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Old 07-14-2017, 05:54 AM   #43
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Is the pedestal GFI protected?

Sounds like you have a 30 amp to 50 amp adapter with the ground prong removed. It is plugged in to a 30 amp 3 prong receptacle, Hot, Neutral, and Ground.

Does the breaker servicing the 30 amp receptacle have a "test" or "reset" button? If so it is probably GFI protected. Some different brands:

https://www.amazon.com/Cutler-Hammer...mp+GFI+breaker

https://www.amazon.com/QO130GFI-Squa...mp+GFI+breaker

https://www.amazon.com/Siemens-QF130...mp+GFI+breaker

https://www.amazon.com/GE-THQL1130GF...mp+GFI+breaker


A GFCI monitors the amount of current flowing from hot to neutral. If there is any imbalance, it trips the circuit. It is able to sense a mismatch as small as 4 or 5 milliamps, and it can react as quickly as one-thirtieth of a second.

With the ground prong removed from the adapter it does not provide equipment ground to the RV. It will still trip if current through the hot leg does not return through the neutral, providing protection from shock between hot leg and earth ground.

If it is GFI, motor loads may cause it to trip. Refrigerators in s&b homes are a common cause. Original post indicates a residential frig in the RV. If the frig is powered directly from 120 volt panel it may be the culprit. 1-3 hours between shutdowns - could be the frig compressor kicking in at those intervals.

Maybe running the frig off your inverter would work, if possible.
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Old 07-14-2017, 07:35 AM   #44
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Thank you all for a great thread. Triplewide, Great stuff. Yes I have the dogbone 50 to 30 attached to an adapter with the ground prong removed and then to a 30A adapter all taped up and attached tightly. Since that configuration the pedestal breaker has not tripped. Neither has the GFI tripped that is on the pedestal. I am now sitting in the rain and cannot do too much more troubleshooting. At least I have power in the coach. Question: If I have an opportunity to detach from the pedestal and run the gennie for a few hours and it does not trip a Coach breaker would that tell me the problem is with the Pedestal? I would like to find out before I move on in two weeks to another CG with 50A and discover I have a problem in the coach.
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Old 07-14-2017, 08:39 AM   #45
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I don't think I'd be opening the coach door from the outside in bare feet with the ground removed.
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Old 07-14-2017, 09:03 AM   #46
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Seems to me you have never tripped your 50 amp breaker in the RV. I am very surprised that the pedestal has a GFCI, normally they don't. If you had said that from the beginning (I think I looked) it would have been a different conversation. Personally I hate GFCIs as while they do protect you, they are prone to all kinds of spurious trips.

Disconnect and run the genny. Chances are you can do that while still connected (most transfer switches have the genny set as priority) but it is safer to disconnect first.
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Old 07-14-2017, 11:45 AM   #47
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"Could be a continuation of a bonded generator connection however."

The generator neutral ground should be grounded at the generator on the generator side of the transfer switch. That way it does not affect the system when you are plugged into shore power as the generator is isolated through the transfer switch. With the ground pin removed I would be cautious without the ground due to safety issues. A GFCI breaker works by comparing how much current is flowing back through the neutral compared to what is going out on the Line. If the difference is >3-5mA (as stated earlier) then the breaker trips as the difference will be flowing via the ground wire back to the pedestal. Hence the term "Ground Fault" breaker. So by removing the ground pin from the circuit you create a safety issue as you have stopped the flow of current through the ground. Check with a voltmeter the difference between something metal on your coach and the metal box on the pedestal. DO NOT TOUCH BOTH AT THE SAME TIME with your person. That is how plumbers used to get killed with metal drain pipes decades back when they cut them. If you see a potential (IE measured voltage between the two) then immediately turn off the pedestal breaker and disconnect your shore power. You have a serious problem. I still say you have either a bad connection in the neutral somewhere or a faulty appliance or piece of equipment that is the problem. The GFCI is just doing it's job. Try that voltmeter, with that ground as is for now, but like I said don't touch both the motorhome and the pedestal at the same time.
Don't know what makes me say this - but check that adapter 50-30A as sometimes they can have issues as well. See if some other friendly camper can lend you theirs for a few minutes and see if that makes a difference.
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Old 07-15-2017, 04:15 AM   #48
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Your pedestal has GFI and your RV breakers is probably not. Your pedestal is tripping and your RV is not. Removing the ground prong on your adapter stops the tripping. I think these details indicate that the pedestal is/was tripping due to ground fault not over current.

Your RV circuit breakers that feed the frig and any other motor loads are probably not GFI and therefore will not trip when on geny.

In the future, if you are in a park that does not have GFI pedestal breakers you probably will not have an issue.

If you could get the current park to install a non GFI breaker, you could determine if it is over current or ground fault causing the tripping. Park may not be willing to do this.

