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Old 07-23-2013, 06:29 PM   #1
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Air conditioner and electrical cord

In campground, we use the electric cord which came with my 2012 A122. In camp driveway, I need an extension. Can I use my orange extension cord that I use for yard tools. Don't know the gauge. Or should I get something heavier duty in order to run the air conditioner on the camper?
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Old 07-23-2013, 06:35 PM   #2
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Don't know what size you extension cord is. You may be able to run A/C with it but if so, watch your voltage carefully.

You didn't say what you amp rating is for your rig but you would buy a 30 amp cord at Wal-Mart, on line or at RV dealer. It would let you run the A/C with no problems. 30 amo cord pricing is not too bad but the 100 amp monsters are very expensive.
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Old 07-23-2013, 06:43 PM   #3
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I've run mine off the 15A at the house a number of times with no problem, but the one time I hooked up my standard extension cord it got a little warmer than I liked. Buy a heavy duty cord from Wal Mart just to be safe.
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Old 07-23-2013, 07:00 PM   #4
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I use mine and its fine. If the trailer has been unplugged and the batteries are a little drained, I find that the extension cord gets really hot while it runs the ac's and charges the battery at the same time but tends to cool once fewer things are used. I have the standard orange cord. I will pick up another soon as it makes me feel a little more comfortable. I would get a thinker gauge just be be safe.
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Old 07-23-2013, 10:19 PM   #5
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When I had the delivery walk-through with my A128, the service tech told me not to try to use the A/C unless I'm plugged into a 30-amp source. When at home, my camper is plugged into a 15-amp circuit to keep up the batteries so I've never tried using the A/C at home. Will it work on only 15 amps? I see some of your answers say yes. Just curious.
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Old 07-23-2013, 10:35 PM   #6
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Just a little FYI on the Wal-Mart 30 amp RV extension cord. It will be located in their limited RV section (and not where the regular electrical cords are), usually around automotive somewhere.

This RV section is also where you can pick up RV electrical adapters, RV toilet paper, chemicals, sewer hoses, mirrors, patio mats, cleaning supplies, and some other RV/camping specific items.

Using a proper 30 amp extension cord will help the problem of overheating a regular extension cord, and mitigate voltage drop a lot especially when using your A/C.........but you are still going to be limited to the amps your house outlet provides (and what other electrical draws are on the same circuit).......which are most likely going to be 15 or 20 amps maximum.........and could be at the MAX (or a little over) when using an A/C. Your household outlet/circuit is now the weakest link in the chain.

You may also be heating up your house outlet wiring, and will have no way of just feeling that with your hand.

This is another reason many people advise not to run an A/C when hooked up to a 15 amp outlet at the house.
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Old 07-24-2013, 03:34 AM   #7
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I think the most common orange extension cords we have on the reel and bundled up in the garage and shop are 14 gauge. The trailer is 10 gauge. My service tech advised us to get 10 gauge extension cord for 30 amp to carry power over a distance and also reduce fire hazard.
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Old 07-24-2013, 04:37 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tinsu View Post
In campground, we use the electric cord which came with my 2012 A122. In camp driveway, I need an extension. Can I use my orange extension cord that I use for yard tools. Don't know the gauge. Or should I get something heavier duty in order to run the air conditioner on the camper?
To be safe, I would buy an 30 amp 25' extension, that would plug into your trailer cord. Then it would be the same gauge wirier at least. You will also need an adapter from the plug end to the socket. It will also depend on what is also on the same breaker in the house. 15 amps is mostly used for home lighting, just try to keep the household stuff off at the same time. You can get a extension for about 30.00 bucks on line, try ebay and amazon cheaper then RV outlets. I think Walmart has them for that price. It's a good idea to buy one you never know when you are at a CG some box's are farther away, then your cord will reach. I run into that all the time. If you can change the breaker to 20 amp it would be better, but you have to see what the gauge of wirier is now hooked to that breaker. Sometimes the wirier is over sized by 1 ga. A lot of electricians run the same size, but they are limited to breaker size by code not the wirier size......
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Old 07-24-2013, 07:00 AM   #9
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i have one of these but in 50' Its pluged into a dedicated outside outlet thats on a 30amp breaker the outlet is the standard 15amp. Seems to work well running the ac on the tt at home. The outlet was put in for a pool pump years ago but i dont have the pool working at this time. When i get time i will add an 30amp outlet just for the tt

Shop Utilitech 100-ft 10-Gauge Outdoor Extension Cord at Lowes.com=
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Old 07-24-2013, 07:43 AM   #10
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I have had two bad experiences using extension cords while camping and running the AC. Both where wound onto a hub .. which made it easier to store the cords, but i had found on both occasions, that if the cord was not unwound totally off the hub, there was a huge amount of heat generated by the extension cord, which caused one cord to melt onto the onto the hub.
now i use only a 30 amp extension ... at any time i camp on an electrical site.

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Old 07-24-2013, 08:27 AM   #11
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Mark Polk has some good articles on RV's. Here is a short 3 page one, that basically sums up what most people have already stated here:

http://rveducation101.com/articles/b...city_savvy.pdf

It might be easier to read it.
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Old 07-24-2013, 08:49 AM   #12
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Originally Posted by wmtire View Post
Mark Polk has some good articles on RV's. Here is a short 3 page one, that basically sums up what most people have already stated here:

http://rveducation101.com/articles/b...city_savvy.pdf

It might be easier to read it.
Agree with everyone else here. The orange ones will get too hot, melt and could cause a fire - definitely not worth the risk. Get one of the 10 gauge yellow ones. They're expensive but I wouldn't run AC on anything less.
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Old 07-24-2013, 11:09 AM   #13
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Quote:
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i have one of these but in 50' Its pluged into a dedicated outside outlet thats on a 30amp breaker the outlet is the standard 15amp. Seems to work well running the ac on the tt at home. The outlet was put in for a pool pump years ago but i dont have the pool working at this time. When i get time i will add an 30amp outlet just for the tt

Shop Utilitech 100-ft 10-Gauge Outdoor Extension Cord at Lowes.com=
With a 30 amp breaker, you really should change the 15 amp receptacle to a 30 amp and the wiring to the receptacle to match. You could be overloading the wiring and receptacle without tripping that 30 amp breaker which is not a good thing.
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Old 07-24-2013, 02:47 PM   #14
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With a 30 amp breaker, you really should change the 15 amp receptacle to a 30 amp and the wiring to the receptacle to match. You could be overloading the wiring and receptacle without tripping that 30 amp breaker which is not a good thing.
This is X2 you need to keep an eye on it what size wirier go's to that outlet, with the 15 amp outlet on the house? You could smoke the outlet and wirier without even knowing it with a 30 amp breaker on lets say...... 12/3 wirier it wouldn't trip the breaker....
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Old 07-24-2013, 06:17 PM   #15
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Echo what everyone else says, it's tempting to run the AC from a household outlet, and the AC will usually run, but it puts a massive draw on the circuit, may dim the lights and in addition to the cord heating up, you have no idea what's happening with the wiring in the wall. Sorta scary.
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Old 07-24-2013, 06:28 PM   #16
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Same as the rest...............

Most of the cheap orange cords are 16 gauge & junk at best..... If the wire is getting hot there is probably a problem !!!!!!!!! (too small of cord). I only use them for lights or small motors.......... I use a larger gauge cord (12 gauge) on the golf car charger as well......

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Old 07-25-2013, 10:52 AM   #17
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I have a 30 amp RV plug in my backyard for that very reason and use an RV extension cord, not a normal one. You can buy an RV receptical at lots of big box hardware stores like home depot
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