Almost a Fire!

[Johnynorthland]

How is this possible?! Almost a fire Between my surge protector and extension cord and the campground breaker never tripped! Had to hacksaw them apart!

And I use to keep my surge inside my compartment locked, running the cord through the grommet hole up into the compartment, NO MORE!

[norty1]

High resistance connections cause heat.

[Grumpy]

Breaker never tripped because there was no short. There was apparently a loose connection which caused excessive heat. What brand extension cord?

[2edgesword]

It's happened to me. As others have mentioned it's not a matter of high current, which would trip the break but high resistance in the plug prongs and/or a loose connection. Both will cause enough heat to do that kind of damage. Those prongs need to be kept clean of oxidation build up.

[DrSmart]

I've had a couple of cords do that. The breaker should have tripped if you were over 30 amps draw. Running the AC almost non stop on a hot along with other loads such as the hot water heater or microwave and a breaker that is allowing more than 30 amps could be the cause. As a poor connection gets hotter, the resistance can increase causing more heat. I use fine sandpaper occasionally to burnish the prongs and electrical contact spray cleaner in the female plug. If you have a burnishing tool that will fit, clean female contacts on occasion (with the new cord).

[Johnynorthland]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

Breaker never tripped because there was no short. There was apparently a loose connection which caused excessive heat. What brand extension cord?

It was the cord that was attached to my RV, I got sick of dealing with that little cubby, so I cut it, made a 2’ whip with a male end in the cubby, then turned the cord in to an extension with a female end. I put the surge protector, (sure guard 34730), inside the cubby, protecting it from the elements and Thieves!

During my travels today I bought a small, less expensive, progressive 30 amp as a backup, (which I am using now), and a new extension cord. I moved the surge to the pedestal. I’m in a different park from the one I was plugged into this morning. Now Everything is warm to the touch at best, nothing is as hot as it was this morning when I unplugged.

I’ll send in the Sure Guard for testing and a new end.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by Johnynorthland

I’ll send in the Sure Guard for testing and a new end.

Gotcha!
They may just send you a new unit.

[Johnynorthland]

Thanks everyone. I’ll be sure to keep my connections clean. I do change the ends as soon as I see them getting a little burnt up. Wife was so freaked she made me buy a new cord! Now I have 3-25’ cords! Lol

[pconroy]

Raises hand - me too.


I too keep my connections shiny and clean but also know that lots of parks have worn receptacles that cause trouble,

[craigav]

I keep some sandpaper handy and shine up the plug connections often. I also use dielectric grease after cleaning the plug to help protect it.

[ecksdude]

I had a similar issue with a plug I installed on my dishwasher connection (at home, not RV) and it ended up burning out the dishwasher. It makes me skeptical of the do-it-yourself plugs where you just screw down the tabs to hold onto the wire.

I'm thinking soldering the connections rather than trusting the screwtabs is a better option.

[norty1]

I have found replacement plugs for less than $10 bucks. They are not worth installing IMO. Spend a little more or get sealed connectors.

[Johnynorthland]

I had purchased this off Amazon as a spare a few weeks ago. Installed it seems very well made but it’s not a right angle, which is fine for my purposes, (installing it through a grommet, connecting it inside my compartment) time will tell.

Journeyman-Pro NEMA TT-30R, 30 Amp, 125 Volt, Straight Blade Female RV Trailer Plug ... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078XM5YRS..._7QSuFb5ACNYNJ

[Jeffur]

Happened to me too, although mine never got that bad. It appears you can exceed the GFI amperage rating and it won’t trip unless there is a short to neutral or ground

[Johnynorthland]

If anyone has a replacement plug they recommend please post it.

[RetiredOne]

Originally Posted by Johnynorthland

It was the cord that was attached to my RV, I got sick of dealing with that little cubby, so I cut it, made a 2’ whip with a male end in the cubby, then turned the cord in to an extension with a female end. I put the surge protector, (sure guard 34730), inside the cubby, protecting it from the elements and Thieves!

This is the exact discussion I had in another thread. The more connections you put in the power cord, the more chances of issues. Plus, this is another reason why I put my EMS on the pedestal. If the plug connections fail, it will burn up at the pedestal, and not in my compartment.

There's enough bad wiring coming out of the factory. No need to add any additional to the rig.

[Cavie]

Originally Posted by ecksdude

I had a similar issue with a plug I installed on my dishwasher connection (at home, not RV) and it ended up burning out the dishwasher. It makes me skeptical of the do-it-yourself plugs where you just screw down the tabs to hold onto the wire.

I'm thinking soldering the connections rather than trusting the screwtabs is a better option.

Nope. Screws are just fine if one is just smarter that the screw driver. Have been for many years.

[Cavie]

Originally Posted by Jeffur

Happened to me too, although mine never got that bad. It appears you can exceed the GFI amperage rating and it won’t trip unless there is a short to neutral or ground

That is correct. GFI outlets do not trip on overload. GFI breakers do.

[Johnynorthland]

Originally Posted by RetiredOne

This is the exact discussion I had in another thread. The more connections you put in the power cord, the more chances of issues. Plus, this is another reason why I put my EMS on the pedestal. If the plug connections fail, it will burn up at the pedestal, and not in my compartment.

There's enough bad wiring coming out of the factory. No need to add any additional to the rig.

I now totally agree with you!

[sturgissteele]

Whoa! Sure glad it wasn't more serious.