Throwaway adapter?

[jxnbbl]

When winterizing our trailer, I inspected everything and found that the plug on my (expensive) Progressive 30A EMS was corroded and slightly melted.

We only use the trailer 16 days and at the 4 places we plugged it in 'visually' the outlet looked/felt fine when we connected. Additionally went through the process of letting the EMS evaluate the power prior to turning things on...etc.

Where the prong can be cleaned up and used I just found out Progressive will not sell you a new pigtail to the unit...I guess the only option if it was more catastrophic damage would be to cut/replace the plug.

So I wanted to know if anyone knows of something that basically is a 30A - 30A adapter. I know I can make one like a dog bone, but ideally it would just be very short so the ems doesn't hang close(er) to the ground. That way, if the campground outlet is faulty, you'd throw away an adapter and not have to deal with cutting/fixing the EMS pigtail (and invalidating the warranty on an expensive item).

thanks in advance for any advise/knowledge.

[flybouy]

When you plug into and disconnect the EMS from the power pedestal do you turn the breaker off? If you don't it will arc and cause this issue. A loose pedestal outlet will cause this as well. It's a common issue if the cg isn't maintained well because the 30amp outlet is used more.

As for a dogbone all the 30 Amp ones I've seen are 30 to 15amp or 50 to 30amp, or 30 Amp twist lock to 30 male plug. I keep a 50amp to 30 Amp and use it to connect to the 50 Amp outlet (if available) as they tend to be "less worn" and make a better connection.

[dutchmensport]

as flybouy stated, when you plug and unplug, it's arching, causing pitting, discoloration, and causing abnormal wear on the plug prongs. You need to flip the breaker off before plugging in, and you need to turn the breaker off before unplugging.

Not sure if your power cord is a separate cord that attaches to the outside of your camper, or if it's wired in and you have to push the wire into a hole to get it out of the way.

If it's a completely removable cord, then you can add a short 30 amp RV extension cord.

You CAN get them anywhere from 18 inches to 50 feet. Here's a link for an 18 inch one: click here

You can also run an extension cord to the trailer, plug in the EMS and then plug in the trailer cord. I've done that in the past, several times.

[Gord]

I would check with Progressive to see if replacing the plug without opening up the unit will void the warranty. Should this not void the warranty I would just buy a Camco replacement plug (about $25.00 canadian). This is probably less expensive than buying parts to make an adapter. Or possibly they would be willing to have you send it back and they replace the plug. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[jxnbbl]

Thanks for the replies. I'll make another call to progressive on the warranty concerns. In re-reading them the wording is such that it might be that the plug is not covered in the lifetime warranty....but the unit is.


Being new to this, for once, I read all the manuals cover to cover...i always turn the beakers off at the pedestal and the RV when plugging items in, hookup, turn on the breaker at the pedestal, let the ems do its thing -> no error codes turn on the inside breakers. Somewhat just peace of mind as it all makes sense to me being familiar with general elec/wiring. Anyways it most likely was a worn outlet that I couldn't detect by "feel", I'm sure I wasn't overloading as I generally kept <20a at any one time.


I'll probably make a very "short dogbone" for next year that I'm certain of the connectivity at the EMS and inherently have a 'throwaway'/'replaceable' plug at the other.


Thanks again

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by jxnbbl

...

I'll probably make a very "short dogbone" for next year that I'm certain of the connectivity at the EMS and inherently have a 'throwaway'/'replaceable' plug at the other.


Thanks again

I've found that most campgrounds have 50/30/20 amp outlets on the power pedestal. There are many more 30 amp trailers than 50 amp trailers (that's changing as people upgrade to newer trailers) so the 30 amp plug gets a lot more use (and abuse) than the 50 amp plug. So, what I do is us a 50:30 amp adapter, plug that into the 50 amp plug on the pedestal and then plug my shore power cord (I have a built in EMS) into "my 30 amp plug" rather than risk the "worn out 30 amp plug on the campground system. That gives me a "sacrificial 30 amp female plug" that is in good condition and protects my shore power plug from "loose/damaged/worn campground plugs"...

There are a couple of "extra benefits" to doing it that way. First, even if the 50 amp campground plug is worn, there's significantly more metal on a 50 amp plug, so it can survive the "pitting and arcing" better than the smaller 30 amp pins. And, that moves the "blown circuit breaker" problem to inside the trailer, if you should overload the system. That way, you just go to the power center "INSIDE" the trailer if you overload the system, not outside to the "older/weaker and often abused" 30 amp circuit breaker that's on the campground system.

So, buying a 50:30 amp adapter, plugging into the 50 amp on the campground system and then plugging your EMS into your own plug to power the trailer will give you "control over the condition of your 30 amp plug"....

[CedarCreekWoody]

Did you look at the cord linked in post #3? It is an 18 inch 30A to 30A cord, exactly what you requested.