It’s the GFCI!
Normal leakage currents in an RV can cause a GFCI receptacle to trip, and it doesn’t have anything to do with load current…
A question from my Facebook Group…
Urgent and time sensitive. Trying to keep this short but provide enough information. So, accepted a job and found a private owner who has a single RV spot on her ranch in Washington. I've done this several times in my 5.8 years of traveling so no biggy.
The lady told us she has a 30-amp plug. We are 50-amp but we have done a 30-amp before in Florida. I also asked if she had a 120plug. She said "yep I got two." We arrive to find this. No 30amp plug but a 30amp breaker and 20amp breaker. She said the 120v is the 30amp and says she had an electrician install it. When we first plugged in the wife ran 1 AC and 20min later it turned off. After that we averaged 20min-30min with nothing running before the GFCI popped outside.
I had to go outside all night until 6am to keep the fridge running because the battery was getting low as we kept figuring out what to unplug. We found someone to take all our food and came back to deal with it all. I unplugged the mini fridge, and now it's 10sec before the GFCI pops, almost to the second. Again with eveything off at this point.
I do have a progressive industries 50-amp surge protector and EMS in the second picture and it tells me no issues with the wiring. I researched everything I could to present her with this problem and she said we can trouble shoot it Monday when I get off work. Staying in a hotel until then. But she did debate it and said she had 2 RVs, a tiny home and TT, stay and have no problem.
Theres nothing we can do now besides cancel this contract if this can't be fixed and find another contract. But damn why can't I at least run my Samsung residential 12V off of this? Other things to note, her cover and outlet is loose, the gasket doesn't prevent water from coming in and their is not difference between the top and bottom 120. - Cody B
Hey Cody,
GFCIs are no longer required on 30 and 50-amp pedestal outlets. But a GFCI is required on 20-amp Edison receptacles. And no, an EMS Surge Protector can’t correct the normal leakage currents in an RV feeder circuit that will trip a GFCI. But I don’t see a GFCI in your pictures, so what am I missing? - Mike
Here’s a picture update…
Everyone
This is just one more example of a dangerously installed campground pedestal outlet that would never pass an inspection.
You get to troubleshoot…
I’m pretty sure I know what’s causing the problem, and it has to do with how GFCI receptacles operate. So please read my article on GFCI theory HERE and post your guesses in the comments below.
As a GFCI can be used on a circuit without a ground, it must be labeled as such. And it can be a good solution for certain situations requiring a receptacle with a ground pin cavity. Yet it can lead to a Hot Skin condition when an RV is plugged into an ungrounded GFCI. While the GFCI might trip at 30-mili-amps of unbalanced current flow or less, it is not going to conduct that small limited current flow to ground. It can and may be felt if there is leakage current to the chassis or ground of an RV. And if a Hot Skin condition exists, it can be detected with a NCVT. It is unbalanced current flow that trips a GFCI, no matter where that current can flow and in most cases, current flowing to ground trips a GFCI to include the ground pin cavity connection of the GFCI, even If the circuit serving a GFCI is not grounded.
He said he has a progressive surge protector. I cannot plug my Surge Guard into a GFCI protected circuit without it tripping it