Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Almost Had Us A Fire

Helena, MT  H 94  L 59

Yep – we were really lucky.

Monday night, Skitz needed to go out in the middle of the night and we noticed that the power was off. We weren’t sure if it was just us or everybody else but since we didn’t need any power while we were sleeping, decided it could wait til morning for Jim to check out. When Jim checked the surge guard, he found that the voltage had dropped to 107 it should be 110 to 120. By the way – if you don’t have a surge guard, I highly recommend that you get one. It just saved us from losing everything electrical in the rig.Don called the Power Company and the guy came out with his bucket truck. As you know, we are hooked up to electric on my BIL’s lot. There used to be a mobile home here and the electrical meter base and all that stuff has to be about 50 to 60 years old.

Front of the unit:

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This is what the guy found. This is what is behind the dial that shows your meter usage. Notice all the burnt wire on the left lower side.  Once again, if you don’t have a surge guard, you really do need one.

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Then we found out that this part of the whole set-up is the owner’s responsibility, not the power company. He disconnected the power at the top of pole by using his bucket truck. I missed that with my camera. When everything else is replaced, they will come back out and hook it all up again.

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It is amazing how much work is involved in getting this fixed. You have to get a permit. Sounds easy – yeah right! When they pulled up the actual address of this lot the records showed it’s in the city limits. But we’re not in town, we’re in the county. That means that the city and the county have to get this straightened out before the permit can be issued.

And all the new rules – we have to have two ground rods eight feet long, at least six feet apart, put in the ground. It’s in the 90’s and they are pounding the rods.

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The conduit that runs up the pole has to be 6 inches away from the pole so you need special spacers to hold it in place. Originally they were told they had to have a outlet box with a 20amp outlet with GFI for some reason. Meant another trip back down to the power company office to explain that we just need a 30 amp RV hook up.

We had a nice discussion about the fact that I will not let either of the guys install the conduit up to the top of the pole. They did agree with me that it would probably be stupid of them to try. So we will hire somebody younger with a bucket truck to take care of that for us.

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Then they need to go buy all the necessary parts. Everything has to be replaced because it is so old nothing meets codes. So Jim was busy this morning taking all the old stuff down off the pole.

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The Home Depot receipt shows a 125A Meter Main Outdoor, a 30 AMP Travel Trailer Panel, a Breaker GE 30A 2-Pole, Rigid Conduit Nipple, and some Raintight Hubs. Means nothing to me.

Found an electrician who will be out in the morning to help get everything installed and up to specs. Then hopefully the guy from the power company can come out and certify that everything is good to go.

I can’t imagine how we would have survived this heat without our generator. It may be noisy but it runs the A/C and that’s all I cared about when it hit 92 in the rig. Both Scooter and I had our tongues hanging out.

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I’ll let you know how tomorrow goes. Wish us luck.

35 comments:

  1. I certainly do wish you luck! thank goodness for the surge guard! fires in RVs scare the bejeebers outta me. propane scares me... too

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  2. We never plug in without the surge guard-never! Good idea to let some young person handle all that climbing. After falling off a ladder a few years ago, I try to keep my feet firmly planted on the ground.

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  3. That sounds like a scary night for you both. We don't have a surge guard and didn't know we needed one. Where do we get one, how does it work and where does it get plugged in??? Glad everything turned out ok.

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    1. I'll answer for Sandie. Yes, you do need a surge guard, and not the cheap ones.

      http://www.progressiveindustries.net/ems_pt50c.htm

      The above it a link to the one we have. Ours is a 50 amp. You can also get 30 amp and also hardwired.

      It has saved us twice now.

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  4. Glad to hear there was no fire. Yes, the surge protectors are a "must have" item. Hope you get your power back soon.

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  5. Geez, what a mess. Please!!!! no fires! Praying that tomorrow goes smoothly.

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  6. We got a good surge guard a few months after buying the Alfa. I had read many posts about needing one and I'm glad we did it. I'm not sure what the previous owners had. Glad you are safe. Fire scares me.

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  7. Old electrical installations can be very dangerous. Countless house fires because of that.
    Luckily it isn't that hot out here. Yesterday was a bit muggy but today a fresh breeze of the North sprang up. Take care and stay cool.

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  8. We upgraded the electric power on our cabin a couple years ago. Sounds simple, but no way was it so. All the red tape, inspections, on and on almost drove me nuts. Plus, we had the slowest electrician in the world do the job.

    It's good you found the problem and are getting it repaired before you had real troubles. Enjoy the generator in the mean time. Stay cool.

