Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
RV Trip Planning Discussions

Go Back   iRV2 Forums > THE OWNER'S CORNER FORUMS > Entegra Owner's Forum
Click Here to Login
Join iRV2 Today

Mission Statement: Supporting thoughtful exchange of knowledge, values and experience among RV enthusiasts.
Reply
  This discussion is proudly sponsored by:
Please support our sponsors and let them know you heard about their products on iRV2
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 03-31-2023, 10:55 AM   #1
Senior Member
 
3xbear's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 245
2023 CS “Recommended” process before plugging in to shore power?

We are picking up our coach from NIRVC, Phoenix, and the head technician over here, took us through what he says is the “recommended” or “ required” process to safely plug-in the couch to 50 amp service upon arrival to the campsite. It is the most ridiculously involved process I have ever heard of, and we have owned four class As. I am reaching out to the group to see if this is what all of you are doing or if any of you guys have any knowledge of the veracity of this, or a safe, better alternative.

It goes something like this: turn off the main power switch by the passenger seat, go to the bay where the breakers for Coach power are and Flip them all down, turn off the inverter, round knob, then go ahead and plug in, come back to that bay and turn on all the breakers again, turn the knob for the inverter back to ON, push the rocker switch underneath it to reactivate it, go back to the passenger seat and turn on the master power switch there, and then go to the Vega Touch and wait for it to completely reboot, given that you essentially killed a whole coach, go to the inverter page and turn the inverter on at the Vega, as well as the charger. The technician told me that if this is not done in this very sequence, the inverter and charger will not “sync” and the batteries will not charge. Personally, I find this to make no sense at all. if this is the way to do it, I will do it, but something is not quite right with this sequence, in my opinion.

I would like to hear any ideas or knowledge you want to share. Thank you.
__________________
Fred and Cindy, CA
2008 Marathon XLVII, 2018 Raptor (towed)
3xbear is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 RV Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

iRV2.com RV Community - Are you about to start a new improvement on your RV or need some help with some maintenance? Do you need advice on what products to buy? Or maybe you can give others some advice? No matter where you fit in you'll find that iRV2 is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with other RV owners, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create an RV blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 03-31-2023, 11:20 AM   #2
Senior Member
 
Gary.Jones's Avatar


 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 11,531
Blog Entries: 1
That tech is pretty meticulous. I would not do all those processes. But the important message for you, the new owner of an Entegra class A diesel, is that as the coach is delivered from the factory you have a "One and DONE" single shot surge suppressor in your transfer switch (actually, I don't know if a '22 coach is set up the same way my 19 Cornerstone is, but my 19 Cornerstone is set up the way virtually every Entegra coach built since inception has been built).

The vast majority of Entegra owners (and its actually the recommendation of Entegra's own design people to do what I am recommending) have added a permanent or portable EMS (electrical management system) to their coach in FRONT (before) of the transfer switch. By EMS, I mean a Progressive EMS or a "Watchdog" EMS or a Hughes EMS (there are now others also) which evaluates the voltage and frequency of each leg of your potential RV park power connection, the possibility of mis-wired or missing electrical connections, the voltage of each leg, the frequency (Hz) of the power source, the goodness of grounds, low commercial voltage etc etc.. The only reason that I don't follow his lengthy and complicated process is that I paid for a very capable Progressive Industries HW-50C Progressive EMS I added to my coach in front of the transfer switch/surge suppressor, and the EMS evaluates a whole bunch of the potential problems for me EVERY time I plug my coach into commercial power. The protection and diagnostics performed by a high quality EMS largely removes me from a lot of those steps and protects me and the coach from a bunch of potential problems. I always start with the 50A service breaker "off", then plug in my power cord (with HW30C permanently inserted), then turn on the breaker and hustle to the LED display unit in the electrical bay to see if the pole "passes" the diagnostic tests. Before I can read all the test results, if all is good, I also hear the Progressive pass the 50A service on through to the transfer switch and my coach if all is "Normal".

Again, one of the strongest recommendations for additions to a new coach made by Entegra's own technical and design people is for all owners to quickly buy and add a sophisticated EMS to their coaches.

Gary
__________________
Gary and Dee, Zowie and Bowie (traveling cat sibs)
2019 Cornerstone 45B, X15-605hp, Imperial, Spartan K3,
2013 Honda CR-V toad, Demco Excali-Bar II,
Demco Baseplate, Demco Toad Light system, 73 de W5FI
Gary.Jones is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-31-2023, 11:30 AM   #3
Senior Member
 
3xbear's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 245
Thank you so much, Gary,, that is what I thought. With my 2016 CS, I had a progressive EMS, and now I have the watchdog, which I really love. I am just not sure about needing to kill the entire coach before you plug-in, every time. It sounds totally excessive, and it also makes the Vega touch reboot every single time, which is weird to me.
__________________
Fred and Cindy, CA
2008 Marathon XLVII, 2018 Raptor (towed)
3xbear is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-31-2023, 11:34 AM   #4
Senior Member
 
Jimjensen's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Lake Havasu, Az
Posts: 162
Gary beat me to it. When plugging in I make sure all high amperage devices are shut off ( air conditioners ). Breaker at pedestal is off before plugging in and electrical cord is pulled or retracted to length then turn pedestal breaker on. I do have a Hughes Auto Former and Watchdog permanently wired into the coach so if there is any issues with incoming power it’s handled.

