Dear Mike,
What sort of topics will you be covering in your seminars at the RVillage Rally in Elkhart this May 17-21? —Keith
Dear Keith,
Thanks for your question. There are just so many topics to cover that I can’t possibly do them all. But here’s what I think is going to happen. My plan is to do a series of 45-minute seminars followed by 45 minutes of Q&A. Each seminar will be on a single topic covering an important aspect of RV electrical hookups and safety. Here’s a bullet list of what I plan to cover, but we don’t have an exact seminar schedule worked out yet.
- Testing campsite pedestals before plugging in
- Hot-skin voltage causes, testing and fixes
- Surge protector selection and operation
- How much power do I need to run my RV appliances
- Why GFCIs trip and what to do about it
I’ll be doing PowerPoint presentations as well as hands-on demonstrations and bringing gear you can hold in your hands. And of course I’ll be answering your questions in real time. Yup, you ask and I’ll answer. Plus we’re going to experiment with live-streaming at least of few of these seminars, so be sure to look pretty (or handsome, whatever’s appropriate).
I’ll be there most of the days, so even when I’m not doing formal presentations I’ll be in front of my R-Pod talking to small groups about electricity.
Let’s play safe out there….
Mike Sokol is an electrical and professional sound expert with 40 years in the industry. Visit NoShockZone.org for more electrical safety tips. His excellent book RV Electrical Safety is available at Amazon.com. For more info on Mike’s qualifications as an electrical expert, click here.
##RVT844
I noticed the outlet for our microwave in the motor home had started to melt, upon removal of the outlet I saw that the wires connection were not screws but pressed into a pronged connection. I replaced the outlet with a standard stew type outlet. I checked other outlets and discovered the one to the washing machine also was burned and melted do tothese press on connections being loose and heating up. I don’t know if the RV industry still use these but would advise people to check all their outlets especially high amperage appliances.
That’s a great reminder. In my day job as a pro-sound engineer we NEVER allow those QuickWire outlets, which are built for quick assembly. We only use screw-clamp type outlets in anything we build or buy.
Watch for my article about this subject in next Saturday’s (May 12) RV Travel Newsletter.