RV Electrical Safety

[lornaschinske]

RVSafety

We need to all read this series of articles. We might even want to print them out and save in a binder as part of our "owners manuals" for our buses. (I saved all the articles as PDF files using PDFLite to print out later plus save on a USB thumb drive). I think this series may help many of us understand the basics of a mobile electrical system. I think these are the types of articles that you save, like Phred's Poop Sheets.
The Shocking Truth About RV’s
RV Electrical Safety: Part I – Volts
RV Electrical Safety: Part 2 - Meters
RV Electrical Safety: Part 3 - Outlets
RV Electrical Safety: Part 4 - Hot Skin
RV Electrical Safety: Part 5 - Amperage
RV Electrical Safety: Part 6 - Voltage Drop
RV Electrical Safety: Part 7 - Wattage
RV Electrical Safety: Part 8 - GFCI Theory
RV Electrical Safety: Part 9 - In Review
RV Electrical Safety: Part 10 - GFCI Testing
RV Electrical Safety: Part 11 - Extension Cords
RV Electrical Safety: Part 12 - Surge Strips

DIY testers and how to use them
30 amp DIY tester
50 amp DIY tester

[TygerCub]

THANK YOU.

[proconsul100]

thanks, this is exactly what i needed

[chev49]

good post.
I have told people about a billion times to check the skin of the rv's.
Lots of good basic things people need to read. thanks

[crazycal]

Tag.

[jmsokol]

Originally Posted by chev49

good post.
I have told people about a billion times to check the skin of the rv's.
Lots of good basic things people need to read. thanks

I'm the author of the articles linked above about RV Electrical Safety. Thanks for posting them here. There's one more thing to watch out for when hooking into 120 volt power... something I call an RPBG Outlet (Reverse Polarity Bootleg Ground) which sometimes occurs in old houses and garages that have been rewired to add grounded outlets. An RPBG outlet will electrify the chassis and skin of any appliance or RV plugged into it. See http://www.rvdoctor.com/2001/07/friends ... -mike.html for an article I just wrote about testing for RPBG outlets.

Mike Sokol

[bansil]

Thanks for joining us,awesome articles!

Good job

[jmsokol]

Originally Posted by bansil

Thanks for joining us,awesome articles!

Thanks very much. You can help by passing this information on to everyone you know with a RV. Doesn't matter if it's a Too-Cool-For-School Bus or a Class-A factory build, all of them are susceptible to hot skin conditions. Even water features at miniature golf courses like the one that killed that girl in Orlando this summer can be deadly. And boat docks with power outlets are especially dangerous due to gradient voltages in freshwater.

The main thing to know is that you should NEVER feel a shock from your vehicle. A little static jolt is one thing, but a sustained shock is a different story. Let me know how I can help educate you all about electrical power safety.

Mike Sokol
www.noshockzone.org
mike@noshockzone.org

[crazycal]

Originally Posted by jmsokol

I'm the author of the articles linked above about RV Electrical Safety. Thanks for posting them here. There's one more thing to watch out for when hooking into 120 volt power... something I call an RPBG Outlet (Reverse Polarity Bootleg Ground) which sometimes occurs in old houses and garages that have been rewired to add grounded outlets. An RPBG outlet will electrify the chassis and skin of any appliance or RV plugged into it. See http://www.rvdoctor.com/2001/07/friends ... -mike.html for an article I just wrote about testing for RPBG outlets.

Mike Sokol

Awesome! Thanks.

[jmsokol]

Originally Posted by crazycal

I have told people about a billion times to check the skin of the rv's.

Here's a link to a youtube video I've posted about testing RV's for hot-skin conditions using a $25 Fluke VoltAlert pen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8h64X33aKg&feature=plcp

There's also a bunch of other videos on my youtube channel about how to use a voltmeter, outlet polarity testing, why extension cords overheat, etc... http://www.youtube.com/howtoseminars.

Please let me know if you find these useful.

Mike Sokol

[jmsokol]

Originally Posted by jmsokol

The main thing to know is that you should NEVER feel a shock from your vehicle. A little static jolt is one thing, but a sustained shock is a different story. Let me know how I can help educate you all about electrical power safety.

Mike Sokol
http://www.noshockzone.org
mike@noshockzone.org

Please post links to my No~Shock~Zone articles on any other RV or conversion websites you know of. Everybody should be educated about how to avoid electric shock conditions.

I also have a few basic power questions for you. How many of your vehicles are wired for 20 amp, 30 amp, or 50 amp hookups? How many use a portable generator and what size? And finally, how many of you have felt any kind of tingle or shock from their "skoolie" or other RV?

Thanks for you input. It will help me determine the topics for future articles I plan to write.

Mike Sokol

[bansil]

30 amp,with a 5000 watt generator here

[lornaschinske]

Originally Posted by jmsokol

...
I also have a few basic power questions for you. How many of your vehicles are wired for 20 amp, 30 amp, or 50 amp hookups? How many use a portable generator and what size? And finally, how many of you have felt any kind of tingle or shock from their "skoolie" or other RV?

30 amp, no generator yet (planning on an LP generator due to lack of use... over 4K)
No tingles/shock from our (current) bus, former vintage Class C or former pop-up.

[bansil]

No tingles or shocks from mine (yet ) altho I occasionally hit my head on the mirrors

Also posted on another site

[jmsokol]

Originally Posted by bansil

No tingles or shocks from mine (yet ) altho I occasionally hit my head on the mirrors

Also posted on another site

As long as you don't hit your shin in a trailer hitch. That REALLY hurts!!!

[jmsokol]

Originally Posted by bansil

No tingles or shocks from mine (yet ) altho I occasionally hit my head on the mirrors

Also posted on another site

An update: I just taught an RV electrical safety seminar with Gary Bunzer (The RV Doctor) at the Hershey RV show over the weekend. He taught a DC power seminar, then I dived in with a bunch of AC power testing tricks, including my hot-skin test and RPBG test. The crowd was very interested and seemed to really absorb it all.

So here's an OT question for you. I took my son along to snoop around and kick some tires. The vehicle he talked about the most was an antique bus we saw on display near the entrance of the show. Sort of looked like a 50's jet airliner with an art nouveau ibe. I was driving so I didn't get a good look at it. Anybody know what it was?

Mike Sokol

[chev49]

u mean the california one?

[jmsokol]

Originally Posted by chev49

u mean the california one?

No, in Hershey PA.

[GreyEagle]

Possible the GM Futurliner .... Some have been restored. I saw one of these in Chattanooga about 2 years ago. neat bus.

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=gm+ ... ORM=IQFRBA

Additional info...
GM Futurliner Progress Photos GM Futurliner Restoration Project ...
www.futurliner.com/2009hershey.htm
GM Futurliner Progress Photos GM ... 2012 - 2011 2010 - 2009 2008 - 2007 ... This is the second time the Futurliner appeared at the Hershey, PA car show and swap meet. This ... The Hershey show was the last of the season for the Futurliner but it can be seen at the AACA Museum in Hershey, PA …

[jmsokol]

Wow!!! I've just looked at my downloads, and see that this thread alone has downloaded my No~Shock~Zone articles nearly 200 times in the last 30 days. You guys are really studying this stuff. I hope these articles are helping you better understand your vehicle electrical systems, and are helping to keep you safe. If you've had any interesting "shock" issues in the past or recently, please post them here. I'm trying for a grant that will allow me to make No~Shock~Zone a national electrical safety training program, so any examples you can provide will help with the process.

Thanks very much...

Mike Sokol
http://www.noshockzone.org
mike@noshockzone.org