Fried my 30 amp male receptacle today

[Jagiven]

Went out to the TT to grab a drink a few minutes ago. Noticed the frig was running on Propane, hummm. flipped the frig off and back on. Still on propane. Looked over at the microwave, clock is off. Humm no 120V power.

Went over to the outside RV outlet (50/30/20). The 30 amp breaker was tripped. Been rain a lot the last few days, but the RV outlet panel and cord are well protected from the weather.

Flipped the breaker off, and back on. Watched the magical blue smoke exit the cord plug between the cable and plug itself. Second or two later I could hear a little sizzle and the breaker popped again .

I would like to buy a whole new cord, maybe an upgrade to a detachable twist lock, but we are talking about a new camper next year, so I think it will be a simple end replacement.

Guess I am glad our campout this weekend was canceled, gives me a bit more time to find the parts.

Happy camping to those that are out camping this coming Memorial Day Weekend

[DrSmart]

We've had a couple of melted plugs over the years. Our camp neighbors last October were using two 25 foot, 30 amp extensions to make a 50 foot. Melted all the male and female plugs. He used 2 more spares to make another 50 foot and melted those. He found out other people had problems on the same site and had the park electrician open up the power pedestal. It was in pretty bad shape. We were on the second 30 amp outlet on the same pedestal and my Progressive Industries EMS-HW50C Electrical Management System was indicating open ground. The electrician replaced the two 30 amp and two 15 amp outlets. My ground error cleared and I think the neighbor was Ok after that. He complained to park management and they supposedly agreed to pay for his damaged cords.
I carry a 50 foot 30 amp extension and replacement male and female plugs. Got the pair on Amazon for a good price.

[JFlightRisk]

I'd just replace the plug end also. Cut the bad wires back until you get to shiny copper, and you'll be good.

Maybe due to many years of flexing the end, and some of the strands fractured? Your rig is the same year as ours.

[norty1]

Worn connectors can cause resistance which created heat and destroys them.

I have also seen the Marinco twist lock plugs melted because they forgot to twist lock it, creating a poor connection and heat.

[Route 66 Traveler]

I got rid of my twist locks and went with the Smartplug. Much better connection, securely locks in place and is weather proof. A bit pricey but a big improvement.

https://www.technorv.com/smartplug-power-connections/

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sI0euVc-R3Q

[Jagiven]

Originally Posted by JFlightRisk

I'd just replace the plug end also. Cut the bad wires back until you get to shiny copper, and you'll be good.

Maybe due to many years of flexing the end, and some of the strands fractured? Your rig is the same year as ours.

I went back out to disconnect the battery (12.4V).

Looked at the cord. It twists inside the molded plug. Probably to many years of yank and pushing the cord in and out of the little cubby hole.

[JFlightRisk]

That will take it's toll too. I hate trying to take it out, or put it back when it cold. Always an adventure.

[Sundancer330]

Originally Posted by Route 66 Traveler

I got rid of my twist locks and went with the Smartplug. Much better connection, securely locks in place and is weather proof. A bit pricey but a big improvement.

Smartplug is the way to go, I have seen a few boats burn and the fire marshall said its due to the twist lock plugs, as they age they generate a lot of heat and cause fires.. I changed out the TT and the boat to Smartplug and love the product.

[JimD]

Originally Posted by norty1

Worn connectors can cause resistance which created heat and destroys them.

You took the words right out of my mouth.

[dave89]

While mine didn't fry as yours did, it did show some problems. Mainly the positive terminal had heat marks and melting on the cord head. I had the cord that you had to push in to the hole. I did what I should have done right after the Jayco warranty was over. Lopped the cord off and installed a detachable cord set to the camper. It took me a couple of days to do though. The receptacle was smaller than the hole and I had to come up with something that would look good. There are many suggestions posted here that would well suit your need. Good luck.

