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Old 09-03-2019, 06:20 AM   #1
brucem26
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Electrical meltdown

This is the 30 amp end of our 50 amp to 30 amp connector. It was in between the 50 amp cable coming from the trailer do the 30 amp extension cord plugged into the campground. The two were literally fused together. The 25 foot 30 amp extension cord is shot as well. Does anyone have any ideas what would have caused this? We will replace it today of course but not sure why it would have happened in the first place.
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Old 09-03-2019, 06:29 AM   #2
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Were you running both AC units at the same time for an extended period of time? Another possibility is the contacts at that connection we’re corroded causing a high resistance connection that generated heat.
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Old 09-03-2019, 06:54 AM   #3
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Are you using an EMS? If not, you may want to consider one.
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Old 09-03-2019, 06:59 AM   #4
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Since you stated you were using a 50 amp to 30 amp connector my first guess is that you were trying to pull significantly more than 30 amps, the 30 amp breaker at the pedestal didn't trip for whatever reason, and your connector which is only rated for 30 amps overheated.
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Old 09-03-2019, 07:06 AM   #5
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Well, the simple answer is of course heat.

Either something was corroded, badly misaligned (there's possibly some arcing on the upper blade, but impossible to tell when it happened), damaged, manufacturing defect (bad crimp on the blade before it got molded) or it got water in all the wrong places during use.

I'd say that overloading is probably not the root cause, just a high resistance connection.
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Old 09-03-2019, 07:28 AM   #6
Roscommon48
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Hey, I've done this a couple of times.


Typically it is because you are pulling too many amps.....You just can't have everything on!


Learn:
http://rvservices.koa.com/rvinformat...d-amp-draw.asp
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Old 09-03-2019, 07:28 AM   #7
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Of course the issue was Heat. We just cannot understand why it would have occurred there. We only have one air conditioner and it really wasn't running that much it certainly wasn't running overnight. I do not think load on the line was an issue. Since the Meltdown happened there and not at the 50 amp end of the connection which was completely normal I have to suspect either a faulty connector or as someone stated possibly some corrosion on the terminals. Thanks for your replies much appreciated
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Old 09-03-2019, 08:39 AM   #8
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Sure looks like arcing from something; either a poor connection due to rusty contacts, misalignment, loose or possibly water intrusion....but, that would be a localized "burn out" at the faulty connection. You mention the entire 30A cord was destroyed as well. If so, then that starts to point toward an overload... EMS anyone?
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Old 09-03-2019, 08:53 AM   #9
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You should definitely check into getting an EMS. My guess is that the voltage at the pedestal you were plugged into was low. When ever you lower the voltage it automatically raises the amps being drawn even though the load hasn't changed. I had a similar problem a couple months ago. Mine wasn't melted as badly as yours but I still had to replace the male plug on the end of my 50 amp power cord. I decided that that was enough of that. I just finished installing my EMS last week.
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Old 09-03-2019, 11:14 AM   #10
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I would have to lean toward a corroded male cord end or one that was not seated completely in the female side....clean the blades and use a little dielectric grease on it and make sure it firmly seated when plugged in. The 30 amp breaker at the pedestal should have opened under that condition so there’s also the chance that breaker is defective it has probably been opened and closed hundreds of times in its life under all a load which can lead to failure!
I’m not completely convinced that a EMS would have prevented this......they would have protected the wiring in the trailer from lots of different faults but this occurred at the pedestal.
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Old 09-03-2019, 11:27 AM   #11
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Would this have been alleviated if there was a portable EMS(surge protector) plugged in at the pedestal. I understand if you have a 50 amp unit you cant plug in a 50 amp EMS directly to a 30 amp plug and purchasing another EMS is kind of spendy. but I also think it is cheap insurance.
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Old 09-03-2019, 12:14 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kksfish View Post
I would have to lean toward a corroded male cord end or one that was not seated completely in the female side....clean the blades and use a little dielectric grease on it and make sure it firmly seated when plugged in. The 30 amp breaker at the pedestal should have opened under that condition so there’s also the chance that breaker is defective it has probably been opened and closed hundreds of times in its life under all a load which can lead to failure!
I’m not completely convinced that a EMS would have prevented this......they would have protected the wiring in the trailer from lots of different faults but this occurred at the pedestal.

