Thanks Joseph. Why do I have trouble making sufficient contact (at times) with the probes. I know you are suppose to do this one handed. But I’ve been in campgrounds where I have to continuously f’fish’ with the probes to get a reading. Am I doing something wrong?
Mike, I constantly struggle to make contact with my leads. I have to move them around and can’t seem (at times) to get a reading--thus the continuing move the leads around. Are mine to short or am I doing something wrong?
The probes are short for a reason, using long probes can be dangerous if you fingers contact them. By all means do not do what I have seen people doing by using small screw drivers and alligator clips to get into the sockets, this is dancing with fire! I use class O rated at 600 volts electrically insulated gloves with leather protectors anytime I pick up my meter to check live circuits. After working in the power production industry for 40 years it’s second nature for me.
You may find proper voltage at the pedestal without a load being applied however once load such as AC, heat and other appliances are introduced you may find the voltage dipping down to dangerous levels which will mean a higher current draw due to wiring that is too light for the current draw or the run to the supply is too long for the cable size. Best practice is to have a surge suppressor (I use the Surge Guard brand) that also will react to low or high voltage conditions, if you do not have one a simple plug in 120 volt meter will suffice most times. Additionally my Surge Guard has saved me at least 3 times that I know of with one of those being low voltage after load was put on.
PS: The campground that we are currently in has announced that it will not be taking reservations for 2024 due to being under a review by the County. Looking around I cannot help to believe it’s due to the shoddy workmanship of the electrical system. They literally have cords stretched out on the road being driven over, pedestal boxes with holes in them that one could touch a hot buss bar, electrical cords strewn about the pool deck to supply service to RV’s and etc, etc.
Yes, testing under load is important, and that will be the topic for an advanced article. However most readers simple need to learn how to use a meter first.
I already have a 10kW load bank for serious load stress tests, but most readers could use an inexpensive 1,500-watt space heater.
Hello Mike. Posting as a comment, not sure where to ask a question.
I have a small trailer with basic dc needs a propane refrigerator ( not an all electric ), a propane furnace, water pump and a few led lights. I have two 100 amp hour lithium batteries and 80 watt solar on the roof. I have a home made cord that connects with a 30 amp trailer adapter to a 115 volt connector that I use to recharge my batteries via a 2000 watt generator camping and an electrical socket at home. I was thinking is it possible to use a 500-1000 watt Jackery type unit to power my trailer in a low level house battery situation ? Would this conflict with my lithium house batteries causing a back feed to the 500-1000 watt battery? Thanks
Thanks Joseph. Why do I have trouble making sufficient contact (at times) with the probes. I know you are suppose to do this one handed. But I’ve been in campgrounds where I have to continuously f’fish’ with the probes to get a reading. Am I doing something wrong?
Mike, I constantly struggle to make contact with my leads. I have to move them around and can’t seem (at times) to get a reading--thus the continuing move the leads around. Are mine to short or am I doing something wrong?
I have an old set of probes with very long tips. I’m looking for something similar that’s available on Amazon and affordable.
The probes are short for a reason, using long probes can be dangerous if you fingers contact them. By all means do not do what I have seen people doing by using small screw drivers and alligator clips to get into the sockets, this is dancing with fire! I use class O rated at 600 volts electrically insulated gloves with leather protectors anytime I pick up my meter to check live circuits. After working in the power production industry for 40 years it’s second nature for me.
You may find proper voltage at the pedestal without a load being applied however once load such as AC, heat and other appliances are introduced you may find the voltage dipping down to dangerous levels which will mean a higher current draw due to wiring that is too light for the current draw or the run to the supply is too long for the cable size. Best practice is to have a surge suppressor (I use the Surge Guard brand) that also will react to low or high voltage conditions, if you do not have one a simple plug in 120 volt meter will suffice most times. Additionally my Surge Guard has saved me at least 3 times that I know of with one of those being low voltage after load was put on.
PS: The campground that we are currently in has announced that it will not be taking reservations for 2024 due to being under a review by the County. Looking around I cannot help to believe it’s due to the shoddy workmanship of the electrical system. They literally have cords stretched out on the road being driven over, pedestal boxes with holes in them that one could touch a hot buss bar, electrical cords strewn about the pool deck to supply service to RV’s and etc, etc.
Yes, testing under load is important, and that will be the topic for an advanced article. However most readers simple need to learn how to use a meter first.
I already have a 10kW load bank for serious load stress tests, but most readers could use an inexpensive 1,500-watt space heater.
Much more on this later…
Hello Mike. Posting as a comment, not sure where to ask a question.
I have a small trailer with basic dc needs a propane refrigerator ( not an all electric ), a propane furnace, water pump and a few led lights. I have two 100 amp hour lithium batteries and 80 watt solar on the roof. I have a home made cord that connects with a 30 amp trailer adapter to a 115 volt connector that I use to recharge my batteries via a 2000 watt generator camping and an electrical socket at home. I was thinking is it possible to use a 500-1000 watt Jackery type unit to power my trailer in a low level house battery situation ? Would this conflict with my lithium house batteries causing a back feed to the 500-1000 watt battery? Thanks
Thank you keeping me up to date on electrical changes that are impacting today's RVerd.
Mike, you didn't mention it in this article, but you have in the past, using a tester like this for pedestal verification: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B081ZL5PCV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Yes, I did review that exact product a few years ago, and it worked great.