[Jagiven]

Decided to dissect the old cord end to see how it was made. They stripped back the hot and neutral wires way back. Made the connections, then it looks like the potted the plug. You can see in the first image how far back it was stripped, and how close the exposed wires are to each other. This cord end has been twisting for years. I am surprised it did not fail long ago.

[JimD]

Holy smoke! Couldn't resist.

[thenne1713]

You can find the smaller black RV TT30P at Lowes/ HD for QUICK repair, then order the larger YELLOW CAMCO w/ Handle on internet. EASY FIX if you get the wires to the right terminals. YOU do have to pay attention to polarity, as all brass, and NO Silver vs Brass like on the 15a Plugs/ receptacle terminals. Then VERIFY.

[Vicr]

An Electrician's (now retired after 38 years in the trade) thoughts on Twistlock vrs. SmartPlug. First of all I have, or my crews have, installed thousands of twistlock connectors and receptacles over the years with the only failures being apprentices who did not tighten the mechanical connections enough or users who severely abused the cord ends. I have seen posts about the SmartPlugs here and other RV forums before and did my research on them and watched all the videos and they actually don't offer any better mechanical connection or cord restraint inside the cord cap as a Hubbell or Leviton does. About the only "favorable" advantage they might have is more electrical surface contact area and that as "favorable" is debatable given twist lock devices have been laboratory tested to insure they meet the ratings to which the manufacturers rate them as.

The drawback to any electrical device is that after many load/no-load cycles the mechanical connections will heat and and cool and then loosen up BOTH Twistlock and SmartPlug cord caps will do this. Both types of devices, twistlock and SmartPlug, need periodic maintenance.

In my professional opinion the cost of the SmartPlugs far outweigh any build superiority to either a Hubbell or Leviton Twistlock device. I have never seen any specification by any engineer for any type of build I've done specify SmartPlugs. I can say that all the Boeing factories, data centers and telecommunications projects I've built Hubbell or Leviton Twistlock or Russell/Stoll devices are called out in the specifications by the engineer of record.

[jimmoore13]

Your description implies that you are connected to shore power at home. Do yourself a favor and verify the integrity of your supply socket and voltage.

The 30 amp socket may have been damaged by the arcing you heard. Replace as needed.

And one possible reason for the problem MIGHT be low voltage at the plug. Low voltage = high amperage with the resulting problems related to too much current for the circuit. I said MIGHT, because you found another problem, but since you are working on this, make sure you have something very close to 120 volts at the socket.

As for repairing the existing cable, that's a fine way to address this issue. Lots of parts on Amazon with 2 day delivery on Prime.

[Jay2504]

In our previous camper, we had a detachable 30 amp cord and twist lock wall plug. I had no failures, but I pulled out the plug on the camper and tightened the screws to the wires that were coming loose, but hadn’t failed yet. On our Jayco, we have a 30 amp cord that gets pulled out of a “ mouse hole”. I love it! One less connection to burn up, and I don’t have to use up my storage space for the cord! Jay

[craigav]

Originally Posted by Jay2504

In our previous camper, we had a detachable 30 amp cord and twist lock wall plug. I had no failures, but I pulled out the plug on the camper and tightened the screws to the wires that were coming loose, but hadn’t failed yet. On our Jayco, we have a 30 amp cord that gets pulled out of a “ mouse hole”. I love it! One less connection to burn up, and I don’t have to use up my storage space for the cord! Jay

That is how mine is setup, although I have been considering going with a twist-lock connection. I am not sure though as I don't really have any issue (after lots of practice) pulling the cord out and then running it thru the mouse hole. ~CA

[Route 66 Traveler]

Originally Posted by Vicr

The drawback to any electrical device is that after many load/no-load cycles the mechanical connections will heat and and cool and then loosen up BOTH Twistlock and SmartPlug cord caps will do this.

That statement is totally incorrect in regards to the SmartPlug. Having used the 50amp SmartPlug now for a few months there is no comparison to the old style plugs. The SmartPlug is far superior to the old technology that was developed almost 100 years ago. It's like comparing the old vacuum tubes to the micro chips of today.