Receptacles no power

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by teacherman

I have a question. Are these GFIs the same as ones used in house wiring? If so, replacement would be cheap enough. I know they come in both 15 and 20 amp. Is the wiring 12 or 14 ga? I wonder about this, given the need to make a trailer at a certain price point, and the creativity often shown in pursuit of same...

If the current GFI is 15 amp then it's 99.9% certain it will be 14 ga wire.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by teacherman

I have a question. Are these GFIs the same as ones used in house wiring? If so, replacement would be cheap enough. I know they come in both 15 and 20 amp. Is the wiring 12 or 14 ga? I wonder about this, given the need to make a trailer at a certain price point, and the creativity often shown in pursuit of same...

To answer your question about the ROMEX gauge, 15 amp circuits use 14 ga ROMEX and 20 amp circuits use 12 ga ROMEX. Go to the circuit breaker panel, determine what size circuit breaker is in the circuit, use ROMEX of that appropriate size.

As a warning: Using 14 ga ROMEX in a 20 amp circuit "could cause a fire hazard" as the wiring may get too hot before the circuit breaker opens.

[wiredgeorge]

Romex that is white is 14 ga and yellow is 12 ga as far as I know. In home wiring applications, the 14 ga stuff is used on 15A circuits and yellow on 20A. Yellow is a tad more expensive and most builders use the lightest guage wire they can get by with to meet code. Problem with using a residential GFI is that it is intended to fit in a box and a residential box is designed for 2x4 framing. If you use one, you won't be using the box. The RV GFI outlet works like all the other RV outlets in that it is in its own shallow case that has wings to retain it to the wall. The wires are secured by blades inside the outlet as there are not screws like a residential outlet. I used a residential box and GFI in my camper for the microwave as the box goes through the partition where the microwave sits and an upper kitchen cabinet. I ran the wires down to an outside outlet and not through the breaker. I use a separate all weather power cord connected to the marine all weather outlet connected to a 15A outlet on a power pedestal. This is to avoid popping the main breaker when the A/C is on and the microwave is used.

[teacherman]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

To answer your question about the ROMEX gauge, 15 amp circuits use 14 ga ROMEX and 20 amp circuits use 12 ga ROMEX. Go to the circuit breaker panel, determine what size circuit breaker is in the circuit, use ROMEX of that appropriate size.

As a warning: Using 14 ga ROMEX in a 20 amp circuit "could cause a fire hazard" as the wiring may get too hot before the circuit breaker opens.

Yeah, I see that a lot in house wiring. Residential codes around here stipulate 12 ga and 20 amp outlets for kitchens, but I use pretty much all 12 in my own stuff except for lights. Sort of the "no replacement for displacement" idea, reinforced by extension cords feeling hot to the touch near the plugs, and the weakest link theory. I've seen a good bit of aluminum wire as well, which was popular a while back. Scary stuff, with all the demands of modern living trying to be supplied with wiring barely adequate at time of installation.

Here's hoping for a quick and low cost solution to the problem!

[Par4x4]

I've corrected the problem and all outlets now are working correctly. I replaced the outlet that the refrigerator plugged into and that fixed it. The condensate drain line for frig was broken and had been dripping into the access area and eventually on the plug itself. I moved the plug to a protected area and replaced the drain line and now I'm good to go.

Thanks for everyone's advice.