Installing GFI plug in a compartment near water management compartment

[ernest917]

I’ve purchased a heated hose and it requires a GFI plug....

Obviously the hose end with the thermostat will be at faucet which means the plug-in end will attach inside water compartment ....

I need to put a GFI close by..... any suggestions????

[formerFR]

why not just run an extension cord to it from another outlet? You don't 'need' a GFCI outlet, it can be powered by any 120v outlet.

I saw one of these 'heated hoses' yesterday at a local shop, $129 for a 25' version...rather pricey, especially if any of the connection ends fail in the future, though I like the idea of an 'integrated' heating wire. I use the more common heating wire which I can make use of on any water hose I'd like...
I've thrown out several hoses from Camco lately that have sprung leaks, so I wouldn't want to buy an integrated heated hose that could eventually have the same problem.

[jbramhall]

Not sure what year Berk you have, but on my 2009, I'd try 3 things:

1. Plug in to campground power, if available near water
2. Run an extension to the outlet in the electrical compartment
3. Tap into the power supplying the bathroom outlet above the water bay and run that down. No slides to navigate.

[TowPro]

all the outlets in your MH should be wired already protected by that Single GFI that is in your camper. You will see that single GFI has LINE connected to the 120v source and LOAD goes to the other outlets in the camper. (probably not including the Microwave outlet, the outlet in your refrigerator compartment and the one for your charger if you have a separate charger (they should have there own breakers))

I plan to put an outlet in my storage compartment to run a little dorm refrigerator in a rear cabinet (to keep adult beverages cold). I will either run a new 120v line from my load center to a new GFI outlet in my basement (no breakers left in load center), or look for a 120v line on the LOAD side of the GFI that I can tap into and run that to a standard outlet in basement.

[NXR]

Originally Posted by TowPro

all the outlets in your MH should be wired already protected by that Single GFI that is in your camper.

Not necessarily. This is a picture of my Georgetown breaker panel.

As an aside, I have an outlet in a basement compartment on the passenger side rear, just at of the outside TV. There's also a 12 VDC power outlet and an HDMI jack in there. So I just run an extension cord from that outlet through the pass-through to the driver's side. That puts the cord in the electrical bay where it can go outside and back in to the wet bay for a small heater.

Ray

[Maxwell D Pratt]

Most campground electric pedestals have a 15 Amp plug in just run an extension cord to it . Save the 600 Watts .

[Maingler]

What is the wattage of the heater hose?
Wattage/voltage=amps. If its low wattage you could wire from the front passenger side compartment recept. Its on your general GFCI circuit. Its a 15A circuit and if a blow dryer or anything with high enough draw is ran with the heater it will trip the breaker.

[red0801]

Originally Posted by TowPro

all the outlets in your MH should be wired already protected by that Single GFI that is in your camper.

A Berkshire Class A Motorhome can have up to 20 independent 120V circuits. They are NOT all GFCI protected. GFCI Protection is based on application & need. Circuits that are always GFCI: Bathrooms / Kitchen Sink / Exterior Storage.

[ben31]

Originally Posted by ernest917

I’ve purchased a heated hose and it requires a GFI plug....

Obviously the hose end with the thermostat will be at faucet which means the plug-in end will attach inside water compartment ....

I need to put a GFI close by..... any suggestions????

Check the hose. If it is like mine, it has a male to male adapter, which you can then move to either end. This means you can change the location of the plug to either end. It gives you more options. If you use an extension cord, just make sure it is an outdoor one with three-prong plugs. Just make sure the end with the temperature sensor has access to the outside (don't stick it inside a compartment).

[MartyQ]

Originally Posted by ernest917

I’ve purchased a heated hose and it requires a GFI plug....

Obviously the hose end with the thermostat will be at faucet which means the plug-in end will attach inside water compartment ....

I need to put a GFI close by..... any suggestions????

Oscar had a nice solution ....
https://dragonship.blog/wet-bay-heat...zgtJ3KTbqH4lnU

[dave-g]

I have always liked those hoses, but i'm to cheap to buy one. In freezing weather I fill the water tank and put the hose away.


