0

I live in a 20 yr old motorhome that is parked in an RV park near Roseville Ca. The park has 90 separate sites each side has its own electrical tower to plug into. Each tower has a 50amp,30amp,and a 20amp. The 50amp is 240volt and referred to as a 50amp Split Phase circuit ? I’m not clear on what is meant by Split Phase. I couldn’t get my welder to operate when I plugged into 240v. My RV was plugged into the 30amp. I used a dedicated extension cord from the welder to the electrical tower. Each tower has its own meter that is read manually once a month.

I used my flute meter and tested the voltage at the tower one side of the 240v Circuit had 119 V but the other hot leg had only 80v. Across both hots it reads 200volts.

Question 1. Will things like microwaves or any other 120v appliances typically in an RV operate on only 80volts?

Question 2. If so does the low voltage cause the appliance to use more amperage?

Question 3. Will that effect your kilowatt usage?

Referring to adapters that allow you to plug a 3 prong 120volt plug into a 4 prong 240volt 50amp outlet by deleting one of the 2 hot legs in the 240v circuit. That leaves one 120v hot wire, a ground wire and a neutral wire:

Question 4. Do these types Of adapters always delete the same hot leg ? If you plug the 30amp 120v cord from the RV into the parks defective 200volt 50amp circuit using a 50amp to 30amp adapter. Could you end up with only 80volts feeding your Rv?

Harper - Reinstate Monica
  • 300,628
  • 26
  • 286
  • 734
Tom Randolph
  • 1
  • 3
    not meaning to be crude, but you've got major $hit connectivity issues going on. The owner of the park needs to check your pole and electrical boxes ASAP. Weird voltages usually mean bad connections, bad connections generate heat and can create fires. NOT GOOD. Sorry, but this isn't an answer, it's time to call in the owner of the park. – George Anderson Feb 05 '22 at 08:04
  • 4
    It sounds like you have a bad leg. Split phase is what we have here in the us one phase from a 3 phase system it taken and center tapped so leg to leg should be 240 each leg to ground should be 120. With a load on that low leg it may go close to zero and the reason your welder would not work. A loose connection at the receptacle it a real possibility here. If the wire has not burned off it might be a simple fix for the park handyman or an electrician. – Ed Beal Feb 05 '22 at 08:07

2 Answers2

1

That 80V is a sign of a hot leg going bad

That 80V from one hot to neutral combined with the 200V hot to hot is a sign that one of the hot legs at your box is going bad, and you need to alert the RV park owner to this, as it's their job to call the electrician in to fix the issue.

As to that "split phase" thing

North American residential and light-commercial power is distributed as two opposing legs of 120VAC that sum up to 240VAC. This scheme of opposing legs was originally developed back in Edison's day with DC distribution and +/- voltages to economize on wires to individual consumers, and has stuck around since AC won the war of the currents because it provides that economy at the secondary-distribution (individual consumer) level while only requiring a single phase wire and a neutral to be run on the poletop, thus saving the power company money as well compared to alternative schemes.

ThreePhaseEel
  • 83,293
  • 29
  • 137
  • 230
-1

There is only one legitimate and correct answer to your question: schedule a professional licensed electrician to evaluate your situation.

Full stop.

That's it. Do it quick.

No more.

Bryce
  • 10,884
  • 17
  • 69
  • 112