240 At the power inlet?

[farside291]

I noticed the other day that the sticker above the input power plug on my BC says 240/120. Does that mean I inadvertently hooked 240 to the camper it wouldn't burn up everything. I know my other trailers that were 50 amp, hooking 240 was a big no no. I have no need for 240 but am curious if it is possible.

 

[cookie]

Technically you do have 240 volts to your trailer. But it is how that 240 is divided and used.

This link should help understand how 120 and 240 are used. [LINK]

Peace
Dave

 

[farside291]

Correct and I understand, but what happens if 240 is connected at the plug?

 

[pegmikef]

Like Dave said. The folks that really have to be careful are the ones that use 30 Amp service. There have several instances where electricians have inadvertently wire the pedestal's 30 Amp outlet as 220 volt, because the outlet is almost the same as the old style (before the separate ground and neutral requirement) 220 V outlets and the 30 Amp trailer pig tails will fit them. When I had my 30 Amp TT's, I always checked the pedestal voltage before connecting.

 

[danemayer]

Correct and I understand, but what happens if 240 is connected at the plug?

When you take your 4 prong 50 amp power cord and plug it into a matching 50 amp, 4 slot receptacle, the receptacle is providing 240 V. But when it gets to the circuit breaker panel, it's divided into two separate 120 V circuits. Each of those circuits powers half of the circuit breakers with 120 V.

A different situation would be using a 3 prong adapter plugged into a 240V 3-slot receptacle. That will fry all of your appliances. That usually happens when an electrician unfamiliar with RVs wires up a 30 amp, 3 slot receptacle, but wires it incorrectly as a 240 V receptacle instead of as a 120V receptacle.

 

[farside291]

Thanks for the answer, that's what I was looking for. My brother decided to do my father a favor and have 30 amp plug wired on his house for my father to plug his Class C into. The electrician, not knowing what the plug was for wired it 220V. Fried my fathers Class C causing $2500 in damages. After that happened I bought a progressive surge protector.