Power converter smoked

[ilovelamp]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

Good luck getting a camp ground to take responsibility for damages that were caused by their electrical supply. The EMS should be part of the OP's future and if it isn't this may happen again. MOST camp grounds in my neck of the woods have a guy that cuts the grass and weed eats who does electrical repairs so not counting on that pedestal ever being right.

Yea, I get it. I'm buying one...

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

Good luck getting a camp ground to take responsibility for damages that were caused by their electrical supply. The EMS should be part of the OP's future and if it isn't this may happen again. MOST camp grounds in my neck of the woods have a guy that cuts the grass and weed eats who does electrical repairs so not counting on that pedestal ever being right.

Yes, that is the situation in many, many parks. This park used a "friend of a friend" to come in and wire a new row of peds. Did OK on the 30A but the one and only 50A he wired as 240. An RV tech lived here in the park and told me after the 2nd unit came thru and smoked the appliances the owner came to him for assistance. The "friend of a friend" had no idea what he was doing and those without an EMS got zapped.

[ilovelamp]

So the guy at camping world said he had no idea what an energy management system was, sooooo, I guess I'll order one online, anyone have a suggestion on the brand and/or model?

[flybouy]

Wow, they should be on the shelf with all their plugs and adapters. https://www.campingworld.com/ems-pt5...on-102485.html

[ilovelamp]

Originally Posted by flybouy

Wow, they should be on the shelf with all their plugs and adapters. https://www.campingworld.com/ems-pt5...on-102485.html

I saw those, I misunderstood what they were, I thought it was something that went inside with a readout, I see what everyone was talking about now, going to buy one now

[flybouy]

Progressive Industries is a popular brand. They come in portable and hardwired variations. https://www.progressiveindustries.net/our-products

[wiredgeorge]

The EMS (ELECTRICAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM) can be wired up inside the camper right by your power converter. Many like to do this. I use one that hangs plugs into the power pedestal because I am too fat and old to enjoy crawling around on the floor doing wiring under my kitchen cabinet. The one I use (Progressive) has a ring on it that you can slip a bike cable through if you feel it might be in danger of getting swiped. I bought a bike lock but have hardly used it except when camping in an unfamiliar campground. Which type install is completely up to you as both have small advantages over the other but nothing major. Don't be fooled when looking by less expensive surge guards as these gizmos have little practical protection capability and probably would have melted with your wiring and converter.

[Bill-2020]

Originally Posted by ilovelamp

So the guy at camping world said he had no idea what an energy management system was, sooooo, I guess I'll order one online, anyone have a suggestion on the brand and/or model?

Why, oh why, doesn't that surprise me...

I bought the Southwire Surge Guard 30amp portable unit that has the wireless monitor capability. The monitor is not required, but nice to be able to see what's going on from inside, sort of like the hardwired model, and it records faults so you know what happened last if you get back and something seems wrong. I went with the portable because I can take it with me if we ever sell the trailer. If I go up to a 50amp trailer, I'll sell the 30amp EMS.

https://rvpower.southwire.com/produc...a-model-34931/

[LHaven]

Originally Posted by ilovelamp

Well I would be leaning toward it being their fault in the plug side but my cord on the plug side was severely corroded inside... I think it had been arcing due to corrosion.

One thing I have seen is that if the outlet is a "reach" or is in any way loose, your plug can back out of the outlet, leaving one prong to arc. We had a situation here where a camper's plug was shaped funny and his cord was bottomed out against the box when his prongs were not quite all the way in, and we ended up having to replace the outlet as well.

Originally Posted by ilovelamp

I'm going to replace the cord ends, converter and move one of the ac breakers to the other bar in the breaker box. There are two bars inside the box and both acs are on one and install an ems

Yeah, good call. I can't even imagine how both ACs got installed on the same leg in your rig, that's pretty much the entire rationale for 50A.

[gspman]

This post has me thinking about my gear, I have/use a camco 55313. I thought it was an EMS..Now I am not sure if it qualifies.

[LewisB]

Originally Posted by gspman

This post has me thinking about my gear, I have/use a camco 55313. I thought it was an EMS..Now I am not sure if it qualifies.

Sorry, this unit would not qualify as an EMS in my book. While it does provide surge protection and gives you some indication of potential circuit issues, it will pass those problems right through to your rig if you continue to plug in. It does not provide 'real time" constant monitoring, nor does it automatically disconnect your rig for circuit problems, low or high voltage, etc. that may be encountered after you have plugged in and walked away. This is essentially like using your VOM to check everything, then plugging in. That's better than not checking, but provides you no disconnect capabilities while in use.

Don't shoot the messenger...

