Newbie electrical usage Qs and other misc stuff...

[andy]

50 amp service

Natesi; I think these are 50 amp 125 volt services to your trailer so make sure that whoever hooks it up dont use the two separate 115 volt feeds to the house to get your 50 amps or you will have 50 amps an 230 volts

 

[newbie]

Andy, the electric service is a NEMA 14-50R configuration -4 wire, 120/240 volt, 50 amp. Even though the service is capable of 240 volts, the camper only uses each leg to a neutral (120 volt) If you went hot to hot you get 240 volt but there are no 240 volt appliances in the rig.

Hope this makes sense. John

 

[JohnDar]

Just to follow up, here's another site with a bit more info. It looks like you can probably get it configured with any suitable connector, but it is not designed for a 50A connection. Smaller rigs, with a 30A capacity might be able to use it.

http://www.powermeterstore.com/p5650/metermaid_power_meter.php

Brings up the question, though, if this fellow is going to install the service especially for you to hook to, how is he metering it to determine what to charge you?

 

[newbie]

This would work nicely. The price isn't crazy either- $372

link removed by moderator per takedown request of link owner - j.beletti - 25-mar-2014

The model is 240v 50 amp (E-Mon Model 320850-SA Kit)

John

 

[Gaffer]

This one is even cheaper.

http://www.submetering4less.com/residential.htm

 

[caissiel]

I had my garage wired for 30Amps supply to my trailer. But this summer when I bought this trailer I was ok for 50A 120/240. Well the line source for the 30Amp plug also had a 2nd source for an other 30A line with common ground. I had a second plug for the 120Volt Wire feed welder, so I Joined things together and realized that if I feed the 2 of 30Amp extensins to a common box with a stove 240 volt plug I had 30A 240V setup with common ground. So as to feed the trailer with 30 x 2, 120Volt power. So in the fall, not using the Airconditioner I connected a second heater on the opposite side of the fireplace and we were setup quit well.

 

[Gaffer]

Combining circuits can give you the desired result. Problem is that obvious code violations will result in the insurance company not paying off should something bad happen.

 

[caissiel]

The power come from the same 4 wire (Black, Red, white and Green) to the 2 plugs. Its the common ground that gets loaded if you use the 120 volts on the same line.

 

[Gaffer]

That's cool if your 4 wire cable ( 2 hots, a neutral and a ground) is # 6 copper and is fed from a 50 amp circuit breaker and terminates only on the 50 amp receptacle.

 

[caissiel]

Its no10 wire and 30 Amp fuses, My gagage or shop is all wired for 30Amps at any plug, but I service most plugs with 15Amp fuses. Never know when I wanted to install a powerfull tool, so I went for broke on the wiring before I finished and insulated the walls. Some work to wire the plugs on bigger wires

 

[Natesi]

Brings up the question, though, if this fellow is going to install the service especially for you to hook to, how is he metering it to determine what to charge you?

That's the main reason for making this thread. Since there's no meter, it would be nice to come up with an average number to pay them every month. I was trying to get help with what a fair number would be. Unless there was an easy way to installer a meter, that is....

 

[Natesi]

This one is even cheaper.

http://www.submetering4less.com/residential.htm

This would work nicely. The price isn't crazy either- $372

link removed by moderator per takedown request of link owner - j.beletti - 25-mar-2014

The model is 240v 50 amp (E-Mon Model 320850-SA Kit)

John

Yeah, those look like they would work; thanks! Only problem is they look like permanent installations, but beggars can't be choosers, I guess...

I'm not sure if they would agree to spend that kind of coin to solve this problem though... and I don't know if I'm willing to spend that much to pay for permanent improvements to their house. Might be worth it though...

 

[rick_debbie_gallant]

Shoot find out what their bill is or has been for a year or so and go from there. I just paid 72.00 in Texas for a month of power. My monthly bill in Michigan is about 120.00 per month. Some where in between? Besides what is a few bucks. I know you or them dont want to be taken. My 3 cents. 1 of those cents goes to the Prez to cover health care.

