Will a house 15A line run my air conditioner?

[Boomerweps]

Just for reference, I measured my various TT appliances power use with a Kil-A-Watt plug in meter.
My 13.5 BTU A/C used 12.05 amps, pre soft-start install.
Fridge used 2.733 amps.
Converter with a mostly charged SLA battery used 0.117 amps.

My biggest problem was voltage line loss using 12AWG cable over a long distance. I estimated house breaker box to my primo TT parking spot was almost 170” of 12AWG wiring via the garage. Voltage would drop to 105vac. Moved TT to closer side of garage and shortened cables as much as possible, estimated 70’ of 12AWG from breaker box, voltage 115vac. The lower the voltage, the more amps are drawn to power items.

Once I cut the distance, I had no problem running the fridge, converter and A/C at the same time in summer, in PA. (Voltage at CB box 125, at TT 117) As much as your A/C will run in FL, I recommend keeping your fridge on propane. You’ll still need your converter on for 12vdc for fridge control.
IF your relatives have a 20 amp circuit available, use that vice a 15.

[Chuck_S]

While we're relating alternate techniques:

A dedicated RV electrical connection is an extremely valuable and desirable device at home and eliminates most of the questions in this thread. I don't use mine often for direct connection to my Roo.

Why not? The 30a RV power cord is too short to reach the trailer unless I position it in a section of the drive that blocks other vehicles. Easy solution is to use the 50ft 30a marine twist connector extension cord which I also have. But I don't use that often either.

Why not (see a pattern here?)? I use a significantly lighter weight and easier to handle heavy 20a power cord with adapters on both ends to run from the house to the trailer. Coil it up and leave it at home when we leave and the correct power cords remain in the trailer. Something else to be unable to forget, they're always on board. The cord is also without mid-point connectors out in the driveway in the rain. And this power cord is also available for home tasks as well.

This works for me on a 30a system.

-- Chuck

[Twinboat]

Although everybody says you can't go with option #2, if your sons dryer has a NEMA 14-30 R receptacle ( 4 conductor ), you can.
Pickup this adaptor and you can access your full 30 amp service.

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by Twinboat

Although everybody says you can't go with option #2, if your sons dryer has a NEMA 14-30 R receptacle ( 4 conductor ), you can.
Pickup this adaptor and you can access your full 30 amp service.

I asked the OP what outlet his son may have had in a PM for this reason (Post #17). It's going to be next month sometime before he can find out.....so it's all good till then.

[Twinboat]

Originally Posted by wmtire

I asked the OP what outlet his son may have had in a PM for this reason (Post #17). It's going to be next month sometime before he can find out.....so it's all good till then.

Had you posted that publicly, I wouldn't have wasted my time trying to help the OP. I'm not the type to repeat the same answer over and over.

I thought this site was to help and share with others in the group.

[Boomerweps]

The dryer plug power concern is the old three pole version. No ground, and 240vac. Some “electricians” are not familiar with the 30TT plug and have wired them up as a dryer setup, causing significant damage to RV systems. The old style 3 prong dryer plug CANNOT safely be adapted to the 30TT.

[boondocking]

^ Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

[Larry-NC]

Actually...

This is going to be a little surprising. Whether this will succeed or not depends on whether the host's house is well air-conditioned or not. If the 15-amp breaker is at 70° the air conditioner in the trailer (with no other loads except maybe the converter) will probably operate. If the ambient temperature in the host's house is warmer, the house breaker is more likely to trip.

[NoviBill]

Originally Posted by Aussieguy

with the extension cord and a 15 to 30 amp adapter

[url]

just plug in to you main inlet ...
ONLY turn ON one main appliance

if you got a 13500 BTU a/c it will run perfectly fine
but use a GOOD extension cord 10/3

Nothing in the house/garage to use that circuit while you are...


I have my trailer parked beside my house all the time... plugged in with the extension
the a/c is set at 85 and turned on all the time to deal with Florida heat/humidity
if I want to load or work on the trailer I set the a/c to 77

^^^This - 10/3 cord as short as you can run keep everything else off when running the AC

[Aussieguy]

Got an idea !
install the breaker inside a refrigerator?
---------------------------------------------------

my 15 amp house circuit only tripped cause it was not dedicated.