JimJ
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_2873.jpg
Views:	14
Size:	71.1 KB
ID:	389289   Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_2872.jpg
Views:	16
Size:	88.7 KB
ID:	389290  

__________________
Jim and Alice
2023 CS 45D
2016 Anthem 44B sold
Jimjensen is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-31-2023, 11:51 AM   #5
Senior Member
 
Gary.Jones's Avatar


 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 11,531
Blog Entries: 1
I mounted my EMS (Progressive HW-50C) behind the 50Amp power cord and motorized reel and only the remote display is mounted above the real power/direction rocker switch where it can be easily seen. It takes removing the reel and power cord, but is out of the way to perform its job. There is no "right" way to do it... there are several good options.

Gary
__________________
Gary and Dee, Zowie and Bowie (traveling cat sibs)
2019 Cornerstone 45B, X15-605hp, Imperial, Spartan K3,
2013 Honda CR-V toad, Demco Excali-Bar II,
Demco Baseplate, Demco Toad Light system, 73 de W5FI
Gary.Jones is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-31-2023, 12:01 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
3xbear's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 245
You guys have both described most of the things that we have already been doing, and validate my suspicion that this eight or 10 step procedure is unlikely to be necessary. I always do turn off the breaker at the pedestal, plug in the watchdog, then turn the pedestal breaker on and get an initial read. If OK, I proceed plug in the coach to the watchdog. We always never have ACs on when plugging and unplugging to avoid the potential surges to the units. Again, regardless of what the technician said, I do not believe you have to kill the entire coach in order to be able to plug-in safely.
__________________
Fred and Cindy, CA
2008 Marathon XLVII, 2018 Raptor (towed)
3xbear is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-31-2023, 12:05 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
Jimjensen's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Lake Havasu, Az
Posts: 162
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gary.Jones View Post
I mounted my EMS (Progressive HW-50C) behind the 50Amp power cord and motorized reel and only the remote display is mounted above the real power/direction rocker switch where it can be easily seen. It takes removing the reel and power cord, but is out of the way to perform its job. There is no "right" way to do it... there are several good options.

Gary
Gary I also mounted my EMS (Hughes) behind the power reel out of sight and use there Bluetooth capability and followed Larry’s (LWBAZ)thoughts on mounting on the Aquahot for the Autoformer
__________________
Jim and Alice
2023 CS 45D
2016 Anthem 44B sold
Jimjensen is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-31-2023, 12:33 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
MRUSA14's Avatar
 
Entegra Owners Club
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 8,108
I have had a hard-wired Progressive EMS Progressive HW-50C for 20 years. I don't do all of that silly stuff. I make sure my air conditioners are off, and pedstal breaker is off. Then I plug into the pedestal and turn on the pedestal breaker. Period. Done. Takes about 15 seconds total.

If there is any problem with the power, the EMS won't connect it to my coach and will display an error code to show what is wrong. This almost never happens. What happens is that after a short testing delay, the EMS connects me to the already tested and verified power source nand I am all set.
__________________
Marc and Jill, Wellington FL
2013 Entegra Anthem 44SL
2018 Lincoln MKX
MRUSA14 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-31-2023, 02:05 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
RVFunlovers's Avatar


 
Entegra Owners Club
Spartan Chassis
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 1,985
Good luck with your new coach.

Just my way:
I use a progressive EMS.
I turn off heavy loads like HVAC, etc…. I turn off my generator.
I turn off power at the post, hook up 50 amp then turn on power at the post.
I then hook up water / sewer.
By the time I go back in the coach the power should have switched to shore.
I don’t turn on heavy power loads until I see the coach on shore power at the vegatouch.
Then I turn on HVAC or fireplace, etc…
Then get eyes on the cat, then push slides, then level, etc….

I do not turn off any breakers for batteries (chassis or house) or any other breakers. I do not turn off the inverter.

When I go to unhook I do the reverse. Air up level before pulling in slides. Turn off heavy loads before turning off power. Etc…

We move a lot. I try to take my time, observe what is happening, avoid socializing beyond a quick hello when setting up. Then I sit down, pop open a brew, and have fun talking to people. I certainly have had enough coach issues on my 22 without doing anything wrong. I don’t want to self induce any issues. My wife has her own procedure to get the “house” ready. When she is done she joins me.

