Date: Sat, 17 Jan 2015 12:15:39 -0500
Reply-To: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Can 240 volts damage the fridge?
In-Reply-To: <6923792C8EC343C5BE3DF71A94437AD7@ZoltanHP>
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As a person with a lot of electrical experience I have to ask how they did that. An awful lot of stupidity there.
For home services you have 2 "hot" wires and a neutral, (grounded conductor) coming in. 110 is derived from one hot and one neutral. There is a major difference between the grounded conductor and the grounding, (green or bare), conductors. Yes they get connected together in the main service panel and only there.
But anyway getting the two hot conductors feeding 110 volt branch circuits is a major error indeed.
The refrigerator heater may have survived but is likely burned out. The real thing you have to consider is that you are lucky to be alive and that you didn't spark the propane.
Why! Normally the van would be fed with the one hot and neutral conductor. The third prong connects the vehicle frame to the grounding conductor. Yes polarity does matter as they breaker or any other appliance switches only disconnect that hot wire. That is why we have those plugs that only fit one way. Anyway, if that hot wire somehow shorts or connects to the body the ground conductor will draw off the current and cause that breaker to trip. Now if you had a hot leg connected to the neutral and did not have a ground then you can have 110 volt on the body and when you grab a door handle you will complete the circuit to ground. BTW this is why only inverters designed to be used in recreational vehicles that can support a grounded output should be installed. If tying an inverter to interior wiring at least use a GFCI.
Wiring is not a hobby. Always get help from someone that knows what they're doing.
Dennis
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of thewestyman
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2015 6:26 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Can 240 volts damage the fridge?
The reason why I ask this is because while I was away, the guys wired my workshop to 240 and a lot of items got fried. But I’m not sure about the van’s fridge because they use the same ones in Europe with 240 volts. Only my fridge don’t seem to want to restart on 120.
Anyone knows anything about this?
Zoltan
