TomG2
Central Illinois
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Joined: 03/07/2004
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I have burned up two 30 amp plugs on my travel trailer in the last three years. Apparently, they lose connectivity, heat up, lose more connectivity, and burn themselves up. Any lubricant that would make for a better connection and eliminate this problem?
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wopachop
Who run bartertown
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Joined: 11/17/2006
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Sounds like the connector on your trailer needs to be replaced. The contacts are no longer tight.
Im a fan of dielectric grease but only use it on connectors that rarely get used.
I picture the trailer connector attracting too much dirt if you used grease. I dont think its supposed to be used for lubricity. Its more the absence of oxygen and moisture. Keeps things from corroding.
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time2roll
Southern California
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Joined: 03/21/2005
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Plugged into what? You can't go around replacing every park connector. If the site has 50 amp available consider using an adapter.
For a superior replacement plug try this one:
https://www.progressiveindustries.net/tt-30p
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valhalla360
No paticular place.
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Joined: 08/19/2009
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Start turning off the breaker before plugging in and avoid outlets that already have burn marks.
What usually happens is people plug in hot, this causes arcing as the metal comes into contact and starts to leave burn marks on the prongs. These burn marks act as weak insulators which increases the heat and the next time you plug in, the arcing is worse...eventually it reaches the point where you've burnt up the plug.
By turning off the breaker, there is no arcing at the plug. If you do see burn marks use very fine sandpaper to clean off the burn marks, so they don't compound the issue.
Also, keep an eye on the voltage and don't do a continuous draw of more than around 24amps. A lot of people try to use all 30amps and that will overheat things. Reality is the 30amp outlet is only rated for 24amp continuous draw.
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Cummins12V98
on the road
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Show a pic of what you are having issues with.
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ksg5000
Oregon
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Joined: 06/30/2008
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Dielectric grease doesn't conduct electricity and probably shouldn't be used on electrical plugs. I suggest using a conductive grease such as Noalox which is inexpensive and can be picked up at any Big Box store. Hope this helps.
Kevin
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TomG2
Central Illinois
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Joined: 03/07/2004
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ksg5000 wrote:Dielectric grease doesn't conduct electricity and probably shouldn't be used on electrical plugs. I suggest using a conductive grease such as Noalox which is inexpensive and can be picked up at any Big Box store. Hope this helps.
Thanks. I know a little about dielectric grease and wondered why some recommend it. But I did not know about Noalox. I do the breaker off thing, but if the previous hundred users connected hot, the receptacle is on its way out. Maybe what I need is a 30 amp male plug with sandpaper prongs to prep the outlet?
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MEXICOWANDERER
las peñas, michoacan, mexico
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Dielectric grease is used OEM on sensors operating in the millivolt range.
The only electronic contact cleaner that works is
DeOxit D-100
Don't play games with the D-100 part number. It is the strongest DeOxit cleaner and you need it. Try squirting it into the receptacle slots and then onto your plug prongs. Then slip the plug in and out 20 times to rub off the corrosion.
Without disassembly this is the only thing you can do. Other contact cleaners are a farce. Let us know if this helps.
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2oldman
south
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It may not be the blades, it may be that the wires come loose at the screw connections. Or, you may simply be using too much power at one time, like air and water heater and converter.
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johnhicks
Wandering below the Gnat Line
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You won't hurt anything using dielectric grease or cosmoline but won't help anything either. Deoxit works for cleaning but won't help if the socket is burned or mechanically compromised.
Turn off loads and pull the CG breaker when plugging in or unplugging.
When a CG socket gets burned and loose there's nothing you can do about it. If there's a 50A socket available use a dogbone and plug into it
-jbh-
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