First GFCI usable?

[rhltechie]

its me..again...

so i was studying the generic benroy plans...and i see that there is a gfci as the intial point on the inside of the shore power. is this outlet usable?

[mechmagcn]

Yes, it is just the first in line so that it protects all of the outlets.
On edit, the GFCI is not a fuse, it only protects you from electrical shock.

[rhltechie]

oops...sorry...i modified. I had only said so as the plans states "The first plug on the 110 side is a GFI plug, which acts as your fuse". thanks for your reply..i wasnt sure about that.

[starleen2]

protects for GFI not an overload of current - remember GFI will not trip on overload. There are some power strips that have both gfi and a resetable breaker
See thread for a more comphrensive discussion

http://www.mikenchell.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=144749#144749

[mechmagcn]

oops...sorry...i modified. I had only said so as the plans states "The first plug on the 110 side is a GFI plug, which acts as your fuse". thanks for your reply..i wasnt sure about that.

I looked at the plans and that is what it states, but that is incorrect, the GFCI is not a fuse or breaker for overloads or shorts.

[rhltechie]

so i should also be using the little "adapter" i have been seeing on the posts that looks like it has a fuse of some sort in the cord. i think people have said they attach this to the CG and then the cord to the shore power inlet. i cannot seem to find a pic right now.

[mechmagcn]

Something like this could be of use, but it isn't exactly what I was looking for.
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/portable-30-amp-gfci-surge-guard-with-shock-shield/18337

[rhltechie]

thats what i found too...i was looking for more the one that mary k stated she had....i coulda swore i had it bookmarked. oh well..i know what you are gettin at, at least!

[wlooper89]

Hello, I recently finished installing my GFCI. What I found after looking around is that one still needs a circuit breaker to protect the circuit from overload. The GFCI will protect a person from shock if there is a short, for example between A/C primary or common and the trailer chasis. Nothing might happen immediately if there is not a path to ground, but if something or someone completes the path to ground then the GFCI would trip.

Note: If both the primary and common are shorted together then the circuit breaker will trip immediately. This will also happen if loads are applied to the circuit above the circuit breaker limit.

As an example of a GFCI trip, this might happen if there is a short between one leg of A/C and the trailer frame, a person standing on wet ground might touch the trailer chasis and complete the path to ground and be shocked. A GFCI could prevent this. The GFCI senses a very small difference between the A/C primary and common load. So it will trip before a person is badly shocked.

Bottom line, a circuit breaker is still necessary to protect a circuit from overload, but the GFCI is a good safety device to prevent shock. One other consideration is that the GFCI only protects circuits on the "load" side. So the closer to the shore power inlet it is placed the better.

Bill

[Miriam C.]

Something like this could be of use, but it isn't exactly what I was looking for.
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/portable-30-amp-gfci-surge-guard-with-shock-shield/18337

This is a surge protector that has GFCI. What you want is a power cord/center that has GFCI and a circuit breaker. Or you could use a cord that has a circuit breaker and put in a GFCI. That is what Mary K did. If you look at her photo bucket album she has lots of pictures.

Here is the url to one of her elect. posts. It has the picture of what. Scroll down.
http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=20164