Weird electrical occurrence

[mjwhiteis]

This past weekend camping I was hooked up to 30 amp service with my 2017 29hfs. When I ran the ac I had no problems. I went to turn on water heater (electrical outside switch) and I started poping the breaker.

Finally I decided I would run it via the inside switch (turned off the outside switch) and the dsi fault light came on.

Any ideas?

[donniedu]

Real simple. You cannot run the refer, AC and water heater from 30A. There is simply not enough current available.
To run the AC on 30A you need to manually switch the refer to gas only, turn the WH electric side off and run it on gas.

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by mjwhiteis

This past weekend camping I was hooked up to 30 amp service with my 2017 29hfs. When I ran the ac I had no problems. I went to turn on water heater (electrical outside switch) and I started poping the breaker.

Finally I decided I would run it via the inside switch (turned off the outside switch) and the dsi fault light came on.

Any ideas?

Yes, you overloaded the 30 amp breaker using the electric heating element on the water heater, and air conditioner at the same time...along with what ever else you had on.

Please read this link.


Basic RV Electricity - RV Information (RV Maintenance)

The inside switch to the water heater is for the propane side of the water heater.

Hold on and I will get you some links:

[stevejd235]

The inside switch for the HW is for gas. You get the DSI fault if the HW can't light. Make sure your gas is on, light your stove for a couple of minutes. This will help pressurize the gas line. Then try to light the HW via the inside switch.

[wmtire]

Here is a FAQ on the Suburban water heater, which explains the DSI fault lamp....and the amps the electric element uses which may overload the 30 amp circuit breaker when using other appliances.

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ore-36197.html

[jeff64]

Originally Posted by donniedu

Real simple. You cannot run the refer, AC and water heater from 30A. There is simply not enough current available.
To run the AC on 30A you need to manually switch the refer to gas only, turn the WH electric side off and run it on gas.

X2

Dsi light usually comes on when the WH is cold and you switch on the Lp side and then goes off. Good idea in the hot summer is to have a voltmeter in an outlet or EMS system. Low voltage is fairly common in lots of places, you'll learn to pick and choose how you want to use the electric that's available. I remember a couple years past on Memorial Day weekend, it was so hot, I couldn't get much over 90 VAC at the post... we went home! My vote goes to staying cool!

[mjwhiteis]

Good point on pressurizing it. I didn’t do that.

What’s wierd I have pulled into 30 amp over 30 times and run ac and water heater at the same time without issues

[stephndudb]

Originally Posted by donniedu

Real simple. You cannot run the refer, AC and water heater from 30A. There is simply not enough current available.
To run the AC on 30A you need to manually switch the refer to gas only, turn the WH electric side off and run it on gas.

You should be able to run 2 of the 3 - AC, fridge, water heater - on shore power without issue. Sometimes all three if you have good power from the campground. It would be wise to have a voltage monitor/meter in your unit. They can be found for about $20. Low voltage coming in from the campground will push the amps up and start popping breakers and could also damage your AC compressor.

[Zoom]

Originally Posted by stephndudb

You should be able to run 2 of the 3 - AC, fridge, water heater - on shore power without issue. Sometimes all three if you have good power from the campground. It would be wise to have a voltage monitor/meter in your unit. They can be found for about $20. Low voltage coming in from the campground will push the amps up and start popping breakers and could also damage your AC compressor.

My thoughts exactly. I have never kicked a main breaker when running all three units on my XLR and I also use a voltage monitor.

[HappyCamper1962]

I have always run all three on electric simultaneously without issue as well but good information on this thread. thank you!

[XenoRev]

At home I run a 20A circuit with 75ft extension 12g. I can run air and fridge all day, but wh will pop it every time.
In the process of installing a 30a circuit instead.

[cavie]

Originally Posted by jeff64

X2

Dsi light usually comes on when the WH is cold and you switch on the Lp side and then goes off. Good idea in the hot summer is to have a voltmeter in an outlet or EMS system. Low voltage is fairly common in lots of places, you'll learn to pick and choose how you want to use the electric that's available. I remember a couple years past on Memorial Day weekend, it was so hot, I couldn't get much over 90 VAC at the post... we went home! My vote goes to staying cool!

An autotransformer will help with that but probably not that low.

[cavie]

Originally Posted by mjwhiteis

Good point on pressurizing it. I didn’t do that.

What’s wierd I have pulled into 30 amp over 30 times and run ac and water heater at the same time without issues

Add up the current consumption of each thing that is on. Don't forget you REF. coffee pot, toaster, blowdryer. See where this is going?

[Decon Blue]

I run A/C , fridge, water heater, television, phone and IPad chargers, and can use microwave on my 30 amp with NO problems. Been doing it for over 7 years here in same RV Resort in 3 different RV’s. And I’m in Florida where AC is on 10 out of 12 months a year 24/7. I say it was something to do with the park you were at.

[cavie]

Originally Posted by Decon Blue

I run A/C , fridge, water heater, television, phone and IPad chargers, and can use microwave on my 30 amp with NO problems. Been doing it for over 7 years here in same RV Resort in 3 different RV’s. And I’m in Florida where AC is on 10 out of 12 months a year 24/7. I say it was something to do with the park you were at.

Very correct. Correctly sized wire be it copper or aluminum. And the load properly spread across the system

[Joe_GA]

Don't forget you have a converter pulling current also. If you have the WH, AC, AC to DC converter, and other electrical items on at the same time combined with low voltage, you will trip a breaker. Park breakers are typically weak and trip easily. The converter pulls more current when the battery is in a low charge state and the AC pulls a lot of current when it starts and then settles down to its normal run current.

[MR.M]

Originally Posted by donniedu

Real simple. You cannot run the refer, AC and water heater from 30A. There is simply not enough current available.
To run the AC on 30A you need to manually switch the refer to gas only, turn the WH electric side off and run it on gas.

I would have to disagree with you . you can run the refrigerator , ac [15,000 btu] and electric water heater . no issues with 30 amp service and if you do it's a bad breaker . now if you add the microwave to the mix you will have issues . I know this from 3yrs on the road with the 29hsf winter in Fl with AC running all the time along with the other appliances . i just watch it when running micro . summers in Montana where i use a 1500w electric heater / or AC depending on weather

[WolfWhistle]

Do you have a EMS, such as Progressive PT30C or its hardwired cousin? You should, it gives us information and silently does its work to protect out homes on wheels. It is much more than just a surge protector. What might have happened is when WH, AC and fridge was on at the same time and the converter supplying lights also had a call from the battery "feed me". All these things consume more than 30 amps. But, a breaker can do this and will not pop the instant 30 amps is reached. The unknown factor is the voltage that the CG was supplying you with. If you had that EMS, you might have known that voltage dropped to around 105, and based on Ohm's Law, that 30 amp load just increased by around 11% to about 35+. Without being able to pull system history data, we could assume that low voltage was the culprit. Unlike the home, our RVs are not plug and play. If you do have problems, knowing to run WH on gas or turn it off when not needing it, could help. Especially when in a campground in the summer time with all these 50 amp rigs all around running their 2 or 3 a/c units.
WW

[Cypressloser]

To the OP's problem with the breaker tripping.

If you are actually getting 120 Volt in then the AC draws around 12 - 14 Amp, the water heater another 12 Amp and the converter another 2 - 10 Amp, if the fridge was set on auto that would definitely push the breaker to it's limits.

Another thing is the low voltage commonly found at campgrounds that can push the Amps up.