I never thought about it until several readers described the condition at a campground. Then I realized I had seen the exact same thing at a bar my band was playing in. All the new receptacles on the stage had their grounds tied together, but there wasn't any connection to the service panel's ground/bonding point. So any instrument plugged into a stage outlet could create a hot-chassis voltage on everything else.
No, there are no existing surge protectors that can detect hot-skin voltages under all conditions. The EMS surge protectors can detect a broken EGC ground wire, and will shut off power. None of them will detect or disconnect your RV from a Reverse Polarity Bootleg Ground (RPBG). All EMS surge protectors will detect a reflected hot-skin voltage and shut off your own power, but they can’t disconnect your RV from the incoming hot-ground conductor so you’ll still have a hot-skin voltage. But a Non-Contact Voltage Tester can find a hot-skin over 40 volts under all conditions that I’ve envisioned.
I have a surge protector with lights that will tell me that all is “OK”. Is this sufficient to advise me of a problem with the ground or other connection in the pedestal?
Great article Mike. I never considered this before.
I never thought about it until several readers described the condition at a campground. Then I realized I had seen the exact same thing at a bar my band was playing in. All the new receptacles on the stage had their grounds tied together, but there wasn't any connection to the service panel's ground/bonding point. So any instrument plugged into a stage outlet could create a hot-chassis voltage on everything else.
Hi Mike, Randy Rodrigue on Jayco fb site ask if any of the surge protectors will detect hot skin. I was wondering if the newer models can?
No, there are no existing surge protectors that can detect hot-skin voltages under all conditions. The EMS surge protectors can detect a broken EGC ground wire, and will shut off power. None of them will detect or disconnect your RV from a Reverse Polarity Bootleg Ground (RPBG). All EMS surge protectors will detect a reflected hot-skin voltage and shut off your own power, but they can’t disconnect your RV from the incoming hot-ground conductor so you’ll still have a hot-skin voltage. But a Non-Contact Voltage Tester can find a hot-skin over 40 volts under all conditions that I’ve envisioned.
I have a surge protector with lights that will tell me that all is “OK”. Is this sufficient to advise me of a problem with the ground or other connection in the pedestal?
No, not under all miswiring conditions. More on this soon…