Community Forums

bobgio · 07-13-2017, 09:39 AM

Yes I have been at others with 30 amp and no issues. Ran one AC and was able to have most all other appliances and a gadgets on with no issues. Never tested with two and do not need two where I am. Also do not need the micro and coffee at the same time. I understand with 30 A I have limitations and willing to live with.

retired-guy · 07-13-2017, 09:50 AM

Do you have a display panel for your inverter /converter /charger?

bobgio · 07-13-2017, 10:06 AM

Yes.

retired-guy · 07-13-2017, 10:19 AM

Does the display show a message regarding charging; i.e. Float, Absorb or Bulk? Does it have a button to turn the charger on/off? If so, turn it off.

bobgio · 07-13-2017, 10:22 AM

Yes it says status is float and the inverter is off. Should I hit the disconnect on my inverter?

Sbrownstein · 07-13-2017, 10:30 AM

He is guessing. a ground bypass??? We aren't talking about GFCI problems here, we are talking about main breaker tripping...a ground bypass (OK, I'll bite here. Been around electricity for 50 years and frankly, besides installing a capacitor to ground, I have no idea what that might be???)

If your charger is on float...it isn't contributing to the problem very much. Your inverter is off since you are supplying AC...all sounds right there.

bobgio · 07-13-2017, 10:32 AM

Since he bypassed the ground it has not tripped. Is that healthy to stay like that?

bobgio · 07-13-2017, 10:38 AM

Basically they used their 50
To 30 a adapter stripped the ground off and put an adapter onto that to plug into the 30 amp receptacle

Sbrownstein · 07-13-2017, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobgio

Since he bypassed the ground it has not tripped. Is that healthy to stay like that?

You mean he disconnected the ground???? And he believes that is avoiding a 50 amp main breaker trip??? Presumably the 50 amp breaker is not a GFCI breaker...right...

For that to be the cause would mean that many, many amps are occasionally being routed to the ground and not back through the neutral and eliminating that ground path eliminates those amps...this would be some kind of short...and a big one at that.

If he thinks it is the reefer, how well does the breaker run with your reefer breaker turned off? Does your inverter feed the reefer or a subpanel? Turning off the reefer breaker will often just fire up the inverter to feed it.

8TiresRollin · 07-13-2017, 02:20 PM

Good answers here. My guess is that there is excess current flowing through ground which it seems like the problem is not your coach so my guess (as an E Eng and electrician) is that there is a bad connection on the neutral so the current is returning on the single phase not via the neutral but via the ground. I am betting your neutral is grounded in your coach panel and it should not be. That grounding of the neutral should occur only at a single point and that is in the campground supply. Also if your neutral is grounded and you remove the bonding screw then a faulty campground connection will become more evident if it exists. Ask the owners to take a look in the panel you plug in to. Only other suggestion is a weak or (if it is GFCI) mis-wired breaker.

MisterT · 07-13-2017, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BPoland

Sounds like it may be a bad breaker on the pedestal. If you have 30 amp service, and their breaker is tripping at 21, then that's the problem...

yes, we've seen 'sensitive' breakers before, which will trip well before they 'should', if new and working correctly. Sounds like a new breaker, or new site is your solution - it's not your coach...

BUT... also make sure your CHARGER is not in BULK charge mode and requiring much more amps than you might think.
If you have a Magnum inverter panel, with a SHORE MAX button or setting, change it down to 5amps or 10amps, at least while you run the AC unit.

Sbrownstein · 07-13-2017, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 8TiresRollin

... I am betting your neutral is grounded in your coach panel and it should not be...

Perhaps and that is definitely a bad deal. Easy to check but I would really be surprised. Could be a continuation of a bonded generator connection however.

imUrlaub · 07-13-2017, 02:57 PM

An interesting thread with lots of ideas. I too have an electrical engineering degree and journeyman electrician out of IBEW 302, now retired. I do not know how your coach is wired but even so doubt you have a wiring issue. I'm very curious about that bypassed ground. From what I've read here you have 4 wires providing 2 ungrounded single phase voltage along with 1 grounded conductor providing 2 ~ 110-120 Edison circuits. The 4th conductor is the grounding conductor and should be bonded to the grounded conductor at the panel. The GFCI, if any, will measure the unbalanced load and trip at about 3ma. So I'm skeptical about the GFCI as an issue. Get back to basics. Inspect the breaker, inspect the bus the breaker connects to for overheating problems and validate your current draw with an independent ammeter.

Sbrownstein · 07-13-2017, 03:03 PM

That is my problem here as well. THERE ISN'T A GFCI!!!! Fundamentally, the 50 amp two pole breaker could care less how the return is handled, either correctly using the neutral or using the ground. Of course we care but either way, the breaker just doesn't know about it. I also fail to see how shorting the neutral to ground would increase the load enough to trip a 50 amp.