By Mike Sokol
Dear Readers,
Just a few nights ago my RVelectricity Facebook group hit 10,000 members. Woo hoo! And that means we have a winner for the Southwire meter kit giveaway, which I’ll announce shortly.
Yes, I know a lot of you don’t use or like Facebook due to security concerns, but for my RVelectricity project it’s still a great way to reach a lot of readers quickly. For example, while webinars and websites such as RV Travel are great for larger articles, they are not designed for the quick questions and answers you can get from a Facebook group.
Facebook Issues
However, I will be the first to admit that the quick and casual response time of Facebook is problematic since there can be a flurry of activity. And that can create a lot of wrong and dangerous answers if I’m not watching the group like a hawk. That’s why I found and installed half a dozen moderators and administrators earlier this year and it’s been working great. Yes, on occasion we have to enforce the 100% Rule (if you’re not 100% sure of your answer and can back it up with code, formula and math, don’t post it). But for the most part the members have been very good about not making wild guesses.
Why do we love our Moderators?
I’m proud to say that our RVelectricity Facebook moderators have weeded out a number of the posters who tended to make fun of simple questions from new members. That’s why we have a 100% anti-bully rule there. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, there are no “dumb” questions. If someone is asking an honest question, then they deserve a polite answer even if it appears crazy at first read. In general, the public knows very little about electricity, a fact which I’m constantly reminded of every day.
More questions equal better articles
And enough of those sometimes-seemingly crazy questions can give me a new direction for a needed article or video, so I welcome them. My weakness as a technical writer tends to be my 60 years of practical and professional experience in the electrical field. And I’ve spent the last 35 years writing articles for dozens of technology magazines, 10 years of which have been writing for the RV industry.
Don’t Bogart that Dog-Bone Adapter
I have to constantly reminded myself that when I write something like “load center” or “pedestal” or “converter,” there’s no equivalent to these important RV terms in the consumer world. So what’s a dog-bone adapter, or shore power cord, or surge protector? No wonder so many readers are confused.
Introducing my next book
With that in mind I’m now beginning to write my 2nd book for the industry titled RV Electricity Basics, which should be published in time for Christmas. This will a very basic picture book with simple explanations that can serve as an introduction to all things electrical in and around an RV. It will also be a perfect companion to my current book, RV Electrical Safety, which goes into much more depth.
Facebook workarounds
Now, you don’t have to actually join Facebook to read all the important electrical information posted there. But you will have to join if you want to pose or answer a question. And if you’re still not comfortable doing that, I understand and will continue to post as much relevant information here at RVtravel.com as well as in my monthly RVelectricity newsletter, etc… But if you want to see what I’m doing over on Facebook, please take a look HERE.
So, as I like to say, Please Stand By while I begin this new project, and thanks for your continued interest and support.
Let’s play safe out there….
Mike Sokol is an electrical and professional sound expert with 50+ years in the industry. His excellent book RV Electrical Safety is available at Amazon.com. For more info on Mike’s qualifications as an electrical expert, click here.
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Mike,
I want to make a custom 50a to 30a shore cord to my rv. I want to eliminate the dog bone adapter that I use. Do these adapters utilize the black in the conversion or the red? I want to be sure to connect the most commonly used hot so my cord will work. (I’m buying a 50a. plug to use on my 3-conducter 30a. cord. Thank you!
I think it’s a 50/50 possibility, but I’ll measure a few of mine and let you know. It should not make any practical difference.
Can a surge protector fail ?
We recently lost power at a WA state park. Park ranger found burned wires and receptacle in power pedestal. At first they said it was a short in the pedestal and were going to pay for replacing surge protector and power cable. They now claim the failure was on the trailer side. I pressed them for further explanation but they offered none.
Besides badly burning/melting the female receptacle and wires in the pedestal, it appears to have boiled solder out of the surge suppressor at one of the plug pins of my Surge Guard Model 44280.
This was the third day of using a newly purchased surge protector which I have since replaced but not yet used. We have many days plugged into power in many different parks without using a surge protector but this is the first time we have had an electrical problem.
So could it have been the surge protector that failed ? Should I contact Surge Guard ?
Hi Mike,
Thanks for all you do! I was wondering about the Autoformer tests. Earlier you said it would be around late August.
Thanks
It got pushed back until I get all the test equipment in place. Since I won’t take any sponsorship money from Hughes, I have to pay for all this specialty gear out of my own budget. But now my lab has been reoriented so I can do this type of high current study, so I should be able to begin Autoformer testing in a few weeks. These types of tests can take me anywhere from dozens to hundreds of hours to figure out, set up, gather data, and come to a conclusion which might be written out in a few sentences. So you can all be sure when I publish a statement that there’s been a lot of science and logic behind it.