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  9. Our "black box" has saved our rig from damage several times. Never leave home (or plug into shore power) without it!

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  10. The first thing I noticed about you was the fact that you never skimp on safety. Of course, you've cost us money beginning with the tire monitors and safety stuff. I think it must have been tough on Jim calling an electrician since he's capable of fixing anything.

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  11. I've been reading about how important surge guards are but now I understand and will look for one.

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  12. Thank goodness for generators--I can't imagine being in the RV at 92 degrees with air conditioning!!

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  13. We went from 100 amp to 200 amp back in '92, and not that long ago the power company installed one of their "smart meters", so I'm pretty sure we're up to snuff. No plans to change it out in my lifetime.
    I guess because we're in the city, we were lucky that the power company was responsible for everything up to the meter base. I had to supply the new meter base and they came along and put in their new meter.
    It gets expensive, that's for sure. But you'll have fresh juice before you know it.
    Good luck.

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  14. Wow, scary! Glad you are safe. We have a surge guard as well, definitely a "must-have" in our book.

    Hope the repair isn't too much of a pain.

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  15. Phew, glad your Surge Guard worked as designed. Ours has saved us twice from faulty CG wiring.

    Unbelievable all the new requirements for rewiring the power. We, too are glad we have a generator.

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  16. Great testimony for a surge protector...we do have one too.
    Good luck with the repairs...and are glad you have an electrician coming!

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  17. How come you didn't pose with Scooter? I would have enjoyed that shot! ;)

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  18. We don't have one!! Sounds like we need one but have no idea what to look for or where to go. Thank goodness you had no other problems on the coach. That could have been a mess.

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    Replies
    1. Progressive Industries. They have a great product (we have it) and stand behind it.

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    2. Here is a link for the one we have.

      http://www.progressiveindustries.net/ems_pt50c.htm

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  19. We had an EMS on the motorhome and it saved us once also. Paul just bought one for the 5th wheel.

    So glad all worked out well.

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  20. So glad you guys are okay. Electrical fires are scary, especially because we never know how many times we have close to one. Good luck today.

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  21. I have to agree with you about the surge protector. I wouldn't plug in without it. I've seen too many bad setups. Glad yours did it's job.

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  22. I had an EMS built into my new rig. Got tired of dealing with portable ones but sure wouldn't plug in without one. Glad yours caught the problem before it became a bigger problem.

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  23. You poor guys, what a hassle. I am ordering my surge guard from Amazon, right now.

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  24. We just bought a surge protector. Glad we did after reading your story. How scary. These rigs are too expensive and complicated to have them all messed up.
    We just came out of heat wave ourselves. Effie even was panting and that hardly ever happens. So you know Cooper and I definitely were. LOL

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  25. Glad that you didn't have a fire and that you did have a generator hefty enough to run the A/C.

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  26. So glad everything worked out okay!

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  27. Glad you had the surge guard. We won't plug in without one. The site we're in now is only about a year old. We left the site for about a month, and when we came back, the surge guard told us we had two different problems. The maintenance man, said "I don't trust these things," implying our surge guard was faulty, not his power pole. He changed his story after he checked it out confirmed the what the surge guard told us. We had open circuit, and a no ground. He had to replace it. No, he did not apologize!

    Moral of the story is...trust your surge guards and make sure to use one! If we would have plugged in anyway, we may very well have fried our electronics.

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  28. I too have a surge guard and it came in real handy when I plugged into my friends 30amp power. It gave me a reading that wires were crossed and it wouldn't let in any power to the rig which could have caused damage.

    My friend called his electrician who had worked on this power box the week before. Sure enough two wires were installed improperly.

    Had I not had the surge protector installed I don't know what might have happened to the electrical components in my rig.

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  29. I'm so glad everything turned out okay and that you and all your electrical things are safe. I got a surge guard last year. Even though I hardly ever hook up, I wanted one just in case. They are expensive, but nowhere near what losing all my electrical things would cost me. It's pretty inexpensive insurance, I think, and when I DO use hook-ups I'll feel much better. :)

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  30. I don't have a surge guard because I also so rarely am plugged into electrical. Must re-think this now. We also have been experiencing very warm temps where I am - High 80's to Low 90's most days.

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  31. Good luck. Glad you had the surge guard, and that you'll be safe from now on.

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  32. Way behind in reading, glad there was no fire and hope it is all fixed now.

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Thanks for visiting today. I look forward to reading your comments. Have a beautiful day.