haddy1 wrote:
pianotuna wrote:
Hi,
I wound stay away from GFCI, unless it is required by code.
X2 GFCI outlets are known to have issues when connecting to RVs, even when they (the RV) are properly wired.
I think that most often, when this happens, it's because something is not right in the RV: either the fridge element or the water heater element is leaking current to ground, or there's a neutral that's grounding, or something of that ilk--in other words, a genuine ground fault that could be a safety hazard under the right (wrong?) conditions.
It is possible that there's enough benign leakage via power supply filters in electronic devices etc. to trip a GFCI, but as I understand things that's less commonly the actual problem.
Personally, I'd rather find out that I have a ground fault in my RV while sitting at home when I have plenty of time to correct it (and make things safe) than when I get to a campground that only has 20A power available and I can't get the GFCI outlet to stay on.
My house was built before GFCIs were common, and did not have any when I moved in. In putting one into the outlet in the bathroom, I found that it would trip instantly. Hunting around the circuit revealed that one lighting fixture on the circuit had the neutral wire pinched in the mounting bracket, causing it to ground out. I would have never found that otherwise. Fixing that problem made everything A-OK. That's not an RV, of course, but the idea is similar.
Having said that, double pole GFCI breakers are definitely not inexpensive.
