dedicated heater line

fella10 · 12-29-2016, 11:28 PM

since we don't carry propane, all our heating is done by two small ceramic heaters,...... they have proven to be more than sufficient, ..... but we do have to remember to turn off one if we're going to use the microwave, .... well not any more, I can now pull a cord out to the 20amp outlet on the power pole and we can use both heaters without drawing any power from the 30amp system, .... DW is very happy, ......

Livin the Life · 12-30-2016, 12:07 AM

So.....is the yellow cord coming out of the outside door/propane hose mini door, a direct connect to the, I assume, dedicated brown plug inside your rig to plug in your electric ceramic heaters?

If so, then, what is the orange cord with the yellow plug coming out of the cupboard for?

I like your theory but just trying to understand your setup.

fella10 · 12-30-2016, 12:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Livin the Life

So.....is the yellow cord coming out of the outside door/propane hose mini door, a direct connect to the, I assume, dedicated brown plug inside your rig to plug in your electric ceramic heaters?

If so, then, what is the orange cord with the yellow plug coming out of the cupboard for?

I like your theory but just trying to understand your setup.

the yellow extension cord comes thru the door of a storage area that opens up into a cabinet in the bathroom under the sink, I pull out as much cord as needed to reach the power pole(10', 30', or whatever), the rest stays in the storage area, ..... the brown outlet is the inside outlet for the heaters and it is powered by the 3' pigtail that plugs into the female of the yellow cord, ...... this proved to be a simple way to accomplish what I wanted, I like to K.I.S.S. whenever possible .... I went thru the small door instead of the trailer side because its easy to replace if I was unhappy with the results, ..... but we are very satisfied with it,

ps: I added that hatch cover it is not the one used for the propane hose

grege · 12-30-2016, 07:55 AM

I did something similar but different to my Roo. I used a Marinco inlet and drilled through the back by my storage area. Then was able to run wire to a dedicated outlet inside. Made it all very clean. My brother in laws liked it so much they had me do it to their hybrids too.

This is the inlet.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000N...HPL&ref=plSrch

**wmtire** · 12-30-2016, 08:01 AM

Looks good. Just one observation on the long term, since you stated you are running TWO space heaters on that one circuit. It appears you put a 20 amp outlet in for the two. Do you know how many amps (or wattage) that the two heaters use?

5picker · 12-30-2016, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wmtire

Looks good. Just one observation on the long term, since you stated you are running TWO space heaters on that one circuit. It appears you put a 20 amp outlet in for the two. Do you know how many amps (or wattage) that the two heaters use?

X2

Two 1500w heaters on hi will draw about 25 amps.
That's too much for that extension cord and a single circuit.

fella10 · 12-30-2016, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grege

I did something similar but different to my Roo. I used a Marinco inlet and drilled through the back by my storage area. Then was able to run wire to a dedicated outlet inside. Made it all very clean. My brother in laws liked it so much they had me do it to their hybrids too.

This is the inlet.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000N...HPL&ref=plSrch

I looked at several "charger inlets" like that, and did consider using one, ..... but since I'm using a 50' 12 gauge cord I didn't want the whole cord outside laying on the ground, ... this way, only the length I need is pulled out of the cargo area and straight to the power post, so none should ever need to lay on the ground, ......

fella10 · 12-30-2016, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wmtire

Do you know how many amps (or wattage) that the two heaters use?

yes I do,......

**Flybob** · 12-30-2016, 08:58 AM

A word of caution. Many campgrounds that have 30A pedestals have three sites on an upstream 100A breaker. If all three sites try to draw more than 30A by using both the 30A and 20A outlets on the pedestal, the upstream breaker will trip. These breakers are usually in secured areas and require campground personal to reset them.

cpd1343 · 12-30-2016, 09:27 AM

I did the same thing but use it to power the hot water heater.

fella10 · 12-30-2016, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flybob

A word of caution. Many campgrounds that have 30A pedestals have three sites on an upstream 100A breaker. If all three sites try to draw more than 30A by using both the 30A and 20A outlets on the pedestal, the upstream breaker will trip. These breakers are usually in secured areas and require campground personal to reset them.

I'll keep that in mind, but to this point every cg we've stayed at have had all three, 50/30/20A service on their power poles, .... but thanks for the heads up,.....

fella10 · 12-30-2016, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cpd1343

I did the same thing but use it to power the hot water heater.

that will work as well, .... what I like about this is, that once that extra feed is into the trailer it can be used in any number of ways and the WH is certainly one of those options, ... taking our heaters off the 30A system works good for us, ..... no more blackouts because "one of us" forgot to turn off a heater when she was going to use the micro wave, .....

fella10 · 01-18-2017, 12:14 PM

worked great, no more tripped breakers when micro-waving, and a simple mod to do,

we've just returned from our first trip using the "dedicated heater line" and could not be more pleased, ...... these additional photos show the last parts to the mod, ..... the beige cord runs under the kitchen slide-out, over the wheel well, and towards the front of the tt, the orange cord is explained in previous post, ..... they both remain attached to the triangle tap and provide power to the two areas of the trailer where we use the small heaters, ... the triangle tap will permanently rest as shown, but can be lifted off for easy plugging-in or unplugging the yellow supply cord, .... when unplugged that cord can be stored elsewhere during "non-heater" seasons, and be used as a regular extension cord, when needed, ....

one or both heaters were running constantly from Sunday noon when we arrived till this morning when we were preparing to leave, ..... w/no breakers tripping, even when there was a crock-pot, rice cooker and microwave going at the same time(plus the heaters), .....

to the concerns about the supply cord(yellow) not being sufficient to carry the load, its a #12 wire, 28ft long, made in U.S.A. cord, ... my Kill-A-Watt monitor shows: ... w/BOTH heaters on high(which we almost never do), just over 12 amps .... and w/BOTH heaters on low, under 8 amps, ...... checked several times during our stay and found no hint of warmth, much less any heat, anywhere in that system, ... your concern is noted and appreciated, but the cords I've used are more than sufficient for this purpose, .... wish I had done it sooner ....

rockfordroo · 01-18-2017, 12:31 PM

Hey, fella

Any particular reason you put the wire pull-through in the storage door rather than through the side wall?

fella10 · 01-18-2017, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

Hey, fella

Any particular reason you put the wire pull-through in the storage door rather than through the side wall?

yes, .. from post #3,... "I went thru the small door instead of the trailer side because its easy to replace if I was unhappy with the results, ..... but we are very satisfied with it,"

rockfordroo · 01-18-2017, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fella10

yes, .. from post #3,... "I went thru the small door instead of the trailer side because its easy to replace if I was unhappy with the results, ..... but we are very satisfied with it,"

Thanks. Probably read it back when, but didn't re-read it now.

Oaklevel · 01-18-2017, 12:56 PM

We did this ........ also on a 30A trailer to run more stuff 2nd frig etc...... 2nd line

fella10 · 01-18-2017, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

Thanks. Probably read it back when, but didn't re-read it now.

no problem, ... that is the main reason, ..... but another thought was, that area is very "busy" with so much other stuff located right in that same area, that the door provided an uncluttered area to put it, ....

fella10 · 04-21-2017, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cpd1343

I did the same thing but use it to power the hot water heater.

good idea cp1343, and now I'm doing the same, ... since its 84deg. outside today our heater season is over and I've changed the plugging arrangement so that now the 110 feed can be used for either the heaters during winter or the water heater in summer when the ac is almost full time, ... with the goal being to remove some amps from the 30amp system, ... I love it and this makes life a little easier for DW, no tripped breakers, .....

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