AC Running on 110v

[SilverSunseeker]

Recently moved from a home where we had a 30 amp plug. At our new home we just have our coach plugged into 110v via a dog bone. Is it ok to run the AC this way or do I need to plug the RV cord directly into a 30 amp plug? The only thing that is running in the RV is the AC and a couple lights.

The extension cord running from the dog bone to the house is 12/3.

[Jmkjr72]

How many amps is the plug
If it's a 15 amp outlet I wouldn't
With 20 amp as long as it's not a long run of cord and if it has a gfci you may find the gfci popping if it is even slightly weak

[CedarCreekWoody]

12 guage is the very minimum, would be better if the run was 10 guage (your 30 amp cord). Check you voltage in the trailer with the a/c running. Is it 110 volt or more? If so, and the 15 amp breaker doesn't trip, you should be ok. Check the actual amp draw with an amp probe if you have one. Heavier cord will help reduce voltage drop.

[757Dave]

Originally Posted by SilverSunseeker

Recently moved from a home where we had a 30 amp plug. At our new home we just have our coach plugged into 110v via a dog bone. Is it ok to run the AC this way or do I need to plug the RV cord directly into a 30 amp plug? The only thing that is running in the RV is the AC and a couple lights.

The extension cord running from the dog bone to the house is 12/3.

Before we had our 30 amp outlet installed outside this is what we used when we first bought our Sunseeker. Plug this into the 15/20 amp outlet and then plug the camper 30 amp cord into the adaptor.

It helped to prevent voltage drop due to a smaller gauge extension cord and kept the cord from getting overheated. And yes we were able to run the air conditioner. Just remember to check the adpator occasionally to assure that it is not getting overheated.

Hope this helps, and happy travels!

https://www.amazon.com/Camco-55223-1...amp+rv+adapter

[poppytoymaker]

Blew my A/C last summer not a good idea

[Dodge Guy]

All RV connections are 110V. The difference is the amps. 15,20,30 or 50. I used to run my trailers off a 20A circuit with no problems. I've even run it off 15. Get a Kill-a-watt meter from a hardware store and see what the voltage is in the trailer wth the AC on. Very easy.

[Villagerjjm]

You can run your air conditioner on the 15 amp line. You will run into problems with the breaker on the house box if you exceed the 15 amp limit. This happens when you have the air running and start using something like the microwave, hair dryer or a power tool. I will run both the air conditioner and the refrigerator / freezer on shore power when I am prepping it for travel or returning home. I just make sure that everything is off before I plug it in and before I in plug it.

[Old codger]

Do not run your air conditioner off any 15 amp outlet. I tried and melted a Camco 30 amp to 15 adapter. Your outlet also gets hot as does the 12 gauge cord itself and who knows what you may be doing to that circuit wring inside your house. You may burn your house down. It is absolutely not worth it to take the chance. After I saw the heat and soft plug, adapter and cord, I knew full well I would not do that again. I had a dedicated 30 amp circuit ran with 30 amp plug in installed. Now, I don't worry.

[BobFlorida]

Yes you can probably run as you describe, but things to check first:
1. The house outlet you are plugging into is connected to a 20Amp Breaker and not a 15Amp Breaker in your main electrical panel.
2. Make sure nothing else someplace in your house is also wired to that same 20amp breaker.
3. The house outlet you are plugging into in your house is a real 20Amp Outlet - not a 15Amp outlet. (The way you can visually tell the difference is that a 15amp outlet will have three holes for the plug - one round one for the ground wire and two vertical ones for the hot and neutral wires. The real 20amp T-outlet will be physically the same looking EXCEPT it will have the round ground wire connection and one of the two vertical connections will also have a horizontal connection as part of it. If in doubt, go online to home depot [URL="http://www.homedepot.com/s/20amp%2520outlet?NCNI-5"]
and you can see a picture of a 20amp T-outlet.
4.DO NOT go to Home Depot, buy a 20Amp T-Outlet and change it out for the 15amp outlet in your home. To work properly, the 20amp T-outlet needs to be connected by #12 wire to a 20amp breaker in your electrical panel.

I've been running my class C with air 24/7 and refrigerator, plus a computer or two for a couple of years now with no issues. I use a 50 foot quality Conntek NEMA 5-20 20-Amp T-Blade Outdoor SJTW 12/3 Extension Cord with power indicator light End (about $55 at Amazon) and the appropriate adapter to my coach 30amp plug.

[johnshoe]

I have a 10/3 100' extension cord plugged into a 20 amp circuit and I run my AC and fridge with it in my Forester. I couldn't do that with 12/3. I have a Progressive Industries HW30C Hardwired EMS Surge & Electrical Protection- 30 Amps and it says I am drawing 14 amps when the compressor is running.

