Need Urgent Help With Powerline System

[DonavonP]

Tim, you are correct, the male end of a 30 amp to 50 amp adapter receives one hot 30 amp line and transfers it to the 2 hot lines on the female end thereby giving both sides of the motorhome box electricity.

I think if Adrian's Surgegaurd has stopped the power coming in through his neutral leg, he should be ok until he does that converter I described before.

I'm starting to think the 30 amp 240 volt plug we're dealing with is a old clothes dryer setup that was converted.

Is this an RV 30 amp recepticle? For some reason, qualified electrians can look at an RV 30amp recepticle and their brain goes to 240 volt by mistake. It happens frequently and I read about it on RV.NET but not on IRV2.

[AdrianLee]

Everyone,

This is a an RV30 amp plug that has been used for years by the owner with his 30 amp Airstream Class A gasser. I used it back last October when I had a 30 amp gass Class A and everything was fine. I am using an off the shelf 30 amp to 50 amp adaptor.

I thought I had a problem with my Powerline because it is reading 50 amps then I tripped the breaker. After resetting the breaker and turning off a few things I noticed that the SugreGuard was reading power from 2 legs. I turned the breaker back off, unplugged and turned the breaker back on so I could measure everything with my meter. Sure enough, there is 120v on 2 legs and what would normally be the ground is neutral.

The SurgeGuard is OK with what is coming in. I think if I make sure I stay no higher than 25 amps draw I should be OK until I can get out of here.

Tomorrow I will measure and see if there are any cross wirings in the adaptor.

Thanks a lot to everyone here who has pitched in to help. I really appreciate it.

[TheRVGuy]

Adrian,

I woke this morning thinking about your issue and would offer a last thought.

All coaches are wired in that the ground and neutral all go to the same place, the chassis of the vehicle. This is true for the 12v and the 120v systems. So, "earth" ground is the chassis. I was going to offer that if you pull the panel cover of your distrubtion panel and check the incoming power leads you will probably find that they are both hot. If that is the case, you are probably missing the neutral or ground. While not desireable, it will work. However, if your neutral is energized, it is not a desireable condition and can possibly create what's known as a "hot skin" condition, which can energize the frame of the coach. (Yes, it really does happen by the way). This could also play havoc with some of your electronic devices.

So, without belaboring the issue, you might want to check this our. It sounds as is you have already do so via the adapter, but you might want to check the panel just to be sure.

If you need to get in touch with me, call 505-228-1382.

Mike

[AdrianLee]

Mike,

Thanks a whole lot for the advice on checking the neutral. I will do that in a few minutes.

[rebelsbeach]

Thanks to everyone that stepped up to help Adrian....

I came across the manual for my Progresive Industries Surge Guard and it contained a few interesting statements....

"RV wiring is different than the wiring found in homes;the neutral and ground conductors are isolated in the RV (what Mike said), unlike in a home where they are tied together at the service panel. The reason is: homes have a bonded ground system,whereas RV's do not. Therefore never bond the neutral and ground together for any reason,this will create a ground fault condition."

Rather lengthy,but interesting....