Warning: potential fire hazard in Newmar power reels

[redbaron73]

There are a couple of posts here recently about the faulty GlennDinning power reels ( CRR-50 - Glendinning Products, LLC.) used by Newmar in late model motor homes. I had posted on this topic a few times but wanted to bring this to everyones attention as this could be a fire hazard and result in loss of life.

I ordered my 2013 DSDP with a power reel option. After 10 months of use and an estimated 15 times of pulling out and reeling back in, I noticed the power would drop unless it was rotated a bit.

At that time I opened the side housing and noticed the bolts loose. I posted on this forum a warning to check those bolts. My problem continued and so I called Newmar and a replacement reel was installed quickly.

That was March 2014. Since then I started keeping count of everytime the cord was pulled out and back in. Two nights ago on my 20th use I had a reoccurrence of no power. I tried the old trick of rotating a bit and sure enough it worked.

Another post here had detailed pictures of the contacts on the reel and how it works. This caused me concern knowing that the potential for a fire exists if the connection is not solid.

The final straw was today when i noticed power dropping on one leg and coming back on. This caused my ac to start / stop randomly.

I decided to remove the reel and investigate the connections. This is what I found:



The black wire uses the far right cylinder. Rotating the cylinder show burn marks all over that cylinder.
This is the connector that makes contact with the cylinder. The opposite side is where the cable is connected for the shore cord.

This is the lead that takes most of the load in my coach based on the appliance usage.

One other member has posted the same lead in far worse shape.

For now I have removed my real and attached male / female ends to the cables and plugged in direct. This has given me safe power, and no risk of a fire.

I have sent emails to John Glendinning and his support team. I am also going to be communicating with Newmar.

I do not want another crr-50 as this product has proven to be unsafe and poorly designed.

I urge others to check theirs, before the symptoms appear. Once the unit has generated enough heat to burn the copper like mine has it could easily catch fire and kill someone.


2013 Newmar Dutchstar 4347, Active Air

[srrobe]

Thanks for the heads up. Please keep us posted with any responses.

[HD4Mark]

I'm not sure why they changed the design of their power cord reel. The older model simply wound the cord into a "bucket". The end came out the bottom and went to the transfer switch. They also powered out as well as in. A more simple design but worked.

Thanks for the heads up.

[alan1]

Since I was the other poster, I assume, I would like to point out mine was the black wire also. Coincidence, I wonder. Maybe Newmar needs to rearrange the power going thru that leg? I think the reason Newmar went to the reel from the drop in basket is the size of the bay. It is not high enough for the drop reel to fit.

[redbaron73]

Last night I sent emails to both Glendinning & Newmar. I heard back from Glendinning already, with indication that they will take care of the issue for me. They assured me that the unit is designed to handle more than 20 uses. They have requested my serial number to determine if this unit has the redesigned slip ring or not. I am assuming it does not have the redesigned version, but will not know for certain until I hear back.

Newmar has not responded yet, but being a Monday after a major holiday, and my only attempt being an email, I am not surprised.

I will post back once I hear more on the subject, but it does appear to be a known issue.

[bcbounders]

Wow! Thanks for the heads up! It's certainly a scary issue!

Quick question for those who have had the problem with the reel: do you normally (or ever) pull the power cord in/out while there's a load on it? I'm just wondering if that could be a factor in causing the arcing/burning?

I have the "coil-into-the-bucket" Glendinng cord reel in my '05, so I don't have the same issue (although I WAS considering "upgrading" to the vertical reel to regain some space in the electrical bay... that is, until I started reading these threads!), but when hooking up at a new site, I sometimes plug in to power... and then may re-position the cord (reeling more in/out) after doing so. If the charger comes on in the coach (or the refer or 110V water heater, etc), there would be a load coming through while the cord was rotating.

So I'm just curious if that could be a potential cause of the problem?

[redbaron73]

Originally Posted by bcbounders

Quick question for those who have had the problem with the reel: do you normally (or ever) pull the power cord in/out while there's a load on it? I'm just wondering if that could be a factor in causing the arcing/burning?

