Mike Sokol – Page 2

Beware of dangerous “Reflected Hot-Skin Condition”!

March 29, 2017March 28, 2017 RV Staff

Hello, Mike, I just happened across your YouTube video on camper hot-skin conditions and I had to relate my first experience with it. We were at a campground that had at least 8 campers plugged into a particular 30-amp electrical leg (if that is what it would be called). We had arrived earlier in the day and had no... Read More

How often does RV hot-skin wiring occur?

March 15, 2017March 14, 2017 RV Staff

Dear Mike, Regarding the three essential testers (Digital Multi-Meter, Non-Contact Voltage Tester, and Circuit Analyzer) mentioned in the video from Gary Bunzer in the RV Travel newsletter recently (Three electrical testing devices all RV owners should have in their tool kit), do you have statistics (even educated guesses) on how often hot-skin wiring is actually occurring? How about the... Read More

RVer put dimmer switch in bathroom — Why didn’t it work?

March 1, 2017February 26, 2017 RV Staff

Hey Mike, I tried to change out the On-Off wall switch in my camper bathroom to a dimmer switch and it didn’t work. Now I discover that my lighting is 12-volts DC and the dimmer is 120-volts AC. I put a regular On-Off switch back in and now it works. So is it the voltage difference or the AC-DC... Read More

Is a warm electrical outlet cause for concern?

February 8, 2017February 6, 2017 RV Staff

Dear Mike, I have a GFI (Ground Fault Interrupter) question about our RV. I have noticed that the GFI outlet in the bathroom was warm when we had an electric heater plugged in to another outlet. The second outlet had a GFI sticker attached to it but was not a GFI outlet. When I tripped the GFI test button on... Read More

Non-contact voltage tester and false positive results

January 27, 2017February 26, 2017 RV Staff

Hey Mike, I’m hoping you can answer a question I have. I’ve tried the Internet, but I think you may be the only person on the planet who can help me. The question is: Can a non-contact voltage tester have a false positive? —M. Morse Hey M., Well, in a word, yes. But in reality it really is finding... Read More

Question about installing 50-amp RV outlet at home

January 20, 2017January 20, 2017 Chuck Woodbury

Hi Mike, I’m about to have a 50-amp RV outlet installed at my home. I’ll have the 50 amp installed or purchase a 50 to 15 adapter and run an extension to the garage. The 15 amp would probably be fine as the only reason desired is to charge the batteries overnight. Worst case would be to run 15... Read More

Expensive mistake when installing 30-amp RV outlet at home

December 7, 2016December 6, 2016 RV Staff

RV Electricity with Mike Sokol Dear Mike, Thank you for bringing the miswiring issue to light. I have been a licensed journeyman electrician for over ten years, but when a customer asked me to install an outside 30-amp outlet for his RV in the driveway, I accidentally wired it up for 240 volts, NOT 120 volts. That was a... Read More

Huge difference between 30-amp and 50-amp hookups

November 30, 2016December 2, 2016 RV Staff

RV Electricity with Mike Sokol Dear Mike, So just how much more power does a 50-amp shore power plug have compared to a 20- or 30-amp plug? We like to bring a lot of our electronic toys with us, and have tripped the 30-amp circuit breaker a few times. Should we consider a 50-amp plug for our next RV? ... Read More

Is surge protector’s reading sufficient to be safe from “hot skin”?

November 23, 2016November 23, 2016 RV Staff

RV Electricity with Mike Sokol Dear Mike, Thank you so much for your discussion of “hot skin.” I recently got a shock touching my small trailer and found out I had a bad extension cord. A question: I use a surge protector between shore power and my trailer. The protector claims to detect lack of power, reversed polarity, open... Read More

Reader asks if new 50-amp outlet is wired correctly

November 15, 2016November 15, 2016 RV Staff

RV Electricity with Mike Sokol Dear Mike, I have a 50 amp outlet I had put in, and from either hot to the neutral it reads 120 volts, but measuring between both hots it reads 240 volts. Is this outlet wired correctly? —Craig Dear Craig, Yes, that’s correct. Most consumers don’t realize that we have 240 volts coming into... Read More