Keep tripping power poles

[jbigbryw]

I seem to keep tripping the breakers on the power pole. And the plug looks a little melted too. This has happened to 2 power poles. Luckily there is no one parked next to me so I was able to move to the power pole next to me while they fix it.

So my wife and I became concerned and started monitoring how many amps we are pulling. We have a 50 amp system so 50 amps on line 1 and 50 amps on line 2 for a 100 amps total. Then we started monitoring which devices seemed to pull amps from which line. For instance, the front 2 A/Cs pull amps from line 1 and the back one from line 2. The washer and dryer seem to pull from line 1 also, etc. So, my question is if I pull more that 50 amps from either line is it going to trip the breakers? Or do they combine for 100 amps or compensate for each other in some way? We've gotten into the habit now of turning off certain things when running other things. But it seems like we didn't really have this issue when we moved into the coach in Dec in Texas and headed here to SWFL. I could swear we ran all the A/C's and the washer and dryer and didn't have an issue. Maybe because the A/C's weren't all running at the same time? Just in the last month or so has this come up. Nothing in the coach trips and the surge guard shows all green as does the Hughes Autoformer. Could it be we just got lucky? It has gotten really hot down here and maybe the A'C's are running more?

Any clarification would really help me out.

[HarryStone]

A plug that is "a little melted" is telling you something. If the plug is melted, why are you moving to a different pole? How is that helping? You have dirty or loose connection at the plug, and that is causing a high current draw. Your rig should be shedding excess loads, so you don't exceed the 50 amp max on each leg. You just need to look at your DC power panel to determine what is on leg 1 and on leg 2. After the main breaker, it will alternate, line 1 breaker, line 2 breaker, line 1 breaker etc.

[palehorse89]

Harry, could you move this thread to the Newmar section for better exposure for the OP?

Your power management should shed load's before tripping breaker's, I would have your power cord reel inspected....... with your cord end melted(Known to do this) is a sign that the contact's on the power reel are failing.......... Resistance at the contact point on the center hub of the reel, makes heat and it seems from other post's, the molded cord end heat's up and starts to fail also.

[Old-Biscuit]

YES if you pull more then 50A on either Hot Leg the dual 50A CBs will trip
When you exceed the 50A on one they both trip as they are 'linked' together

The Power Pedestal CBs are not your issue
The melted plug and most likely the cord reel contacts are

[shootist]

Change your plug.

[twinboat]

Originally Posted by HarryStone

A plug that is "a little melted" is telling you something. If the plug is melted, why are you moving to a different pole? How is that helping? You have dirty or loose connection at the plug, and that is causing a high current draw. Your rig should be shedding excess loads, so you don't exceed the 50 amp max on each leg. You just need to look at your DC power panel to determine what is on leg 1 and on leg 2. After the main breaker, it will alternate, line 1 breaker, line 2 breaker, line 1 breaker etc.

Bad connections do not cause high current draw. The current and voltage drops beyond the bad connection.

Load shedding devices don't shed while on 50 amp service, only 30 amps or less.

[Bill Gail]

Originally Posted by twinboat

Bad connections do not cause high current draw. The current and voltage drops beyond the bad connection.

Load shedding devices don't shed while on 50 amp service, only 30 amps or less.

Agreed , while a bad connection doesn't cause a high current draw .

A bad connection with a high current draw is another matter

A bad connection will heat up and melt a connector if the current draw it's trying to feed is great enough .

[Persistent]

Lots of good advice above.

Two A/C and one dryer can pull a lot of current for one leg of a 50 amp 240 volt split phase system. Add to that, an electric water heater, microwave, and things like a coffee pot, and you can have significant issues.

Distributing the load across both L1 and L2 are required. As you pointed out, things can work sometimes and not others. All of those devices turn themselves "On" and "Off" independently and can potentially all run at the same time.

Why do the power pole breakers trip, but RV main breakers don't?

The Hughes autoformer may be the cause. This device draws higher current to boost the output voltage. For example 40 amps out at 120 volts may require 45 amps in at 110 volts.