 

[Natesi]

Shoot find out what their bill is or has been for a year or so and go from there. I just paid 72.00 in Texas for a month of power. My monthly bill in Michigan is about 120.00 per month. Some where in between? Besides what is a few bucks. I know you or them dont want to be taken. My 3 cents. 1 of those cents goes to the Prez to cover health care.

It's a little more complicated than that. It's a woman living in her deceased mother's house. She doesn't have a year's worth of bills to go off.

When I owned a house 30 miles from here, my electric for an entire 1250 sq HOUSE was typically $30-35 a month; $50+ a month when I had a power hungry friend living with me. She says her electric (for just her) is something like $75 a month. In both cases the houses use gas heat and water heater -- so I'm not sure why her electric is a good $40 more a month than what mine was when I owned a home. Heck, in the summer, I even had two window AC units in my house and that didn't even raise the electric $10 per month.

Anyway, to complicate matters worse, she wants to get a roommate as well, which even if she has gotten an idea of what the bill has been like for the last few months, will most likely be changing with a room mate.

 

[JohnDar]

Right now, the electric rate on the house (2400 sf) is $0.123 per kWh and our bill averages $100 a month. Heat, stove, dryer are gas and billed separately. Electric bill spikes higher if I do any large woodworking projects in the garage (electric heater and tools). Central A/C during the summer also contributes, depending on the weather.

Last summer, at the CG, the monthly electric ran between $16 and $30 each month, depending on how many days we were actually in residence and using things. When not there, only the fridge, microwave display and Fantastic Fan were powered, along with the converter.

 

[wyleyrabbit]

I don't know how much extra it would cost for a proper meter and an electrician to install everything properly, but I think that's the only way to go. It can't be that expensive because we've been to RV parks that have a meter on every post.

Then there can be no arguments or disagreements about what's fair.

 

[JohnDar]

I don't know how much extra it would cost for a proper meter and an electrician to install everything properly, but I think that's the only way to go. It can't be that expensive because we've been to RV parks that have a meter on every post.

Then there can be no arguments or disagreements about what's fair.

Sounds like the way to go. That way, in the future, if someone else is on that spot, it's covered. Come to an agreement of how much of a "surcharge" they may want to charge over the power company rate.

 

[wyleyrabbit]

Yeah. Not sure if you're leasing the pad or anything, but if it were me, I would try to spread the installation cost over the first year. So, let's pretend it's $240 for the meter and the electrician's time and materials. $20 per month extra for the first year would be completely fair.

My $0.02.

 

[SmokeyBare]

I have been given a Electric Meter at one campground with an Outlet on one side and a pigtail plug on the other. Since I was there for a month and getting their lower monthly rate... the solution for the campgrounds was to have a portable meter available for Month long RV Stays.

This method worked very well... just plug in the Electric Meter to a properly installed 30 or 50 Amp outlet on the house electrical system... and then plug the RV's electrical cord into the portable Meter's outlet. With the meter reading at hand... subtract the reading you started with the end of month use... multiply the KW used by the Rate the Electric Company charges.

Any qualified electrician could put together this type of Electrical Meter. But if your not able to locate a Meter... there are other choices. Here are a couple links...

(Note: this type is also sold on Ebay)
http://www.metersusa.com/WattMeters/ResMeters.htm?gclid=CL2NtZ_r3Z4CFY915QodQzDGJg

http://www.theenergydetective.com/what/overview.html

It's not an easy question to answer... For each electrical appliance you use... the cost changes. If your using electric heaters to stay warm... costs really increase... If you need to run the A/C for cooling...

Perhaps it would be just as easy to just Split the monthly costs...

 

[caissiel]

A few years ago I was talking to a fellow camper that spends his winters in Texas and he told me that he used all the Propane he could because it was cheaper then the meter rate on his campsite.