I did this on my first cord a few times, and it was suggested to me by NewMar that this should be avoided. On the last reel, I never pulled it or moved it while plugged in until the failure started, and did that only as a test.

Looking at the barrel it is burned is spots where the contacts were attached, but not in a wide / sweeping area like I would suspect would be caused by moving it while under load.

[HavingABlast]

My thanks to those that have identified the issue. We take factory delivery next month. I am very interested, as we all are, about the "redesigned slip ring" and how we can tell if our reel has it. Perhaps a serial number might be the clue. For now, unless I brain fart, I will be sure not to move the reel while tethered to the pedestal.

Red Baron, please continue to update as you hear more. Thanks!


2015 Newmar Ventana 3636 (almost finished..we saw pics !!), Cummins ISB,
2014 JKU Wrangler, SMI AF1, Blue Ox Baseplate and Tow Bar

[BeHappy]

Should this issue / defect be sent to NTHSB for possible wider notification or recall?

Thanks to this forum for once again sharing such important info and pix are so helpful

Safe Travels to all

[Jeff426]

Recently, I got a shock off the slide tray which seemed possibly related to the lightening strike. After all the repairs were completed, we remained under generator power while we transited to Grand Junction and the Transwest dealer and Newmar repair facility. Upon arrival at transwest, they found a problem directly attributable to the power reel and removed the reel. The shore power cable was hard wired to the transfer switch and life is good. A new power reel has been ordered. Regarding the shock, This may have originated from the faulty shore power cord reel.

Jeff and Lynn

[Steve Ownby]

Originally Posted by HD4Mark

I'm not sure why they changed the design of their power cord reel. The older model simply wound the cord into a "bucket". The end came out the bottom and went to the transfer switch. They also powered out as well as in. A more simple design but worked.

Thanks for the heads up.

The "winder" that you refer to is still built. It's superior in every respect but it takes more room. Mine has been trouble free for 12 years now.


Steve Ownby
Full time since '07

["007"]

Thanks for following up on this RedBaron much like you did with the dash AC cooling.
This could become more serious though.

[redbaron73]

I was just informed that the unit Newmar shipped me as a replacement in March 2014 was the older design.

Assuming Newmar pulled out of existing stock then all coaches built before this date have the older design.

I should have the new reel next week and will have more information regarding the changes at that time.


2013 Newmar Dutchstar 4347, Active Air

[redbaron73]

I have been communicating with Glendinning regarding my reel, and after they agreed to replace I asked for specific details on the changes. I don't intend to open the new reel, since they are sending a complete unit with cords attached. Here is their response, unedited:

Re: the "redesign" - there really wasn't a re-design with this product.
What we did change was the assembly process in order to increase the
mechanical tightness of the various internal components - including the slip
rings

FYI, just so that you know how stringent the testing which the product was
first released, the UL specifications require that the reel have maximum
current applied to it, with all the cable the reel has capacity for
retracted on the reel. Then 6 feet of cable are extended (i.e., 44 feet are
on the reel in your application). In that condition, the rated current (50
amps) is applied continuously until the temperature stabilizes (as measured
by thermocouples attached to various parts of the reel) - this normally
takes 8-12 hours of continuous 50 amp current flow. The stabilized
temperature has to be less than the temperature rating of the material used
in the product. This is why the cable temperature rating on the product
label is 90deg C.

As far as how this applies to your situation, this is a bit of a question
for us, which is why we want to get the cord reel components back to
investigate them further.

It is obvious they are taking this seriously and also seems to indicate that they are not aware of a problem worthy of a recall or similar action.

I would suggest that if anyone has a failure of the reel they contact Glendinning directly. Mine having failed twice with the old product may be an anomaly and the exact scenario the change in mechanical tightness is addressing.

Fwiw, I have not heard back from Newmar in response to my email. At this point there is no reason for me to contact Newmar as the situation is being resolved.