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06-28-2022, 07:33 PM
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#1
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Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2020
Location: South Georgia
Posts: 8
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Need advice on second a/c unit.
I have a grey wolf 274rk. Living in south Georgia and camping mostly in summer it is HOT and miserable. First time we went out after buying it new we sweated through it, so 600.00 later I had all windows limo tinted. Second trip still very uncomfortable. After making sure the ac I had was doing all it could we had a second unit installed. The RV repair shop wired it into the ceiling outlet in the bedroom. Very professional looking. After a few trips we are tripping the main breaker constantly. The tech that installed it says the poles on the breaker are probably weak and just replace it. Everything I've read says running two ac on 30 amps is hit and miss at best. So now my question.... I'm thinking of pulling the panel/convertor and taking the wire from the bedroom off it's breaker and running it to the side of the unit where the power cord is, installing a 110 shore power hookup, then powering that circuit with an extension cord to the power box at the campground. Does that sound good? Any advice is greatly appreciated. If we can't cool this camper down I'm afraid camping is gonna lose a lot of it's appeal. Thanks, Danny
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06-28-2022, 07:42 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 4,055
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dk47
I have a grey wolf 274rk. Living in south Georgia and camping mostly in summer it is HOT and miserable. First time we went out after buying it new we sweated through it, so 600.00 later I had all windows limo tinted. Second trip still very uncomfortable. After making sure the ac I had was doing all it could we had a second unit installed. The RV repair shop wired it into the ceiling outlet in the bedroom. Very professional looking. After a few trips we are tripping the main breaker constantly. The tech that installed it says the poles on the breaker are probably weak and just replace it. Everything I've read says running two ac on 30 amps is hit and miss at best. So now my question.... I'm thinking of pulling the panel/convertor and taking the wire from the bedroom off it's breaker and running it to the side of the unit where the power cord is, installing a 110 shore power hookup, then powering that circuit with an extension cord to the power box at the campground. Does that sound good? Any advice is greatly appreciated. If we can't cool this camper down I'm afraid camping is gonna lose a lot of it's appeal. Thanks, Danny
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2 ac on 30 amp is a push . maybe if everything else is off it may work , if the pedestal breaker is old and the one tripping then maybe replace that . but still boarder line .
You need 50amp to run everything with out over heating the circuit.
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06-28-2022, 08:21 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Dayton Ohio
Posts: 3,591
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We frequently stay in parks with only 30 amp shore power.
Our Hathaway 34RE has two 15,000 btu ac units.
It is the DW’s job to balance loads.
If she uses the coffeemaker or microwave one ac unit has to not operate.
We have a gas electric fridge. We set to gas only.
The water heater is set to gas only.
In the driveway I accidentally ran both ac units on household 15 amp service. Bad plan but, it worked. Got to turn them on one at a time. We set them to different temps.
Really the only thing running is two ac units and the converter. If the battery is really low and the converter is running max then one ac off. Rare event.
Saying your main blows I sort of wonder if you could load balance better.
Running a second extension cord to the ac works.
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06-28-2022, 09:58 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2021
Location: Simi Valley CA
Posts: 538
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Might want to look in to the Soft Start set ups
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06-29-2022, 12:10 AM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 1,170
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What I generally have seen done is the second AC is on its own 110 line and you plug it into the 110v outlet on the power post. Then plug your 30a plug in as normal.
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06-29-2022, 05:45 AM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Virginia
Posts: 9,865
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nvs4602
What I generally have seen done is the second AC is on its own 110 line and you plug it into the 110v outlet on the power post. Then plug your 30a plug in as normal.
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X2 that is done often but it may not work at all older campgrounds. The RV dealership that installed the second AC on our previous 30A camper did simular.
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06-29-2022, 06:33 PM
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#7
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Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2020
Location: South Georgia
Posts: 8
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50 amp panel
How would I determine if my distribution panel would convert from 30 to 50 amp service?
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06-29-2022, 06:38 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 4,055
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dk47
How would I determine if my distribution panel would convert from 30 to 50 amp service?
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You would have to replace distribution panel from 30 to 50 amp, wire it in and install new shore power feed to main plug , install 50amp outlet and get a 50 amp cord . not cheap ! I would just get a 20 amp cord for the 2nd ac and plug in separately . That's what i did when i installed a second AC .
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07-03-2022, 06:48 AM
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#9
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 4
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DK47, I did exactly what you are asking and have had no problems as of yet!!! 30 amp main cord to pedestal, 20 amp to ext. cord to a shore power hookup on the side of our camper from the 20 amp outlet on the same pedestal.
Gasman
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07-03-2022, 07:21 AM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Hawkins, Texas
Posts: 1,243
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OK the extension cord idea will work ok in most campgrounds. But the extension cord must be rated for 20 amps, that will be a 12ga gauge wire in most cases. You do not want to try this with a regular 16 or 18 gauge extension cord.
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Chuck & Sandra
Engineer/Teacher
2010 F350 CC 6.4
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07-03-2022, 11:09 AM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: North of Seattle, WA
Posts: 17,330
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I have a "Power Meter" installed in my TT that lets me watch the actual power consumption when A/C and other appliances are running. The "Math' is definitely not in favor or running two A/C's at the same time on a 30 amp supply.
While running (fan and compressor) my 13,500 btu A/C unit draws 1.25 Kw. When starting, even with a Micro-Air Easy Start, the A/C draws ~19 amps momentarily or ~2.3 Kw. A 30 amp supply will supply a max of 3.6 Kw and only if the voltage is a full 120 V (which often is not the case in a full Campground. Perhaps if one could insure that two units won't start at the same time--------.
While one might be able to pull off running two A/C units on a 30 amp service, It's probably won't happen reliably. Also, running a 30 amp system at max power will often lead to burnt connectors on shore power cords and receptacles unless absolutely perfect (clean and tight).
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07-03-2022, 06:38 PM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 4,055
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Quote:
Originally Posted by clr
OK the extension cord idea will work ok in most campgrounds. But the extension cord must be rated for 20 amps, that will be a 12ga gauge wire in most cases. You do not want to try this with a regular 16 or 18 gauge extension cord.
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I would say min 10 gauge extension cord 12 gauge is only 15 amp . The 10 ga is what i used .
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07-03-2022, 08:46 PM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2021
Posts: 114
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What size AC units? 15K pulls 3600 odd Watts to start up. 13.5K 1800ish watts start up. 30 amp only gives you 3600 watts. Something has to give.
Side note: I did all of my camping in Pensacola Fl until last year. My sprinter 31BH was 30 amp with a 13.5K AC unit. Never had a problem with it being too hot. In fact the wife and I would argue about what temperature setting should be. I lost
Side, Side note: Select a site that is in the shade.
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07-04-2022, 10:35 AM
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#14
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Hawkins, Texas
Posts: 1,243
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You may want to look into a product that is said to improve the airflow of the AC unit. The link to this discussion is on the forum https://www.forestriverforums.com/fo...-a-208666.html
Good Luck
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Chuck & Sandra
Engineer/Teacher
2010 F350 CC 6.4
2015 Prime Time Sanibel 3601
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