The science of Electricity

Electicity is very complicated when it comes within the box of a trailer. It is comprised of wires that go through tiny spaces in the walls and under furniture and carpet alike. Our system also has two batteries that connect somehow to solar panels on the roof and a generator, and yet can also connect to the battery in our truck and the 120V power supplied at campgrounds.

Electricity is a mysterious power that I stay away from. But hubby has experience with it, and was willing to tackle the loss of power that started to plague us. As usual, he was very thorough. He studied the diagrams that were in the trailer manual, and crawled under the couch to label the wires he could reach. He carefully turned off everything and unplugged us from the campground service. He even double checked the sockets with the volt meter and tried the lights. Then he went back under the couch to detach the batteries, setting off a heart-stopping display of fireworks, smoke, and curses. I learned the evacuation drill that day: grab my purse and the fire extinguisher on the way out the door.

Two important things I did forget - our passports from the hidden cubbyhole, and my husband. He was still frantically disconnecting wires and turning the air blue. Not just with smoke.

The day ended with us running to local auto shops at 5:30 on a Saturday evening to replace the melted heavy gauge wires and connectors. And, although everything is now put back together and secure, the slight loss of power that started this has now severely affected our 12V systems. Our trailer battery refuses to recharge from anything but the trickle charge from the solar panels. This affects anything that is directly powered from our batteries: our lighting and the system controller for the fridge, for example. Good thing we are experienced with lanterns and flashlights.

We are now waiting for a new converter to be shipped to us. On the plus side, we flew through the New Mexico and Arizona snow belt and are far enough south that we are not getting any snow or freezing temperatures. The only threat could be an electrical storm.....

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Disclaimer: any inaccuracies in the technical aspects of the text above is solely the fault of the writer.