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Old 07-11-2012, 10:03 AM   #1
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A/C and Batteries

If my batteries are completly dead and will not take a charge, trailers have sat for a couple years. Will my A/C not come on just hooked up to a 110 extension cord from the house or just on the generator, the batteries are still in trailer and hooked up just DEAD.. My a/c sounds like it is kicking on but doesnt start blowing air so I wasnt sure if maybe the batteries were sucking voltage away and not letting it have enough start up power! Anyone know about this.. I know I am picking up batteries this weekend. TIA for any help!
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Old 07-11-2012, 10:15 AM   #2
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I'm no expert but you shouldn't attempt to run your A/C on anything less than a 30amp circuit. A "110 extension cord" doesn't sound like a very good idea. Chances are you're causing some serious problems to your A/C unit. As for the batteries, if you have the camper plugged in to a proper 30 amp power source, your A/C should run regardless of the battery(s).
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Old 07-11-2012, 10:19 AM   #3
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We ran our A/C from our 20-amp breaker. We've now installed a 30-amp, but we did do it with a 20-amp and a heavy duty extension cord. We didn't run anything else when running the A/C. Occassionaly we'd trip the breaker when the fridge kicked in, but it didn't happen real often. Problem solved with the new 30-amp.
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Old 07-12-2012, 02:13 PM   #4
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if your dc converter is operating, then yes, the A/C should work with dead batteries.

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Old 07-12-2012, 02:21 PM   #5
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Lots of folks use that 110 V extension cord - I did it myself for a while on my last camper. But it does damage the AC unit and can easily ruin it. You will notice how hot the plug gets. A 30A dedicated circuit is much cheaper than a new AC unit, and maybe less than a service charge.
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Old 07-12-2012, 02:34 PM   #6
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not only these things, but if your batterys are DEAD and your converter is working hard to charge them, that coupled with the amps of the a/c , and extension cord (you ddint say how long or what gauge), could be the issue....your SINGLE 13.5 or 15k a/c unit should work fine on house a/c with proper gauge wire.....you cant run anything else on the circut in the trailer OR house though....A 13.5 a/c only pulls around 12amps running.......
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Old 07-12-2012, 02:46 PM   #7
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I agree with IronJ. If your low/dead batteries are being charged by the converter you are pulling a lot of amps away from the rest of the camper.

Trying to start your AC while pulling a significant number of amps through that small "pipe" can drop the voltage being supplied below the minimum AC voltage needed to spin the compressor. This can cause overheating of the compressor motor and major damage to the motor from heat.

Also all 100 extension cords are not equal. A lawn trimmer type extension cord (14 gauge) run 50 feet or more can drop 120 VAC supplied at the wall to less than 100 volts at the other end. This is not enough voltage to run an air conditioner.

A heavier duty (12 gauge minimum) extension cord will have less voltage loss and may work for you. The shorter the better. You can also trip the circuit breaker supplying charging current to the battery so you can run the air conditioner. Note you will have no lights if you do this.
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Old 07-12-2012, 03:21 PM   #8
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shut off converter by flipping breaker then try a/c again .
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Old 07-12-2012, 04:53 PM   #9
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X2

And make sure you arent using a 16g of 50ft extension lamp cord , that is passed off as an extension these days....
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Old 07-16-2012, 09:49 AM   #10
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THanks for all the advice it turned out that since the trailer has been sitting for a long time with no use a little rust built up on the fan motor shaft and it was stuck so I sprayed it good with PB Blaster and with a flick of the finger it was off and running, I found that last week and have been turning it on last few days and seems to be fine now.
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Old 07-16-2012, 09:52 AM   #11
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Good to know!
Have fun!
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Old 07-16-2012, 10:43 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TrapDad View Post
THanks for all the advice it turned out that since the trailer has been sitting for a long time with no use a little rust built up on the fan motor shaft and it was stuck so I sprayed it good with PB Blaster and with a flick of the finger it was off and running, I found that last week and have been turning it on last few days and seems to be fine now.
Since PB isn't meant to be used as a lubricant, I'd go back in and use a proper oil on the fan shaft bearings/bushings.

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