A way to test:

Turn off your frig.
Replace the altered adapter with a good one.
Turn power on, wait 1-3 hours, see if breaker trips.
If it does you know it is not the frig.
If it doesn't, turn the frig on, if it trips you know for sure whats up.
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Old 07-15-2017, 04:56 AM   #49
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Originally Posted by bobgio View Post
Thank you all for a great thread. Triplewide, Great stuff. Yes I have the dogbone 50 to 30 attached to an adapter with the ground prong removed and then to a 30A adapter all taped up and attached tightly. Since that configuration the pedestal breaker has not tripped. Neither has the GFI tripped that is on the pedestal. I am now sitting in the rain and cannot do too much more troubleshooting. At least I have power in the coach. Question: If I have an opportunity to detach from the pedestal and run the gennie for a few hours and it does not trip a Coach breaker would that tell me the problem is with the Pedestal? I would like to find out before I move on in two weeks to another CG with 50A and discover I have a problem in the coach.
I'm not into all this Electro Speak - BUT - if it works on the Genny then the "PROBLEM" IMHO is not in the Coach.

? so ask the Park electrician Why/How can it work when you supply your own power and disconnect from His?

I'm no Rocket Scientist, but that sure seems to follow MY logic.

So again - they need to FIX the Electric on the Pedestal.

? Only other explanation is the 50 - 30 might be wired incorrectly or be Faulty.

Best of Luck,
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Old 07-15-2017, 08:31 AM   #50
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This last comment makes sense and is the kind of logical approach a home owner or consumer can follow. As a supplement, the wire bypassed isn't the ground conductor it is the grounding conductor and they are different! The grounding conductor on an appliance cord for instance is that third part of the plug usually rounded. When you have a 2 wire receptacle then one gets an adapter so it can be used. Not all appliances have them. But, if an appliance has exposed metal parts then the cord will usually have that third prong. The idea is that if a fault occurs the current will get shunted to ground. The fault will cause a short of voltage to ground causing very high and brief current as the breaker trips. This is the same principle as a GFCI. The GFCI will sense the load of the appliance as the current traveling from the ungrounded conductor (hot) to the grounded conductor (neutral). When a fault happens because a user becomes a conductor the the GFCI senses a load imbalance between the grounded conductor and the grounding conductor (you) and trips at 3-5 ma. When the grounding wire was interrupted at the source the fault was not allowed to ground and no trip. This isn't a wiring issue. I suspect a faulty capacitor, used to start single phase motors like your refrigerator, heating blower, AC, etc. Your generator can handle this since it isn't tied to ground.
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Old 07-15-2017, 08:34 AM   #51
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Generally your generator is bonded to ground. The difference here is that when you are using your generator there is no GFCI involved. Frankly I am surprised that the pedestal had a GFCI and if the OP had mentioned that to start, this would have been a much shorter thread.
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Old 07-15-2017, 09:13 AM   #52
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Generally your generator is bonded to ground. The difference here is that when you are using your generator there is no GFCI involved. Frankly I am surprised that the pedestal had a GFCI and if the OP had mentioned that to start, this would have been a much shorter thread.


Ground so far as the coach is concerned but unless you have a bond to earth the tires act as insulation.
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Old 07-15-2017, 09:22 AM   #53
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There have been at least 3 posts in recent months about State CGs having GFCI breakers on there 30 amp service and then tripping.

That is why I asked that question in post #2. If that question would have been answered, this post may have been helpful in finding a fix.

With 3 questions about 30 amp GFCIs, on this fourm alone, it seems to be a trend of State parks doing this. There must be a fix, besides cutting the ground pin off the plug.
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Old 07-15-2017, 09:28 AM   #54
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There have been at least 3 posts in recent months about State CGs having GFCI breakers on there 30 amp service and then tripping.

That is why I asked that question in post #2. If that question would have been answered, this post may have been helpful in finding a fix.

With 3 questions about 30 amp GFCIs, on this fourm alone, it seems to be a trend of State parks doing this. There must be a fix, besides cutting the ground pin off the plug.


That is a good comment. Generally, GFCI's of the 220v variety seem rare to me but then I don't have the experience of other RV'ers here. In a former life, I designed and implemented bot single phase and three phase high load GFCI's in the field. They were expensive to build and maintain. They also needed to be replaced a lot.
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Old 07-15-2017, 11:00 AM   #55
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A couple of questions -

(1) Is the GFCI the problem or is it simply an indication of a wiring problem within the coach or the adapters being used?

(2) Regardless of the answer to (1), why does it take an hour or more for the GFCI to trip? Seems it should trip instantly when connected.
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Old 07-15-2017, 11:06 AM   #56
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GFCIs can trip for lots of reasons and only some are dangerous. That reefer has an inverter driven compressor and GFCIs are known for nuisance tripping when voltage and current are out of sync. Once every 3 hours could merely be the compressor starting at high speed. Who knows?
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