Here's the sad part of the installation. The electrician told me what to buy at Camping World, which I did. I showed him the box and the instructions, which he said he didn't need!! After all hell broke lose and I called him to explain what happened he told me my rig used 220 to power the A/C, which is probably correct if I had a 50 amp circuit but I don't have that service. What broke the back of his argument was when I showed him the marking on the plug itself -30amp/120 and I asked him if he normally runs 220 through these type of plug. At that point the jig was up and he told me how sorry he was.
This problem is being covered by my insurance minus a $500 deduct which he is going to pay. What he doesn't know is my insurance rights are being subrogated to the insurance co and they will proceed against him for the difference. He'll find that out soon enough and I'm not telling him.
The sad part is this rig was in perfect condition. In fact it was sitting in front of my house with the fridge running waiting to be loaded to go to San Diego the next day. Obviously that trip didn't happen.
What he was thinking at the time when he installed the 220 service and two 30amp breakers is beyond me. I didn't know the difference but I sure pooped my pants when I flipped those breakers and the rig lite up. I promptly pulled the plug but the damage was done the instant I flipped the breakers.
moral of the story - I will Never again hire anyone to do work on my property that is not licensed, bonded and insured and that include right down to a window washer. After 45 years in the insurance business I should know better. If these uninsured guys are injured on your property you become their w/c carrier.
What for the grace of GOD this guy maybe could have burned my rig to the ground right in front of my house.
What he was thinking at the time when he installed the 220 service and two 30amp breakers is beyond me.
My guess is that the 30 amp outlet looks so much like a welder outlet or old dryer outlet, that somebody who doesn't know RVs has no doubt whatsoever that it's a 240 volt outlet. The air conditioner rationalization doesn't cut it. AFAIK all RV air conditioners run on 120.
There is absolutely no way the furnace and water heater circuit boards would be ruined by this- they are 100% 12 volt. I've dealt with a lot of these issues- it's a pretty common one, even with licensed electricians, and I've never seen any wiring damaged bu over voltage.
The most common problems- TV, Microwave, refrigerator (*if* it is turned on), air conditioner circuit board (again- only if it is turned on), converter, auto transfer switch (which usually blow first).
I'm sorry- but if La Mesa is installing a new furnace circuit board, someone is getting the shaft.
Sorry that this happened to you. Beleive it or not, the same thing happened to me also. It got 1 tv (which I had repaired for $50), converter, and Microwave. I felt lucky. I was glad nothing was on, or it would have been worse. If it makes you feel any better, I have had no problems since the issue 1 year ago.
I'm not sure what an auto transfer switch is. Is it the the switch that switches from generator to electric or something else?
I am not really sure why the furnace circuit board would go bad, it is not on the 120 volt side of the system, and was probably turned off at the time. Unless they somehow put a hot line to the ground?
The water heater electric element would also need to have been turned on to be effected.
I realize the microwave did not like the 220 volts, but don't understand why the other things are not working. I would have thought that a GFI would survive such a situation, but I guess in your case it did not.
The battery charger might have been saved by a GFI that quickly fried, and saved it. This should have saved the batteries and other stuff on the 12 VDC side. Also check the converter to see if it has bad fuses.
One time a portable generator was used at a RV rally, and it was capable for 120/240 volt service or 480/277, and was set to that voltage when they powered up many RV's. Now they check the voltage with the generators running before plugging in any RV's. They applied 277 volts to about 15 or 20 RV's. The ones without a energy management system or high voltage disconnect had a problem, the others where fine.
Bobbo, Linda and the furry kids (German Shepherd and German Shepherd mix)
2007 Winnebago Outlook WF331C on a Ford E450 Super Duty Chassis
NRA Life Member
Near N35 12 17 W89 50 57
Looking at the plug from a person not familiar with RVs, its not really too hard to see how that would happen. It looks very similar to a 240 volt 3 prong dryer plug and although that is no excuse, I am willing to bet its not uncommon.
I remember looking at a 30 amp plug years ago and not knowing if it was 120 or 240 so I asked but didn't feel I was an idiot even though I knew a little about home wiring.
I don't think you need a surge protector at home because that was not the problem but at campgrounds, they are handy and I would have one.
Southie wrote: Here's the sad part of the installation. The electrician told me what to buy at Camping World, which I did. I showed him the box and the instructions, which he said he didn't need!! After all hell broke lose and I called him to explain what happened he told me my rig used 220 to power the A/C, which is probably correct if I had a 50 amp circuit but I don't have that service. What broke the back of his argument was when I showed him the marking on the plug itself -30amp/120 and I asked him if he normally runs 220 through these type of plug. At that point the jig was up and he told me how sorry he was.
This problem is being covered by my insurance minus a $500 deduct which he is going to pay. What he doesn't know is my insurance rights are being subrogated to the insurance co and they will proceed against him for the difference. He'll find that out soon enough and I'm not telling him.
The sad part is this rig was in perfect condition. In fact it was sitting in front of my house with the fridge running waiting to be loaded to go to San Diego the next day. Obviously that trip didn't happen.
What he was thinking at the time when he installed the 220 service and two 30amp breakers is beyond me. I didn't know the difference but I sure pooped my pants when I flipped those breakers and the rig lite up. I promptly pulled the plug but the damage was done the instant I flipped the breakers.
moral of the story - I will Never again hire anyone to do work on my property that is not licensed, bonded and insured and that include right down to a window washer. After 45 years in the insurance business I should know better. If these uninsured guys are injured on your property you become their w/c carrier.
I assume you are now having a licensed electrician come in a fix the problem. However, you do realize having this done the way you did could have negated the insurance on you home should a fire happen that could be related to the modification to the home electrical system.
What for the grace of GOD this guy maybe could have burned my rig to the ground right in front of my house.
Make sure you replace your electric cord, sometimes the damage doesn't show but alot of power went thru that cord. We just went thru this and had the damage repaired at Camping world, they did a great job and before they plugged it in they ck the cord and you could see a little melting around the plug so I had it replaced. We cut the cord afterwards and saw the burn marks inside.Good Luck
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