Breaker panel question

[PT RV`er]

Ok, I`ve always shutoff all my breakers on the inside of my rig starting at the bottom and making sure to shut the main breaker off last. And then I`ll unplug from the source. I do just the opposite when I`m setting up. Plug in at the source, then turn on main and then the rest down the panel.
When I went to pick up our new rig last week, the service tech that went thru my rig on the PDI said not to shut off the breakers in the panel before unplugging. So my first plug up at our house, all the breakers were on as he said and when I plugged in to the source, the plug popped a bit as I was plugging it in. I figured this would happen with all the breakers being on. That is a full load kicking on at the plug verses nothing being on.
Fast forward to this past weekend and I`ve got electrical issues. My main breaker gets warm and then trips when I use the microwave. I had the a/c, fridge, ceiling lights, water heater, radio stove light, kitchen light on and a few small items. All the usual items on when we are on site. Could it be that leaving all the breakers on when I plugged it up weakened the breaker? Or I`ve got a loose connection somewhere or it`s wired wrong or a bad breaker.
What do you guys do? Do you shut off all your breakers before unplugging? I`ve always shutoff mine in our old rig and never had a problem. Either way it`s going back to have them fix this problem. And I don`t want to hear them say I can`t run the microwave while I have the a/c on. If that's the case they can take it back.

[airforceret]

If you were having this issue plugged into a 50 amp service, then I would say you have a problem. If you are trying to run all this on a 30 amp service (at home) you are likely overtaxing your home electrical circuit and doing potential damage to all electrical circuits involved. It's commonly referred to as a "brown out" I believe.

As for breakers, I typically turn off the breaker at the box (before plugging or unplugging). I do nothing inside the camper at the breaker box there.

As for running the microwave and A/C at the same time, you may or may not be able to do this when plugged in at home.

[PT RV`er]

This happened at the state park this past weekend on a 30 amp service. I also have a 30 amp service at home and I replayed the scenario and it did it again. I`m taking it back in this afternoon so hopefully they can find out what the problem is.

[hankpage]

It is very rare that you will find a trailer where you can run A/C and water heater at the same time .... throw in the micro and you are well over 30 amps. There is nothing wrong with your electrical system it is just that 30amp is limited. Try switching your water heater to gas and you should be fine until someone turns on their hair-drier. Travel safely, Hank

[airforceret]

Originally Posted by PT RV`er

This happened at the state park this past weekend on a 30 amp service. I also have a 30 amp service at home and I replayed the scenario and it did it again. I`m taking it back in this afternoon so hopefully they can find out what the problem is.

Be aware that just because it accepts a 30 amp plug doesn't guarantee it is providing a full 30 amp service. They are better than in the past, but many places still do not offer a true 30 amp service at the box!!!

And when you do the math, as stated here, you may still have been drawing over 30 amps causing it to brown out but close enough not to trip the breaker.

[JRTJH]

Reading over your disappointment, I thought maybe this might help you understand:

Microwave 9.2 Amps
A/C 13.9 Amps
Reefer 2.5 Amps (plus humidity circuit amperage if included)
Water Heater 12.7 Amps
Converter 5.0 Amps

TOTAL: 43.3 Amps

Notes: A/C will draw more amperage at startup
Converter will supply 12VDC to operate the lights, radio, small 12VDC items. It will draw up to 15 Amps at full charge, usually 5 Amps at sustained operation.

As you know, the 30 Amp input power supplied by either your house, the Campground power pole, the dealer's lot supply or any other 30 Amp circuit that you may connect to will only be capable of providing 30 Amps. Your current draw per the items you said were operating is about 50% greater than 30 Amps. Actually it was close to 45 Amps. It's no wonder you "blew" the circuit breaker.

All of us either have learned (or will learn) to manage the power requirements for our RV. That includes not being able to use all of the above electrical items at the same time. All of us with 30 Amp power are limited to exactly what you are facing. The answer, at least for now, is to reduce power demands inside the RV or to increase the input power to 50 Amps as is done on the "larger, more expensive" RV's. It is not really an "easy to do" option to retrofit your RV to 50 Amp service, however, if you're willing to spend the money, I'm sure your dealer will be happy to accomodate your wishes.

