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Old 06-19-2016, 04:11 PM   #1
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connecting/disconnecting shore power

A general question for the forum, when connecting/disconnecting shore power, is it a good idea to cut the main breaker on the panel?
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Old 06-19-2016, 04:12 PM   #2
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I do.

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Old 06-19-2016, 04:18 PM   #3
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I do as well, I think it's better to turn the beakers on one at a time after the main, just my opinion... no facts to back it up.
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Old 06-19-2016, 04:21 PM   #4
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I turn the breaker at the pedestal off prior to plugging in the shore power cord and turn it off before pulling it out when leaving. I also use a good quality surge protector for extra caution.
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Old 06-19-2016, 04:21 PM   #5
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I reread... I flip off the pedestal not the trailer breaker.

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Old 06-20-2016, 06:52 AM   #6
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The reason for my question is,I have one fuse that seams to blow whenever I connect, disconnect shore power or the battery, it is the top fuse labeled bedroom lights, it runs the bedroom lights, sink light, stove fan and light, two lights in the garage, and the thermostat. I also have a surge protector but for some reason I did not use it when connected at home and we had a power interruption which may have blown the fuse recently. I added a battery disconnect and also plugged in my surge protector. I will be extra cautious when connecting and disconnecting and try your breaker method. Thanks!
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Old 06-20-2016, 03:04 PM   #7
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If the fuse you said is blowing is only powering the things listed, it shouldn't be blowing unless it's extremely under rated. I'd look for something else that it powers or for something shorted in the circuit.

P.S. It's always a good idea to open (throw) the breaker at the pedestal when connecting and disconnecting the shore power cord.
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Old 06-20-2016, 04:12 PM   #8
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I hard wired in a surge protector and never have an issue with a surge when plunging in. You should not have to reset breakers - may have bad breakers - they can wear out over time.
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Old 06-20-2016, 07:39 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by BKM1066 View Post
... I have one fuse that seams to blow whenever I connect, disconnect shore power or the battery, it is the top fuse labeled bedroom lights, it runs the bedroom lights, sink light, stove fan and light, two lights in the garage, and the thermostat. I also have a surge protector but for some reason I did not use it when connected at home
Surge protector would do nothing. Depending on its specs, it may ignore anything on 120 VAC until voltage well exceeds 330 volts. Others should have known that. To say more requires spec numbers for that protector.

AC power cord should be constructed so that appropriate hot conductors disconnect before neutral or safety ground. If not, a voltage spike may exist for reasons too complicated to explain. IOW you should never have to first cut off a beaker. Good practice always says everything must have a backup. Do that to avert problems. If that plug and receptacle do not work right, then breaker will provide backup protection. Only so that a problem does not cause a failure.

That procedure is to avert a failure. But never ignore that failure. Find and fix it. Woefully too few facts are provided for a useful answer.

What is provided says (as Bama Rambler also notes) that tripped fuse is a serious problem unrelated to what else is on that circuit. Even power interruptions do not blow fuses. That defect should be addressed. One thing to inspect has been described. Protector would not and does not claim to solve that defect.
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Old 06-20-2016, 07:46 PM   #10
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We always turn off the breakers before we plug in and before we unplug.
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Old 06-20-2016, 08:07 PM   #11
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not that it matters cause it really doesn't . most campground pedestals will have the breaker off all ready though not a bad idea to make sure it's off before you plug in but really doesn't matter . you won't screw the pooch if you plug into a live outlet .
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Old 06-20-2016, 08:29 PM   #12
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Rarely is a campground pedestal breaker off unless the camper before switched it off. But there is sometimes an arc if you hook up / plug in with the breaker on............... but I have done it both ways with no problems ( old age I usually forget to turn the breaker off when plugging up....

Personal recommendation is breaker off.....

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Old 06-20-2016, 09:10 PM   #13
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I've never flipped the main breaker on my house if the power goes out and never turned off a breaker before I plugged anything into a household outlet. What's the difference? (I usually turn off the pedestal as well....just don't think it's necessary )
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Old 06-21-2016, 06:37 AM   #14
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I've never flipped the main breaker on my house if the power goes out and never turned off a breaker before I plugged anything into a household outlet. What's the difference? (I usually turn off the pedestal as well....just don't think it's necessary )
The difference is that with your home the flash of a reconnect occurs in the power company equipment far away, not in the pedestal next to your hand.
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Old 06-21-2016, 12:11 PM   #15
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Plugging in to shore power should not have anything to do with your popping a 12v fuse. FIRST THING is check your ground to the battery, always suspect bad ground first, maybe clean the cable on the battery and where it connects to the frame.
I would then go around and check the connections on all of the components on that circuit. You might have a bad ground or power connection somewhere. They just daisy chain from one end usually, so if you find a bad connection it should fix it. Odds are one of the wires will pull out when you pull the light or whatever you check.
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Old 06-21-2016, 03:46 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by Oaklevel View Post
Rarely is a campground pedestal breaker off unless the camper before switched it off. But there is sometimes an arc if you hook up / plug in with the breaker on............... but I have done it both ways with no problems ( old age I usually forget to turn the breaker off when plugging up....

Personal recommendation is breaker off.....

Never have i pulled into a campground where the breaker was already ON !
everybody has different experiences / . I'm sure you'll now come across many that are off i will will start seeing them all be on
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Old 06-27-2016, 07:20 AM   #17
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I played around with my wiring issue some more, I believe the short is located in the stove hood fan/light unit. I disconnected the wiring for a while no blown fuse. I reconnected for a while, then disconnected, playing around with the wires, tugging and moving them, no blown fuse, I was getting ready to go camping on Friday, fuse blew. So I left the hood wiring disconnected, replaced fuse (needed the thermostat to work) replaced fuse, it blew again. When I got home from our trip yesturday, I took the entire hood off and inspected the wiring, I was convinced I would find a bare wire some where chafed on a sharp edge, nothing, it all looks good. Going to play around some more today. If I don't find the real problem, I am considering placing the thermostat on its own separate fuse.
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Old 08-17-2016, 07:00 AM   #18
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I did more troubleshooting and found that the wiring to the light just above the bed is causing to fuse to blow, so disconnected that section of wiring and the fuse has not blown for several weeks. Will work on getting that fixed after the camping season is over. I will say this, I have learned a lot about my camper and also got the opportunity to clean up all of the wood and metal shavings left behind when the camper was built.
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Old 08-17-2016, 08:45 AM   #19
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The only time I turn off the main breaker in the trailer is if the pedestal
has no breakers. Don't see this often but have come across it several times.
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