FIRE TODAY! 50 AMP Power Cables!

[360Bridges]

WHAT HAPPENED? The neighbors dogs were barking so he looked outside to see our 50 amp CAMCO power cable on fire-under our bedroom tip adjacent to our 100 gal propane tank. Greg sprayed it out... Scary when most of what you own could have caught fire or if we had been sleeping we could have blown up. So what's the lesson in this? I've always feared a house fire. And again, WHAT HAPPENED?

There were a couple power surges earlier in the day, in fact one shut off all the cities power, including ours, but this happened a few hours later. These CAMCO cords are 2.5 months old. Running on the gennie right now, pretty freaked out, wondering how to prevent this from happening again.

[Larry G.]

Why would your power chord be under your bedroom slideout when the connection is in the rear off door side of the 5th wheel?

Camco Chord? Is that the 50amp chord that came with the rig?

Do you use an EMS or any kind ofsurge protector?

[Skikrazee]

Fire is my biggest fear also. Sorry for your misfortune and I hope there was not too much damage. Did you have a surge suppressor installed between your TT and city power?
There may have been several surges as they brought the power back on line in the area.

[360Bridges]

I would like to note:

Some things to note:
1. I didn't have a single breaker go off. Not in the house and not in the fiver.
2. Plug from the RV extension cord going into the garage outlet showed absolutely no sign of burning or arcing. It was pristine.
3. I removed the RV cord where it was hard-wired into the RV. Once again, no sign of burning or arcing.

Camco Chord? Is that the 50amp chord that came with the rig?

Do you use a EMS or any kind ofsurge protector?

Camco is the brand of much of the RV accessories, we bought both new from Amazon. Actually I take that back we got one extension from Clear Creek RV Parts. EMS? I thought there were surge protectors built in the cord (This is a similar item)

Im reviewing another thread with the same type of fire. Here

[360Bridges]

Originally Posted by Skikrazee

Fire is my biggest fear also. Sorry for your misfortune and I hope there was not too much damage. Did you have a surge suppressor installed between your TT and city power?
There may have been several surges as they brought the power back on line in the area.

No, we did not have a surge protector, for some reason I was lead to agree they are built into the cords. I will look into this, I had no idea to get one.

It is scary, I want to be sure this doesnt happen again! Oh and to add, we caught in time, no damage to the undercarriage or propane tank hose. Very thankful as power cord was laying over the propane hose! Ugh, makes me sick to my stomach!

[360Bridges]

Here is a video on my Instagram because I couldnt attach photo here.

CLICK HERE >> HERE

[Big1]

Glad thing are alright, it could have been worse.

[norty1]

Glad you are all ok. That's scary all right! I have heard of a few I know that have problems also. Many are the result of loose connectors. I have a similar arrangement and I taped the connection with gorilla tape to prevent it from loosening.

Also on the end connection to the camper, It is most import to plug it in then give it a little twist to lock it in place, then snug up the locking ring. If that is not done it results in a poor connection and can generate enough heat to do damage.

Again I'm glad no one was injured.

BTW, there is nothing built into the cord to prevent or protect from surges.

[us71na]

It sounds like the wire is undersized, which would point toward a manufacturing defect. I would send the cord to CAMCO. What loads were running in your TT at the time of the problem?

[rjackson]

the problem was caused by a loose connection in the female end of the extension cord, not the wire size.

[RVhiker]

Originally Posted by rjackson

the problem was caused by a loose connection in the female end of the extension cord, not the wire size.

I agree that this ^^^ was likely the cause of the problem.

I've had similar issues with 30 amp extension cords and have had the most issues with molded electrical fittings. On disassembly of one such defective molded plug receptacle, I found that the connection to the wire was a tiny crimped connector. Also, molded plugs often are not truly the correct shape; they are deformed slightly.

Assuming the load is protected by a proper fuse or breaker, evidence of any slight melting on the ends of a power cord or extension is proof of a poor connection somewhere in the vicinity.

[bankr63]

Interesting that Camco weighed in pretty quickly on the Instagram post indicating that neither of the cord sets were theirs. I guess these companies really do monitor social media these days.

One thing to keep in mind too is to not use an extension cord unless absolutely necessary. By doubling or tripling the length of the cord (from 25 to 50 or 75 feet say), you are greatly increasing the power loss from the cord sets which can add to the heating as more current is drawn through the cable to make up for the loss. I have only once been so far from the pole that I actually needed to use my extension; mostly it just sits in the storage bay.

[hoppers4]

Originally Posted by RVhiker

I agree that this ^^^ was likely the cause of the problem.

I've had similar issues with 30 amp extension cords and have had the most issues with molded electrical fittings. On disassembly of one such defective molded plug receptacle, I found that the connection to the wire was a tiny crimped connector. Also, molded plugs often are not truly the correct shape; they are deformed slightly.

Assuming the load is protected by a proper fuse or breaker, evidence of any slight melting on the ends of a power cord or extension is proof of a poor connection somewhere in the vicinity.

I also had a poor connection on the male end of my molded MH plug. The plug overheated and melted a bit. I replaced it, dissected the molded plug and found a bad crimp on the hot wire.

Any heating of the power cord connection is a warning sign and needs to be tended to whether it be the male or female side of the connection.

[Jopopsy]

Originally Posted by bankr63

One thing to keep in mind too is to not use an extension cord unless absolutely necessary. By doubling or tripling the length of the cord (from 25 to 50 or 75 feet say), you are greatly increasing the power loss from the cord sets which can add to the heating as more current is drawn through the cable to make up for the loss. I have only once been so far from the pole that I actually needed to use my extension; mostly it just sits in the storage bay.

That's the logic I used for my Autoformer placement. I took my shore cord and cut it in half - put new ends on. I take ~12' of cord from the panel to my Autoformer, then another ~12' from the Autoformer to the EMS. I only have 12' of run before my Autoformer adjusts everything to keep things nicey nice.

[360Bridges]

**************CORRECTION**************

The main line was not a CAMCO, it came with the unit. The 2nd, brand is yet to be determined we are taking it back to the parts store today where they usually only sell CAMCO.... I didnt want to tar CAMCO'S when we discovered it was not theirs. Looked through the AMAZON receipts and realized its not their line, at least as of now.

We will get a surge protector! New lines... and let's see what else! Oh and and the time the pull was; TV, fireplace, heater/fans, plug in skillet. We have since unplugged fireplace, the cord was warm to that. I hope everyone checked their cords today!

On another note, lots of snow here today!

[Kahoneys]

One thing my uncle (who is an avid RV'er and a lifelong electrician) taught me is to never coil up or lap over your cords for they build up heat and if they are laid over themselves or each other they may melt or cause a lot of heat. Since then I have always layed mine out and just zig zaged them so that they don't touch.

[Jagiven]

I'm glad your fine, and no major damage.

I think the nieghbor's dog deserves it's favorite dog treat.

[norty1]

You were pushing a 30a feed with that load.

This chart can be used to add it up.