ECN Forum Forums Photo Discussion Forums Photos for General Discussion American RV Wiring vs. Bad British DIY

Here's an interesting mixture of American and British wiring. This also has to be the first time that I've posted a photo of an American load center on ECN!

This is the electrical installation in a small American RV which has been modified (badly) for use in Britain. It's a Coachmen camper conversion on a Chevrolet van chassis, dating from 1980.

The original system as fitted uses a 2-wire 120V 30A hookup with a QO load center, installed at the rear of the coach under the stove:




You are all far more used to seeing QO panels than I am, so here it is:




The main C/B is 30A, and the two branch circuits feed the power converter/charger (left of panel), the fridge, and three duplex receptacles. The spare Romex bundled on the right is marked as being for an optional air-conditioner to be wired to the spare half of the tandem breaker if needed.

The only thing I find curious about the wiring arrangement here is that the kitchen receptacle is on one half of the regular tandem breaker while the other recepts and the charger are fed via the GFI. From the labeling on the panel, that does seem to be the way it was wired originally.

Anyway, now we get to the bad conversion part.....

The original 10-3 type ST hookup cable to the QO panel has been rerouted into an adjacent under-seat locker into which a step-down transformer has been fitted to allow for connection to our standard 240-volt 2-wire hookups:




The small white box is a British Wylex brand 2-way distribution panel, fitted in this instance with two 15A fuses, one feeding the transformer and the other feeding two British-type receptacles, mounted on opposite sides of this compartment (you can see the back box of one on the lower right).

A new British hookup cord runs from the original inlet (more of which later) to this panel, although why it's clipped down in such a strange way is anybody's guess.

About that transformer:



I can't help feeling rather uncomfortable at the use of an auto-transformer in this application. Just think about what happens if the hookup cord's neutral is bad.