But If you want a gfi- A simple extension coard converter
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Tower-Ma...B&gclsrc=aw.ds


will do the trick-

[ernest917]

Excellent suggestion Dave!!!!

[gordonsick]

I use a Little Buddy 120v Car Warmer from Canadian Tire to heat my water bay (https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/l...p.0303405.html). It draws 8.2 amps. There are similar products available in the US.

My installation is much simpler than Oscar's solution above, but similar in spirit. I removed the white vanity panel on the passenger side of my water bay, just like Oscar. There is a space between the tanks and the forward wall, so I mounted my heater on that wall to push air alongside the tank and into the whole water bay. The power cord for this heater is flat and flexible rubber that is designed to fit between a car door and the frame when the door is closed. I run the cord into the bay next door, where I installed a GFCI plug. I'll discuss that installation in the next post.

This system works well. When running off the water tank, the water is noticeably warmer, especially when the tap is first turned on.

–Gordon

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by ben31

Check the hose. If it is like mine, it has a male to male adapter, which you can then move to either end.

Doesn't a male to male adapter lead you to possibly having a very dangerous setup?

https://acworks.com/blogs/ac-works-c...dapter-dangers

[gordonsick]

My main storage bay (with the sliding tray) is below the kitchen and, like Oscar's (noted above), it has an electrical junction box on the ceiling where solid-wire Loomex comes in and flexible wires for the kitchen slide come out. My box has three circuits, and I decided to use the Microwave circuit because it is 20 amps, and my microwave doesn't draw anywhere near that current. Indeed, I've run my 8.2 amp heater (my previous post) at the same time as the microwave without any problems.

I ran my wire out to a new electrical box that I installed beside my auxiliary propane connector. The idea is that I can plug in my water bay heater when I want, or feed power out to my patio, alongside the propane hose for my BBQ.

There are two issues with this that are noteworthy. The first issue is that I noticed that none of the wires going into the electrical junction box are connected to ground, even though each feed has its own ground. It turns out that this is as it should be because you can get a ground loop by connecting more than one feed to the same ground at any point other than the primary electrical panel. Electrical codes don't like ground loops, so Forest River did this installation properly.

The second issue arises from my desire to install a GFCI on this circuit, since the microwave circuit is not on a GFCI. I did this, and found that the GFCI kept tripping when I was using it for boon docking. So, I installed a second GFCI and encountered the same problem. That sent me to looking for an older GFCI that I had sitting around the house. I installed it and it works properly when on shore power or on Inverter power.

The main difference between these GFCIs, except their manufacture date, is that the ones that failed on Inverter power all had little indicator lights, but the one that works properly didn't have an indicator light. I've got the old-style stepped sine Magnum inverter (the grey one), and the stepped sine could be the problem. Reading the Magnum manual (http://magnumenergy.com//wp-content/...Series_Web.pdf) on page 22 (Section 2.5.3), it seems that Magnum recognizes this problem. It did test the following GFCIs and found that they work:
ShockSentryTM#XGF15V-SP • LevitonSmartLock#8899-A • Hubbel#GF520EMBKA

–Gordon

[Kcoulter]

Originally Posted by ependydad

Doesn't a male to male adapter lead you to possibly having a very dangerous setup?

https://acworks.com/blogs/ac-works-c...dapter-dangers

It's a hose adapter so the hose can be reversed...putting electrical connection at opposite end

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Kcoulter

It's a hose adapter so the hose can be reversed...putting electrical connection at opposite end

(facepalm)

That makes sooooo much more sense! Thanks for not calling me stupid.

[Oscarvan]

Originally Posted by gordonsick

I've got the old-style stepped sine Magnum inverter (the grey one), and the stepped sine could be the problem. Reading the Magnum manual (http://magnumenergy.com//wp-content/...Series_Web.pdf) on page 22 (Section 2.5.3), it seems that Magnum recognizes this problem. It did test the following GFCIs and found that they work:
ShockSentryTM#XGF15V-SP • LevitonSmartLock#8899-A • Hubbel#GF520EMBKA

–Gordon

My factory GFI's were tripping too on inverter until I replaced the original modified sine with a pure sine inverter.