Your statement, "And I don`t want to hear them say I can`t run the microwave while I have the a/c on. If that's the case they can take it back" is not something that they can control. You, however, can use both the microwave and the A/C, but you'll need to turn off the electric portion of the water heater, reduce 12VDC use to decrease amperage required by the converter and probably switch the reefer to the gas mode.

Sorry you're disappointed, but you just cant get 45 Amps out of a 30 Amp circuit. None of us can.....

As for the "sparking" when you connected the RV plug to the house 30 Amp plug, the reason for that is because you had a big demand ready to be powered up as you attempted to plug in the power cord. Most of us turn off the circuit breaker on the house plug (or on the campsite power pole) prior to connecting the RV. If you don't, you'll almost always cause an "arc" which will eventually burn your power cord connectors causing them to not conduct the full amperage and/or to melt away and not make good contact. That will reduce your available amperage, cause heat and could start a fire at the 30 Amp power box on the side of your house. It's best not to ever plug the power cord in unless the RV is "turned off" or the supply circuit breaker is turned off.

[diugo]

One thing few people understand is that circuit breakers aren't switches. The toggles just aren't engineered to be flipped on and off repeatedly. The more cycles a breaker sees, the more likely it is to nuisance trip. Don't be a breaker flipper.

That said, there is a genuine safety issue at the shore power pedestal. Mostly a risk that a finger may make contact with a prong during plug insertion or removal. For that reason, everyone should ensure the pedestal breaker is off whenever plugging or unplugging the umbilical.

Turn off all air conditioners and heaters at their switches before hitting the road, and turn them on again only after power to the RV is restored.

If you insist on running multiple high power devices simultaneously, you'll simply need to upgrade to 50-amp service or find a park that provides it. That's why it was invented

ETA: You might also consider the Coleman Mach 3 *PS* air conditioner. The PS stands for Power Saver and it draws several amps less than typical ACs.

[PT RV`er]

Thank you everybody for the very valuable information. I talked with another buddy of mine and he shuts off the breaker at the pole before plugging up. I will start doing that now as well instead of being a breaker flipper.
I brought this issue up only because it was something I never experienced in my Dutchman. And now that I think about it and after reading all the responses, my Dutchman didn`t have all power/ propane selections. Majority of the services ran off propane. I just learn a lot with this new Passport. These newer RV`s come with a lot of amenities so now I have to learn how to manage the power draw. I guess you can say, I`ll always be in the PS mode from now on.
I think I`ll still take it in so they can run thru it just in case I screwed something up. I need to get the slide out awnings installed as well.
Happy trails everybody and again, thank you for the education.

[theasphaltrv'er]

FWIW ....I always make sure the power is off at the box before I plug in. Also have a set up of the little yellow 3 light tester & meter to make sure of what's being put thru. At home I do not have a on -off switch so I just have to plug in but have never had a problem in the 15 yrs+ I installed a Progressive Industries Management System EMS-HW30C hardwired into the system so there is a 15 second delay before power kicks in just in case there's a problem.

[PT RV`er]

Well I wanted to follow up with my breaker problem. I called the service department today and they found out I had a swollen main breaker. After replacing the main breaker, they ran all the appliances and checked the draw and all were where they should be. Service department ran multiple appliances and said no problems. Also had leak behind the toilet - loose connection, light outside the bathroom door was getting hit by the bathroom door- adjusted door. So after a few add-on's we wanted, hopefully I will get my rig back by the end of the week.

[buzzcop63]

JRTJH:
Super job of explaining 30 amp connection, I know it takes time to really put together a well thought out and researched explanation and you did a great job, I am sure this helped a lot of readers.

[ktmracer]

Originally Posted by PT RV`er

This happened at the state park this past weekend on a 30 amp service. I also have a 30 amp service at home and I replayed the scenario and it did it again. I`m taking it back in this afternoon so hopefully they can find out what the problem is.

your way overloading a 30A service with the AC and microwave on, let alone adding the HWH and a few other things.