84TOYRV Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 I was doing great for 4 days camping. Cool mornings, so I was glad that I had decided to bring my oil circulating radiant heater along. 3 mornings with no problems and comforting warmth for the chilly mornings. Then on my last day, with the heater and 19 in Lcd tv on, I plugged in the toaster. A couple minutes later, I heard a click and everything went off. Oh, oh! Must have tripped a breaker! I looked. I have 2 breakers. 1 20 amp for ac, that I don't have, and 1 15 amp outlet breaker. The ac breaker has always been off. The 15 amp outlet breaker was still on. I turned the appliances off. I turned the 15 amp breaker off, then on again. Still no power. I checked my outside power source. It was fine. No problem there. So...... Is my breaker broke or what? I know that I, probably, over loaded the circuit. But since it didn't seem to trip, did it break or what? How can I tell & what do I do? In the meanwhile, I unplugged and am using my good old heavy duty extension cord. Thanx for the help. Tudy 84 Dolphin (Cricket) Lanesboro, MN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
84TOYRV Posted September 28, 2012 Author Share Posted September 28, 2012 Apparently, something wasn't quite right with the source. I noticed that my charge light wasn't on. None of the breakers appeared to have flipped off, but I flipped all the breakers at the source and left them on. I plugged back in and checked my charge light. It was on! No problems! It must have tripped the outside source, even though it didn't appear to. Something learned: Never assume that you didn't trip a breaker, just because it doesn't look like it. Just flip em and try again. Thank God it wasn't anything in my Toy that went bad. Happy trails, everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 Watch those electric heaters, they can easily overload shore power circuits. Although I'm wired for the 30 amp service (looks like an electric dryer plug). I rarely use it. I have a 15 amp adapter and use it almost exclusively. (looks like a standard wall outlet) Electric heaters usually have a 900 and 1500 watt. The 900 watt is about 8 amps, the 1500 watt is about 13 amps. I generally keep my heater on the 900 watt setting unless I'm specifically using 30 amp shore power. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 Most campgrounds use GFI's now and depending on their age they maybe very sensitive to resistive loads (heaters) Even if you have no a/c there is a box in the overhead that is usually wired with a heaver gauge wire for a future a/c on a 20 amp breaker. A toaster and a heater is a good bit more power then you would want to use at the same time same goes for the microwave and a heater. Generally camp ground breakers are 20 amp but if there are a lot of campers using heaters the voltage goes down and the amps go up so you are drawing maybe 200 watts more at 110 volts then you would at a say 120 with the same things running. Bottom line every thing did what was required of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob C Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 I checked the voltage at a couple of campgrounds and have come to the conclusion that voltage is low at many of them. I tripped my main breaker 2 times on my last trip and started checking voltage. I usually don't pay for shore power because we don't use it much anyway. I don't want to burn stuff out becasue of low voltage. One campground owner was insulted and told me that I could not read my voltmeter. I will rely on my type 29 deep cycle battery and charge up when driving. We have never used the microwave and will probably remove it in the spring to gain a little extra space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 The power points at camp grounds are generally 1 of 6 to 8 or more 30 amp points feed with a 100 amp service so you can see how every thing goes down hill fast. I have seen 15 amp outlets in plastic boxes nailed to a post to dedicated 50 amp service at camp grounds. Your power cord is rated 30 amps it is a #10 wire SJ cord the minute you add an adaptor it becomes a 15 amp service because of the adaptors rating. I work part time for a camp ground and wiring is a big issue it is very expensive to install and maintain, people seem to bring every thing they own that uses power with them ever looked at the power rating of a hair dryer? Some can come close to maxing out a 15 amp circuit. I think some people would bring their house if it had wheels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
84TOYRV Posted October 4, 2012 Author Share Posted October 4, 2012 A lot of excellent advice! Thank you! We never stop learning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Toyota Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 MAINEAH you shure are right on on those power draws. my wife had a hair dryer that maxed out the circuit in our double wide let alone use in our rv. i only use a 15 amp adapter at home on a dead acted 20 amp circuit. somtimes in the parks i step myn up from 30 to 50 and plug into the 50 amp outlets. the koa has three plugs 20 30 and 50. rv on 50 heater on heavy ext cord out the window too the 20 or the 30. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
83 SunRader Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 Maybe I missed it, but did anyone say how you can tell if your breaker is bad? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred heath Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Very simple. remove any external power supply (i.e. land line). your 120 volt panel cover should have 1 or 2 surface screws or a hasp like fitting on one end, and a hinge on the other. Open the cover to gain access to the interior. Locate the suspect breaker. Attach your volt meter negative probe to a neutral (white) or ground (green or bare copper) buss bar. These bars are where all the wires other than the power (black) meet. Usually a metal strip with with multiple screw terminals attached. Now comes the part where you must be VERY CAREFUL..... Reattach your shore power and touch the positive probe to the bare metal area where the black wire meets the breaker. You should show 120 volts with the breaker on. Next wiggle the toggle switch on the breaker, there should be no fluctuation in the voltage. If so, replace the breaker. Keep in mind the space your working in is live. Avoid touching any other wires or breakers. Chances are you only have 2 breakers on the box anyway. If your breakers are the original ones it would"t hurt to change them anyway. Sometimes they just go bad from age. On a positive note (little electrician humor) they are the same style breakers used in your home. With power off, remove the breaker and take to your nearest hardware or chain store for a replacement. Good luck..... Fred Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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