From my understanding this happened in the cable between the ped and the trailer. My EMS plugs directly into the ped so this situation would have been "downstream" from the EMS.
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Old 09-03-2019, 04:05 PM   #13
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Poor/loose connection causes arcing,
arcing causes heat,
heat causes what you see
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Old 09-03-2019, 05:54 PM   #14
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It sounds like the OP had his 50 amp trailer umbilical cable plugged into a 25 foot, 30 amp "extension cord" and that plugged into a 30 to 50 amp adapter at the campground power pole.

Maybe I'm visualizing too much, but it sounds to me like he is going from a 50 amp trailer cord to a 30 amp extension cord, to a 30:50 amp adapter and plugged into a 50 amp socket on the power pole. If so, then essentially what he had was a 50 amp circuit with a "30 amp fuse" (the extension cord and adapter) in the middle. As soon as his trailer power demands were greater than 30 amps, the "extension cord" became hot, getting hotter and hotter as the electrical load increased. The 50 amp circuit breaker on the campground power pole and the 50 amp circuit breaker in the trailer were never overloaded, only that "weak link" in the middle....

OP, if you could please explain more fully what was plugged into what and the rating of the circuit breakers in the campground power pole that your trailer was powered from.
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Old 09-03-2019, 06:10 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JRTJH View Post
It sounds like the OP had his 50 amp trailer umbilical cable plugged into a 25 foot, 30 amp "extension cord" and that plugged into a 30 to 50 amp adapter at the campground power pole.

Maybe I'm visualizing too much, but it sounds to me like he is going from a 50 amp trailer cord to a 30 amp extension cord, to a 30:50 amp adapter and plugged into a 50 amp socket on the power pole. If so, then essentially what he had was a 50 amp circuit with a "30 amp fuse" (the extension cord and adapter) in the middle. As soon as his trailer power demands were greater than 30 amps, the "extension cord" became hot, getting hotter and hotter as the electrical load increased. The 50 amp circuit breaker on the campground power pole and the 50 amp circuit breaker in the trailer were never overloaded, only that "weak link" in the middle....

OP, if you could please explain more fully what was plugged into what and the rating of the circuit breakers in the campground power pole that your trailer was powered from.
That was my though also, however I thought most people would know that was going to lead to an issue.

As these extension cables and dog bone adapters became cheap, think manufactured in china or some other countries with questionable quality, this does not surprise me at all. Chris
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Old 09-04-2019, 04:17 AM   #16
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Danny,
yeah your right. I thought you had the EMS connected inside the trailer!
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Old 09-12-2019, 07:21 AM   #17
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Had something similar happen to us. Ours is only 30amp but I was using a 25’ extension while running the AC and hot water. After about 6hrs the two were fused together like yours. It was about 100 degrees out and AC ran nonstop. I had to replace both ends which by the way aren’t cheap. It don’t take long to use up 30amps
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Old 09-12-2019, 07:34 AM   #18
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You were using the 25' cord plus this adapter plus a 30' extension to the source? That's 56 feet, I suspect voltage drop played a part in this and the demand with a 50amp unit running on a 30 amp supply - this is the result eventually. Eliminate the 30ft extension and get an EMS to plug in at the power source first.
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Old 09-12-2019, 08:01 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Customer1 View Post
Poor/loose connection causes arcing,
arcing causes heat,
heat causes what you see
I second this. I had this happen to me and retracing my steps I realized that I bumped the connection lose at a pedestal once and that loose connection overheated causing it to arc and melt.
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Old 09-12-2019, 08:36 AM   #20
cjcalandra
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burned out

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Originally Posted by brucem26 View Post
This is the 30 amp end of our 50 amp to 30 amp connector. It was in between the 50 amp cable coming from the trailer do the 30 amp extension cord plugged into the campground. The two were literally fused together. The 25 foot 30 amp extension cord is shot as well. Does anyone have any ideas what would have caused this? We will replace it today of course but not sure why it would have happened in the first place.
OK so there are a lot of reasons this could have happened, however the most obvious to me is that you were drawing more than 30 AMPS. the reason the 50 AMP line didnt melt down was because it is rated for 50 AMPS while your extension cord isnt...so like water electricity loves to flow through the path of least resistance, and electric motors will pull what they need one way or another in order to run at their design speed..so if you have low voltage, the motor will draw more current to run at its design speed. I could go on, and it could also be that the connection was bad inside the molding. Had you successfully used this adapter before? Is it stamped with the proper UL and CSA markings?
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