Could NOT turn off the the load that was in the house....
stole that power from son's bedroom circuit.
It would trip the breaker whenever he turned on the X box thingy he always plays.
it would also sometimes trip if i tried to use my big shopvac.

household breakers in good condition can withstand quite a lot of start surge.
Otherwise we we spend a lot of time in the garage whenever we used shop vacs and power tools on different household outlets.

But breakers can wear out with age ......mine are 30 odd years old and cost about 2 x times replace if I can find them.
would not hurt to replace a breaker before playing with other more expensive options

I have had to replace 2 cause they trip too often... and always replaced with same amperage rating.

[jbflag21ds]

The RV part has been addressed, but you need to make sure, as Aussie noted, to use a quality extension cord. Also, you need to make sure the circuit you are plugged into is capable of handling the draw with all other items that are plugged into it. Often exterior outlets are tied to the garage circuit, so just be sure that the house circuit you are on is capable and does not get overloaded.

When I plug in at home, I use my 30A shore cord with a 30A extension shore cord to a 30-15 dogbone. This way I know I am using a good cord to minimize voltage drop and related issues.

The 13.5kbtu air conditioner I have even with the soft start uses about 12A AC. So you aren't leaving much for the rest of the house circuit.

[Tom-n-Dale]

you can use a dryer to RV adapter like this one.

https://tinyurl.com/5bmsm7xd

[Mr. Dan]

Originally Posted by Tom-n-Dale

you can use a dryer to RV adapter like this one.

https://tinyurl.com/5bmsm7xd

Really? That doesn’t look like a dryer outlet adapter. It looks like a 50amp RV outlet adapter.

[Aussieguy]

so we learnt today ...
30amp dryer outlet can be 3 or 4 wire

the 4 wire .... which a person can use a adapter to drop a HOT wire
so only 120v to a 30amp RV .. the prong setup on a 4 wire 30amp is completely different so you can't plug a standard RV 50amp into it
https://www.google.com/search?q=30+a...t=gws-wiz-serp

------------------------------------------------
30 amp 240v 3 prong is a NO NO for a RV

[Bob K4TAX]

Beware of instances where the original 3-wire dryer receptical, fed with #10-2 w/ground, may have been replaced with a 4-wire receptical. This is the case where the new dryer has a 4-pin plug and the residence had an old dryer with a 3-pin plug. In place of running a new service and correctly installing a 4-wire receptical the easy way is to install a 4-wire receptical. Perhaps wired incorrectly. It depends on where the ground is attached. The Neutral terminal or the Ground terminal.

The point being there may be no ground on the 4-wire receptical as the original used the bare copper conductor for the Neural.

I'm aware of what is legal and not legal in this regard.


Bob

[ppine]

Good advice.
Bingo the AC circuit is 20 amps.
Find a 20 amp circuit in the garage or the kitchen to run your RV.
Soft start is a great idea to reduce the start up voltage and amperage.

[Boomerweps]

I verified yesterday that the A/C pulled 12 amps on startup, as shown on the PI EMS display, post soft start install. That means it SHOULD start on my Honda 2000 Genny or 3000 watt inverter.

[Bob K4TAX]

Originally Posted by Boomerweps

I verified yesterday that the A/C pulled 12 amps on startup, as shown on the PI EMS display, post soft start install. That means it SHOULD start on my Honda 2000 Genny or 3000 watt inverter.

You will likely need to take the Honda 2000 out of the ECO mode. The a/c starting up cycle won't like the genny delay in ramping up.

Bob

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by Aussieguy

Got an idea !
my 15 amp house circuit only tripped cause it was not dedicated.

Could NOT turn off the the load that was in the house....
stole that power from son's bedroom circuit.
It would trip the breaker whenever he turned on the X box thingy he always plays.
it would also sometimes trip if i tried to use my big shopvac.

In my former house, I had the 10" table saw in the basement workshop.The house, built in 1963, was probably one of the last ones built with plug fuses, not circuit breakers.

I got tired of vacuuming up the sawdust after each session. I boxed in the table saw enclosure and added a 2-1/2" vacuum connection to it. For each of use I installed a convenience outlet on the side of the saw, wired downstream of the power switch: one switch turned both on and off.

The first time I tested it, the saw blade must have made about three revolutions before both motors spun down, moaning. A quick trip to the nearby hardware store got me a Slow-blow fuse. Never had any trouble after that.

Lesson: One motor surge + another motor surge = BIG surge.

[Medic455]

I run my 15k on my garage line and heavy extension cord without any issues. Cant run water heater with it or the second A/C but everything else works fine.