Newb question on AC Ground. Be Gentle

[Forrest747]

The gounding bar is at the top and the neutral is on the bottom. THe extension cord I used comes in to teh right and feeds teh hot and neutral. on the left is teh 14 gauge house wire used for teh outlets and teh orange power cord that was sacrificed on teh alter of the teardrop Gods to power teh inverter. life is good.

[Boodro]

If your looking for simple , mount a good power strip where you need it, then just run an extentio cable from the camppower to the power strip. No wiring issues to worry about. just use at least a 10ga. cable

[b.bodemer]

On my cargo trailer I had an electric package installed at the factory. It came out awesome. I did not have experience to takle that job.

Now I'm doing exactly what Boodro is describing for my current project. This is all I'll need for quick solo trips to catch up with my kayaking and camping friends:
http://minicamper.blogspot.com/2011/11/ ... amper.html

GFI and Circuit breaker in one!

Barb

[Corwin C]

I think that a lot of the confusion with ground in an AC circuit is the term "ground" itself and how it is used differently in AC and DC wiring.

In DC, the return path to complete the circuit is often referred to as "ground." In many cases, metallic components of the trailer are used as a path to complete those circuits instead of an actual wire.

In AC, the hot and neutral wires complete the circuit. ONLY wires, buss bars, switches/breakers, and appliances are used to complete that circuit. The ground is ONLY energized when/if something goes wrong. In normal everyday use, it NEVER carries any current. However, if something does go wrong, and since electricity ALWAYS follows the easiest path, the ground is designed to be the path that completes the circuit path instead of a person/pet/etc. Furthermore, grounding can only help if it is connected. If you want to eliminate the possibility of a surface/object being energized, it MUST be electrically bonded to "ground" in a proper and secure manner. My chassis/sheet metal/metallic plumbing/etc. will absolutely be grounded.

The second step here is to make sure that the power source that you plug into is properly wired. There are inexpensive indicators which simply plug in and will let you immediately determine if your power source is wired correctly. This is a critical step and should not be overlooked.

[eamarquardt]

I think that a lot of the confusion with ground in an AC circuit is the term "ground" itself and how it is used differently in AC and DC wiring.

In DC, the return path to complete the circuit is often referred to as "ground." In many cases, metallic components of the trailer are used as a path to complete those circuits instead of an actual wire.

In AC, the hot and neutral wires complete the circuit. ONLY wires, buss bars, switches/breakers, and appliances are used to complete that circuit. The ground is ONLY energized when/if something goes wrong. In normal everyday use, it NEVER carries any current. However, if something does go wrong, and since electricity ALWAYS follows the easiest path, the ground is designed to be the path that completes the circuit path instead of a person/pet/etc. Furthermore, grounding can only help if it is connected. If you want to eliminate the possibility of a surface/object being energized, it MUST be electrically bonded to "ground" in a proper and secure manner. My chassis/sheet metal/metallic plumbing/etc. will absolutely be grounded.

The second step here is to make sure that the power source that you plug into is properly wired. There are inexpensive indicators which simply plug in and will let you immediately determine if your power source is wired correctly. This is a critical step and should not be overlooked.

All true.

We've been doing a pretty good job of "flogging" this issue here:

http://tnttt.com/viewto ... highlight=

Cheers,

Gus

[PcHistorian]

there is another set of responses somewhere in this forum, on this topic. One of the things there that is not here is that they say "bring your own, 2 foot long grounding rod and ground the chassis." Also drop your tow chains to the ground, so any high power may flow that way instead of through you. Gus, that was one piece of info I was looking for, inverters having problems with both ends of the power dc - negative in and ac out 3 prong ground both connecting to the chassis frame. (though I don't ground the ac neutral and I'd return any inverter that had a problem with dc - neg frame grounded and ac 3rd prong ground grounded to the frame, also.)