Power Cord Fire

[norty1]

Great!

[VicS1950]

Originally Posted by Filthy-Beast

Sorry if you took it personally, I did not quote you or call you out. I said sanding, specifically because many people will use sand paper or even nail files, the micro scratches created by abrasives do reduce surface contact area, increasing voltage drop, raising temps. I also said that doing it on contacts in good condition was not a good idea but would help older corroded contacts.

Using a white eraser from and ink pen to clean good contacts would be better.

Sorry for being sensitive. The quick written words on a forum don't work as well as a personal conversation.

Ink pen. A very descriptive southern expression which doesn't get used much up north. I love it.

Along the same lines, block eraser is a good method for cleaning plug prongs. Especially the old wheel type coarser erasers that came with a built in brush. Younger people will have no idea about those.

vic

[Jim-n-Ash]

Yikes!

[mike837go]

Originally Posted by VicS1950

Especially the old wheel type coarser erasers that came with a built in brush. Younger people will have no idea about those.

Oh gawd! One of those was included with my first manual typewriter.

Even Co-rec-type is passé these days...

Ack! Mind connections: Ink erasers were replaced by correction fluid: Use Liquid Paper to fix the prongs on the cords? Not a good idea....

[tjpolsin]

Glad your electrical fire was contained. I'm not a fan of molded plugs. I had to cut and replace mine. it separated from the cable allowing water intrusion for the first 2 feet of cable. I replaced the end with a more robust male plug.

If you constantly need to use an extension cord, I would suggest installing a longer shore power cable.

[360Bridges]

Originally Posted by rvrev2

Had my 21 year old Jayco parked in my driveway and hooked up to my 30 AMP outlet on the garage. I used an RV 30 amp extension cord which is just 6 months old to span the distance from the rig to the outlet. I had the fiver hooked up for 4 days this way with the AC and fridge running with no problems. It was 104 degrees according to the bank sign while I was inside the fiver. Next thing I know, the AC starts to sound funny. Then I heard electrical buzzing from outside. I raced outside to see the electrical cord on fire where the RV cord plugged into the RV extension cord. I unplugged from the garage outlet, but the cord kept burning. It finally went out.

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.

I won't get a replacement RV cord until tomorrow night, so I won't know if I have any damage to the fiver until then.

I'll try to attach a picture of the remains. The first photo shows both ends of the extension cord. The second photo shows both ends of the RV's cord. The third picture shows both cords side by side.

THIS EXACT thing happened to us today! Did you have CAMCO cords, or what brand? Thank you!

[360Bridges]

Originally Posted by VicS1950

Not that anyone asked...


As was stated already, the problems relate to the overheated plug connection. The high ambient temperatures and a black colored cord in the sun contributes to overheat issues. As that connection deteriorated the resistance increased which reduced the system voltage to those fairly high load appliances.

The reduced voltage caused increased amperage which is why you noticed the change in operating noises. The voltage lowered and current increased, but the current didn't go high enough to trip any breakers. That is why nothing tripped.

Had the fire continued long enough the insulation between the current carrying conductors, or the ground would have likely broken down to a dead short which would have eventually tripped the pedestal breaker. Given the failure details I would not expect the RV breaker to trip.

The fire which started in the plastic/cord would have continued to burn even with the power off, but with the proper UL approved insulation should burn itself out over a short time once the heat source is removed (breaker tripped).


I agree.

It is important to periodically clean the male plug blades with a medium aggressive Scotchbrite or scrubby pad to help keep the prongs conducting properly. A light coating of Vaseline or contact grease helps keep corrosion to a minimum. The grease also helps to preserve the receptacle contacts which are difficult to access and clean.

It is a good idea to remove and re-install a semi-permanent plug periodically for inspection and cleaning. R&R of those plugs "wipes" the receptacle contacts which helps with cleaning and will most times change the points of contact in the receptacle when re-inserted. Those are all good things.

Unfortunately many campground receptacle contacts degrade over time. There is little you can do to help that situation, but you can feel your connection plug occasionally to make certain it is not getting extremely hot. A spritz of WD-40 into the pedestal receptacle (with the breaker off) might help with corrosion. It can't really hurt anything.

Being that the equipment was shut down almost immediately I would expect that your RV is ok.

FWIW. vic

This exact scenario happened to us today-- but its snowing here, no heat outside at all. Our cords were sitting on the ground below our RV.