This is especially true if the autoformer plug is defective and causing excessive voltage drop.

There are lots of possibilities. Balancing the load can certainly make a difference. Replacing an over heated plug or socket can certainly help.

[Smitty77]

Sort of a repeat here. But, if in a park where many coaches or park units are all drawing heavy loads, very possible for low voltage situation. Coach EMS and Hughes can really help monitor, and help - in these situations. But also as mentioned, many of the coaches today have enough 'electric' gear in them, to occasionally over tax a L1 or L2 - enough to 'trip' a breaker. (Why the Shore Power vs the Coach, could be because Circuit Breakers due age with time, and the Shore Power may not always be treated to the beat environmental and dust/dirt conditions - and thus more prone to tripping.

We have three 15k AC's, Dual Element AquaHot, Washer/Dryer, Residential Fridge, etc. In a park or locations where a heavy draw for the full area is taxing the local microsomes grid - very easy to have voltage drop. And if by chance the AquaHot Element(s) are both on, and say a fridge is running, and three AC's are cycling Off and On based upon set temperature - L1 or L2 can be 'surge' wise pushed to over what it can handle...

I do feel that 97.5% of the time, manual control of electrical draw along with the assistance of the Hughes Autoformer - we're able to handle the 'surge' loads. That being said, we've had AC units shut down for preservation due to low voltage situations... And, we've tripped a few Shore Power poles CB's too.... When this happens, we double check what we have on, and try to reduce loads to meet the conditions!

Good luck, and if you find something was not working right for you and adding to your Shore Power Tripping - please share the info! It might help others in the future.

Smitty

[Ray,IN]

You can only use 100A under ideal conditions, each leg must be using exactly the same amount, which is seldom true, each leg is limited to 50A.


If it were my MH I would be considering moving the dryer to the line with the rear A/C unit and try to balance out the total load more.
Replace that burned/arced plug!

[dizcom]

Originally Posted by jbigbryw

I seem to keep tripping the breakers on the power pole. And the plug looks a little melted too. This has happened to 2 power poles. Luckily there is no one parked next to me so I was able to move to the power pole next to me while they fix it.

So my wife and I became concerned and started monitoring how many amps we are pulling. We have a 50 amp system so 50 amps on line 1 and 50 amps on line 2 for a 100 amps total. Then we started monitoring which devices seemed to pull amps from which line. For instance, the front 2 A/Cs pull amps from line 1 and the back one from line 2. The washer and dryer seem to pull from line 1 also, etc. So, my question is if I pull more that 50 amps from either line is it going to trip the breakers? Or do they combine for 100 amps or compensate for each other in some way? We've gotten into the habit now of turning off certain things when running other things. But it seems like we didn't really have this issue when we moved into the coach in Dec in Texas and headed here to SWFL. I could swear we ran all the A/C's and the washer and dryer and didn't have an issue. Maybe because the A/C's weren't all running at the same time? Just in the last month or so has this come up. Nothing in the coach trips and the surge guard shows all green as does the Hughes Autoformer. Could it be we just got lucky? It has gotten really hot down here and maybe the A'C's are running more?

Any clarification would really help me out.

When you say the plug is melted, do you mean the plug attached to the end of your power cord or the receptacle on the pedestal? It's really unlikely that there's anything wrong with your rig. You might call Newmar and explain what's going on. They might recommend checking out some parts of your system. As others have mentioned, your rig is designed to keep things from overloading. Someone way more informed about your rig's systems designed it to make it relatively foolproof. Nothing we say should be used to second guess them.



Can I ask why you are using an autoformer? Is there a problem with low voltage where you are staying or is it just a precaution? Despite the hype, you shouldn't normally need it. We carry one for times when the voltage drops, but we don't use it every time we go out. You might try plugging in without it if your incoming voltage is fine to see if maybe the autoformer has a flaw that's causing your problem. You might reach out to Hughes also and describe what's going on. Good luck.