[BobFlorida]

You're right - I wouldn't try running 100' on a 12/3, but there is a difference between what you can handle on a 50-foot 12/3 and a 100-foot 12/3. Can't speak to how much your AC & refrigerator draws compared to mine. I'd be curious as to what your voltage is at a "110" outlet in your Forester? Also, is the outlet in your house a true T-outlet rated at 20 amps? My house was built in the '80's here in Florida and code required #12 wire and 20amp breaker in the garage. Unfortunately, the electrician wiring the house used a standard 15amp outlet. When I plugged into it with my 12/3 T-plug male extension through an adapter, I could feel it getting hot at the outlet after a few minutes with things running in the coach. Since I was able to confirm that I had 12/3 wire all the way from the outlet to the 20amp breaker in the main panel; I simply replaced the original 15amp outlet with a 20amp T-outlet and eliminated the adapter that was turning my T-Plug on the extension into a straight male plug. When I plugged the T-Plug of the extension directly into the 20amp T-Outlet, my voltage at the unit came right up to a comfortable 111 volts at its lowest point during the day with both the AC and the refrigerator running.

I can't afford a hardwired amp device such as you have, so I use the poor man's way of determining things: I plug the extension in and power things up one at a time and watch what happens to the voltage in my unit. I leave a TRC DIGITAL MONITOR MODEL AECM20020 plugged into an outlet in my unit at all times. That way I always know what voltage and frequency I'm getting on shore power with devices running. And, when I'm running on the generator, it insures me that any of my sensitive devices are getting the proper voltage AND 60 cycle power they need. More than once, at an older park on a 30amp breaker in the heat of the afternoon, I've elected to turn off the coach Air Conditioner because the voltage from the park was below what my AC unit was rated at.

Ideally, and for convenience, I would eventually like to have a 50amp box installed on the outside of my house by where I park my RV. Why a 50amp when I have a Class C with 30amp service? My wife every now and then keeps talking about "maybe we should get a bigger unit?"

I hate using any adapters - whether its going from 30amp plug on my unit to a household outlet or from a 50amp to a 30amp at a park that doesn't have a site for me with a 30amp service. I've partially melted two 50 to 30 adapters at parks in the last couple of years. Finally, I found a 50 to 30 adapter that seems to work well and doesn't heat. Believe it or not I bought it at a Wal-Mart at 1AM out of desperation when nothing else was available.

[markb5900]

To run ONE ac unit, you need a 30 amp circuit and the proper wiring to carry the voltage and the amps (10g if over about 30 feet)
Otherwise your AC may run, but you will destroy your compressor because it doesn't have the amps to power it properly

[johnshoe]

I get 115 on the Progressive and my outlet is a true 20 amps. The guy I bought my house from was a welder and he had a 30amp outlet in the garage (unfortunately not one wired as needed for my RV plus my RV was 90 feet from the garage) I rewired a new 20 amp outlet from that circuit.

[BobFlorida]

MarkB -- As long as the voltage stays 110V or above IN YOUR UNIT with the air conditioner running and any other small things that you may choose to have running, you will have adequate amperage to run without damaging equipment. My AC spec says operating amps is 14 so I am safe on the 50foot 12/3. It is not very unusual to find older parks that are not supplying 110 volts to a 30 amp outlet on the pole. And even though you are on a 30amp breaker and are not popping your breaker, you could possibly damage your unit if the voltage is below 110 volts because as voltage goes down, the amperage goes up and that is what could cause damage to your unit. Power companies in the U.S. tend to supply 110V - 120V to you power panel -- I've seen as high as 128V. In one park I pulled it was 97V. My FP&L service at my house here in Florida, tends to supply about 117 to my power panel. I wish I could get them to boost it a little because if the voltage was up on my panel, the amperage my unit would be pulling would be down a little and give me even a little more head room to operate with. There's a pretty good explanation of all of this at rv-motorhome-answers.com/AC-Electricity.html plus it addresses exactly what a 50amp service is.

johnshoe -- sounds like you are in good shape. You don't mention it, but I assume if you changed out the outlet from the 30amp outlet to a 20amp outlet that you also changed out the breaker to a 20amp breaker. Otherwise, the outlet or the feed to your power panel in your RV could possibly overheat without ever popping the 30amp breaker given that a 30amp breaker was probably connected to the outlet with #10 or larger wire (depending on how long the run was from your power panel to the outlet.)

As a Floridian, I think there is also something else that should probably be mentioned here for people thinking of changing a 30 amp outlet to a 20amp outlet. Many folks here have their clothes dryer in the garage and it is plugged into an outlet similar to a 30amp outlet that you had, BUT IT IS NOT THE SAME THING. It is a 220Volt line and something that can't simply be changed to a 110V 20amp outlet.

[gmacklem]

I tried driveway surging last year. I could only plug into a 15 amp outlet. The A/C ran and cycled a few times then wouldn't come on. I think the problem was it couldn't start the A/C. There is some kind of soft start circuitry that can allow an A/C to get started on lower power. I think that would have worked. But I am no expert so I don't know how well it works, what it is exactly or if you can damage the A/C doing that.

[kfd82]

Originally Posted by SilverSunseeker

At our new home we just have our coach plugged into 110v via a dog bone. Is it ok to run the AC this way

The extension cord running from the dog bone to the house is 12/3.

Yes.