Mitch here...
Sorry to interrupt your daily notes.
Today after our seminars, went back to rig, put on generator to charge battery. Time? 11:30 AM
Oh me, Oh My!
Generator went on.
30 seconds later, kitchen lights(120V AC) went on.. (as expected).
one minute later. AC goes off.
Leading to the next 6 hours of panic(ed) wife...
Oh me oh my.
Mind you, not all (or even many) of these were done by me!
What better place to break down an electrical system, then a boondocking rally, where
several Solar Panel installations are taking place,... and there are about 39 other RV owners, some with a GREAT deal of experience to boot!
AC Circuit breakers? All Working OK.
12V Circuit breakers? All Working OK.
120 V coming out of generator? Check.
120 V coming from shore power? No.
120 V coming in at power breaker box? NO!!
----> This tells us that between the generator, and the AC panel, there is a break of some sort.
Search High. Search Low, search every single place where there is a electrical box to try and find the
Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS.)
Well lo, and behold, I decided to call the manufacturer of our RV (DRV), and spoke to the very nice man there. (Ed Fry) [if you own a DRV, and don't have his number contact us, he's VERY important to have on speed dial WHEN you need it]
Ed finally told us that the ATS was behind the electrical panel about 2 feet to the right of it.
He didn't mention it was behind the TWO HVAC (heating Ventilation A/C) ducts (flexible 3 inch hoses) and screwed down in place.
EHH. Most RV manufacturers would sell their mother it it would save $0.25 in installation or parts costs.
Thus, the ATS box was extremely hidden, and to get it unwedged from the back of the area to test the voltage, took about another hour.
Finally, we had it opened, and the conductors from the generator were fine at 120V.
The input from shore power were good (since there was no power) at 0 V.
We then connected someone's generator to mimic shore power and it also tested at 0 V.
---> That tells us that shore power input at the ATS in NOT getting voltage.
The final step was the output to the electrical panel, which (as there was no voltage at the 50AMP breaker inside,) was ALSO 0 Volts
THUS, the conclusion that the ATS was bad/dead/ or more accurately committed sucide.
Of course if you search the web for the Iota Engineering ATS-50 model, you find nothing but reports of them
- Overheating
- Catching fire
- melting
- And being recalled by several RV manufacturers because of these defects
- Also being MD'd (Manufacturer Discontinued!)
BUT! because we had SO MANY great people (including a few Solar panel installers too)
We were finally able to bypass the ATS at 5:30 (only 1/2 hr past our 5pm Pot luck dinner!)
So... the journey (and the plans) ALWAYS change, and always gives us a learning opportunity
This learning opportunity was sponsored by Iota Enginering, DRV, as well as the lovely leak we discovered while the 5-6 of us were working in our "basement" or garage in the tightest area you've ever seen!
The leak seems to be from our grey water system More another day!
Cheers to all!
Guest blogger (and hubby) Mitch B
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.