Solid 10 gauge wire enough contact with EMS (HW30C)?

[wstcoaster07]

I installed my EMS-HW30C today in my 2500RL and had a question that I could not find an answer to anywhere online. The wire GD uses for the main power line is solid 10 gauge wire, not stranded. I had no issues cutting in to and splicing the wires, but when putting them in to the EMS I noticed that there isn't the best surface contact between the wire and the connection points inside the box. There is essentially a metal plate you put the wire in to and then screw down a large screw to secure the wire between the screw and the metal bottom. (terrible description, I know). Anyway, the big question is if this is safe/effective or not. In my limited knowledge of electricity and current, I would think that if I was using a 10 gauge wire to transmit a certain amount of current, if I don't utilize the max amount of surface area than I will either induce an increased load & heat, or lose some amount of current. Since the wire is only really making contact on the top and bottom part, it seems like not an ideal connection.

Has anyone else looked in to this with their installs? (I assume all GD use a solid gauge wire (10 or 6 based on 30 or 50 amp of course)
If you did not do anything different, have you ever checked to see if anything is heating up on the EM?
If you did make a change, what did you do? (put on some sort of solid to braided conversion)

I emailed Progressive Industries about it tonight and will report back if they have any information for me. I am hoping I am just being overly cautious.

Side note for anyone installing one on the 2500RL, I did not find there to be a lot of slack in the wire like some have reported in other units. It worked just fine, but if I were to do it again I would have bought more wire from Home depot and had the EMS->trailer part wired before I even went to install it. Then, I would have just disconnected the wires from the panel and plugged them right in to the EMS input side, while plugging the pre-wired output ends from the EMS back in to the trailer. This would have sped up the process a little bit and given me a little more room to work.

[wstcoaster07]

I am now thinking it is a no issue. My thinking is that the current really is passing down the wire so the actual surface area it travels across is equal to the area of a cross section of the wire (r^2*pi?). Since about 1/4" of wire goes in to the connection, even if only the top and bottom touch metal, it may still be equal to or more than the surface area previously mentioned.
I am sure you electricians are laughing at my terrible description and or reasoning (justifiably so).
Will keep you posted.

[kevinpo]

Hello,
The attachment method you describe is an industry standard for industrial applications. All our heavy equipment is powered that way (500+ amps).

HTH,
Kevin
PS: These type connections should be checked for tightness once a year as they can loosen from thermal expansion due to heating and cooling cycles.

[wstcoaster07]

Kevin,
Thanks for the response and the heads up to check it once a year. I also heard back from the customer service rep and they too agreed that the connection method is safe and reliable.

Crossing my fingers I have full electric this weekend haha. The place I park my TT has no hook ups so I wasn't able to test it. Although it was VERY straight forward so I can not imagine there will be an issue.

Matt

[klenger]

The wire that attaches to the metal plate is the ground wire only, and should not carry any current unless there is a ground fault down-stream. The 2 current carrying wires attach to screw type clamps.

[wstcoaster07]

Yeah, sorry just poor terminology on my part. The wires are hooked up to the proper terminals.