Safe Travels
__________________
Hal and Pam
2022 Entegra Cornerstone W
2020 Ford Edge ST
Sold 2017 Entegra Cornerstone B
RVFunlovers is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-31-2023, 02:13 PM   #10
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2022
Posts: 307
Quote:
Originally Posted by MRUSA14 View Post
I have had a hard-wired Progressive EMS Progressive HW-50C for 20 years. I don't do all of that silly stuff. I make sure my air conditioners are off, and pedstal breaker is off. Then I plug into the pedestal and turn on the pedestal breaker. Period. Done. Takes about 15 seconds total.

If there is any problem with the power, the EMS won't connect it to my coach and will display an error code to show what is wrong. This almost never happens. What happens is that after a short testing delay, the EMS connects me to the already tested and verified power source nand I am all set.
X2.
__________________
2020 Cornerstone
Ambetter is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-31-2023, 08:10 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Cypress, Tx.
Posts: 1,143
Not an Entgra

The portable progressive I have doesn't check neutral to ground to make sure there is continuity. The transfer switch does. So if ground and neutral do no have continuity between them the remote progressive will turn on but transfer switch will not.
__________________
2014 Foretravel IH45
Houston (Cypress), TX.
Turbojack is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-01-2023, 04:52 AM   #12
Senior Member
 
brobox's Avatar
 
Entegra Owners Club
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: SW FL
Posts: 31,622
Quote:
Originally Posted by MRUSA14 View Post
I have had a hard-wired Progressive EMS Progressive HW-50C for 20 years. I don't do all of that silly stuff. I make sure my air conditioners are off, and pedstal breaker is off. Then I plug into the pedestal and turn on the pedestal breaker. Period. Done. Takes about 15 seconds total.

If there is any problem with the power, the EMS won't connect it to my coach and will display an error code to show what is wrong. This almost never happens. What happens is that after a short testing delay, the EMS connects me to the already tested and verified power source nand I am all set.
X3 Karen or I usually put the slides out as soon as stopped to be at ride height and listen to the operation of the slides, then do as mark does.
__________________
Chuck in SW FL
Digital 2021 Cornerstone "B"
A "Digital" 2019 Cornerstone "B" Traded
A "Classic" 2014 Anthem 42 RBQ---Sold
brobox is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-03-2023, 02:03 PM   #13
Senior Member
 
Denie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2021
Posts: 274
We're taking delivery on the 14th. I'm buying the Progressive HW-50C now a figure I'll just have NIRVC install it when we take delivery...we'll be heading to South Dakota from NIRVC in Las Vegas. Do we need additional length of cable for the install or can the install be done with what's on the coach?

Also, DEF head simulator...where can I get one of these?
__________________
2025 Entegra Cornerstone on order
2023 Entegra Cornerstone "Z"
2021 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon in 20' enclosed trailer
Denie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-03-2023, 02:15 PM   #14
Senior Member
 
Denie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2021
Posts: 274
Quote:
Originally Posted by 3xbear View Post
We are picking up our coach from NIRVC, Phoenix, and the head technician over here, took us through what he says is the “recommended” or “ required” process to safely plug-in the couch to 50 amp service upon arrival to the campsite. It is the most ridiculously involved process I have ever heard of, and we have owned four class As. I am reaching out to the group to see if this is what all of you are doing or if any of you guys have any knowledge of the veracity of this, or a safe, better alternative.

It goes something like this: turn off the main power switch by the passenger seat, go to the bay where the breakers for Coach power are and Flip them all down, turn off the inverter, round knob, then go ahead and plug in, come back to that bay and turn on all the breakers again, turn the knob for the inverter back to ON, push the rocker switch underneath it to reactivate it, go back to the passenger seat and turn on the master power switch there, and then go to the Vega Touch and wait for it to completely reboot, given that you essentially killed a whole coach, go to the inverter page and turn the inverter on at the Vega, as well as the charger. The technician told me that if this is not done in this very sequence, the inverter and charger will not “sync” and the batteries will not charge. Personally, I find this to make no sense at all. if this is the way to do it, I will do it, but something is not quite right with this sequence, in my opinion.

I would like to hear any ideas or knowledge you want to share. Thank you.
In the manual, is this procedure found under "Rube Goldberg Hookup"?
__________________
2025 Entegra Cornerstone on order
2023 Entegra Cornerstone "Z"
2021 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon in 20' enclosed trailer
Denie is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
power, shore power



Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
House GFI trips when plugging in shore power TravelersMA RV Systems & Appliances 13 12-01-2021 09:24 PM
Plugging into shore power trips shore power breaker BFF Travel Supreme Owner's Forum 8 07-28-2017 10:53 PM
Question about plugging in and unplugging from shore power olustee bus iRV2.com General Discussion 14 11-06-2016 06:26 AM
NEWB question. Should I unhook Jeep's power supply before plugging into shore power? scottandanna iRV2.com General Discussion 8 06-10-2016 10:02 PM
Spartan's recommended process to get underway Gary.Jones Entegra Owner's Forum 14 02-24-2015 06:06 PM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:34 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.