they would make it a priority to get us up and running. I translate that into we are so slow we are begging for some work to saty busy. Rough times around here!

[Waynem]

Steve,
Just for informational purposes, the GFCI receptacle may be in series with other receptacles in the RV. There is not order as to where they may go, so if you loose power to one receptacle you may want to check the GFCI receptacle(s) first. I just push the reset button and see if the other receptacle comes on.

Also, 1500w on 14 gauge wire may not be a safe thing to do at 110v. I have seldom hooked up where the voltage was less than 117-125.

From Wikianswers:
Q:A heater delivers 1500 watts at 110 volts 13.6 amps. If line voltage drops to 90 volts will it generate 1500 watts and draw 16.7 amps or still draw 13.6 amps and produce 1224 watts?


A: In this case since a heater is a pure resistive device,

R=E/I

R=110/13.6

R= 8.09 Ohms = resistance of the heater.

at 110 volts, P=E² /R = 110*110 / 8.09 = 1495.7 watts

at 90 volts, P=E² /R = 90*90 / 8.09 = 1001.2 watts
--------------
Most CG's I have been at have 117 to 125v with some exceptions and some spiking. All these have to be taken into consideration on you calculations.

[Delaine and Lindy]

I have owned several 5th wheels and all have had more than one GFI, I had the same problem you have and it was a GFI that I didn't know was there, it was under the counter. GBY...

[grampachet]

quote:MAMALODY--I would also recommend using the outlet that is for the dryer, if you are prewired for that. That is on a 20amp breaker and much harder to trip

.

The dryer outlet in your stick house is 220 and it will fry your electrical in your RV if you plug into that.
Someone correct me if I am wrong.

[Waynem]

Not to run this into the ground, but Here It Is Again RV Hook up revisited.

[Tinka N Rick]

We have two GFI's, one in the bathroom and another in the livingroom behind a door that handles the kitchen and outside recepticle.