[priusron]

When our converter let out the magic smoke I was ready to replace it. Then I realized the purpose of a converter was to keep the batteries charged when plugged in. It is actually a permanent battery charger. Some will argue that it is to power the 12 volt appliances but those appliances are actually powered by the batteries which is charged by the converter. That is why converter are rated in amps and you can buy a 3 stage converter. I also have an inverter that has a charger built in. Not all of the do. I decided that I didn’t need a converter and have been doing fine for over 2 years with out it. We have been living in our rv full time so I believe we have enough hours under our belt to prove it works. The rv originally had an inverter without a charger so a converter was necessary.

[sparky895]

Do you have pictures of where it actually burnt? There is a good possiblity it could be from a connection that came looser if moisture had got to the back of the board and shorted it out.

[sparky895]

I would take a mutimeter and check the power on the post to see what the incoming voltage is on the park service. Check each leg to ground, and then between the power legs. See what you get, if the voltage is low at the post that will cause your appliances to draw higher amps. That would explain why you cannot run your full RV on the 50 amp service. A bad connection can cause low voltage also with the same affect, low voltage high amps. Example, 2000 watts is 16.6 amps at 120 volts, 2000 watts is 20 amps at 100 volts. It isn't uncommon for a park to have bad voltage drop so i would check that first. I would not replace and turn on the new converter until you check the voltages.

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by gspman

This post has me thinking about my gear, I have/use a camco 55313. I thought it was an EMS..Now I am not sure if it qualifies.

Lewis is correct, that is just a surge protector. The Camco 55306 is the EMS.

[WJQ]

Think of your converter as a "Y". 120 VAC from shore power with a 50 AMP service is the leg of the Y. The arms of the Y are the 12 VDC system and the 120 VAC system The 120 VAC system has circuit breaker on each circuit. These are typically 15 A and 20 A circuit breakers. The 12V DC side of the Y has fuses to protect each DC circuit. This stuff is all within the WFCO "Box."

WFCO has a tech service dept that has been very helpful when I have called them. They may also provide/sell you the part if a part is all you need.

Note, the WFCO Converter power rating, is the charging power for charging the batteries.

[W5WI]

My converter also smoked, but I also had problems with the other circuits. After much searching I found that I had lost the ground in my 4-prong cable where it plugs into the pedestal.

Luckily the convertor was the only item that suffered permanent damage.

[LewisB]

Originally Posted by priusron

When our converter let out the magic smoke I was ready to replace it. Then I realized the purpose of a converter was to keep the batteries charged when plugged in. It is actually a permanent battery charger. Some will argue that it is to power the 12 volt appliances but those appliances are actually powered by the batteries which is charged by the converter. That is why converter are rated in amps and you can buy a 3 stage converter. I also have an inverter that has a charger built in. Not all of the do. I decided that I didn’t need a converter and have been doing fine for over 2 years with out it. We have been living in our rv full time so I believe we have enough hours under our belt to prove it works. The rv originally had an inverter without a charger so a converter was necessary.

If I understand your post, you are partially correct - nothing there that needs to be proved. A "Converter" simply converts 120VAC to 12VDC and it does keep the batteries charged; however, because it typically operates at a slightly higher voltage than a battery, it also carries the load for a majority of the DC system when in operation. This reduces the number of discharge/charge cycles on your battery and extends the life of the battery. As the operating voltage drops in the DC system from added load, ultimately the battery and the converter work together to provide power. You are also correct that you don't need a "converter" - but you need something to keep your batteries charged, like a battery charger (which is just another name for a converter). In theory, you could just cycle your battery charger as needed, but that will shorten the life of your batteries. So, typically, one would leave the battery charger in operation when AC power is available - thus it is just another "converter."

In your case, it sounds like you have a combination inverter/converter, something like a Xantrex Freedom. These are great units - had one in my last Raptor. With a combination unit, you don't need a stand alone converter - must of us just unplug them and leave them in place for an emergency once the Xantrex is installed. But, technically then you DO have a converter - its just in the same box as your inverter. Did I understand your post correctly?

[flybouy]

Just to clarify floor the "new to inverters" folks reading this post;

An inverter provides 120 vac output when supplied by a direct current (typically 12 vdc) input.

A converter provides 12 vdc output with a 120 vac input.

A converter/charger does the same thing a converter does BUT it also adjusts the DC output voltage in varying "stages" to charge a battery.

An inverter/battery charger operates as an inverter when no 120 vac is present, i.e. not connected to shore power or a generator. When 120 vac is present from any source most inverter/battery chargers will allow that 120 vac to "pass thru" to the inverter's outlet and will charge the battery with it's built in converter and charging circuits.

The important thing to note is that while on battery power the inverter/charger WILL NOT CHARGE THE BATTERY.

[wiredgeorge]

Originally Posted by flybouy

Lewis is correct, that is just a surge protector. The Camco 55306 is the EMS.

I think the way you use the Camco 55306 is to plug it in and discoverer electrical issues prior to connecting your trailer. Once connected, it serves as only a surge protector and if there is an issue with the pedestal power, your trailer's electrical would fry. It might be more useful than nothing but certainly isn't an EMS as has been noted.