Twice this year I have been in "high altitude" campgrounds, that is, over 2000 meters (approximately 6565 feet) and coincidentally, both Thousand Trails (Idyllwild and Snowflower - hmmm, both in California - a clue there?) in my 2005 Tiffin Phaeton 40QDH. In both cases, I lost AC power to part of the systems but not all and, in both cases, the same circuits. Looking through the coach and the electrical diagrams, I and a service tech at Bob's RV in Hemet, CA, can only locate one GFCI outlet and the assumption is that both AC circuits from the inverter go through it.
In the first case, testing and resetting the GFCI accomplished nothing. Green light on but no power to the satellite, TV's, most outlets, the refridgerator. Some outlets, the microwave, stayed on. Bob's replaced to GFCI outlet and everything was OK. In the second case, the GFCI went out and the rest did not work (instant trip) but same circuits worked or not as the first.
After the second failure I drove down to Sacramento looking for a Tiffin dealer and some help. While waiting I checked into a campground (the California State Fairgrounds has an excellent facility). While pondering the mysteries of electricity (NOT my strongest suit) I reset the GFCI outlet once again (I am a glutton for punishment or insane doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result) and everything worked! And has continued to work with no problems, though I have not been above about 4500 feet since (but heading for Glacier NP in Montana). I am now thinking the replacement in Hemet was really not necessary but just coincidentally solved the problem because it was substantially below 2000 meters at that point.
After regaling my favorite (only) son with all this he sends back information he found on the internet laying the problem on the doorstep of something called "altitude degradation". The issue is apparently the higher one goes devices like GFCI outlets and most circuit breakers cannot dissipate heat rapidly enough and the unit overheats (like it would in a short) and trips the circuit. Conveniently, GFCI outlets and most circuit breakers are apparently only certified to 2000 meters.
Talking to folks about this, including some service managers, I cannot find anyone who has ever heard of this. Anyone out there ever heard of it?
Secondarily, does anyone know of a 15 amp GFCI outlet certified to more than 2000 meters?
And finally, if this is a factual problem, shouldn't RV manufacturers use CFGI outlets certified for higher altitudes (or at least warn buyers of the potential problem?).
I think I have a handle on the problem and, if it should recur, I won't get upset about it but it would be nice if it could be fixed!
