Will a house 15A line run my air conditioner?

[Outsider]

We're going to my son's in GA in 2 weeks and will be parking our Geo Pro G19FD beside his house to live out of for 3-4 days. The air conditioner in the camper is on a 15 amp breaker so I'm wondering if plugging into a common 15A outside outlet at his house will be supply sufficient current to run it properly. (I remember once last year we had to run the air through a 25 foot 12/2 extension cord to the 15A outlet on a campsite post and the outlet there got somewhat hot.) We will primarily be using the camper to sleep in, may even be showering in his house.


Or, option 2, is there a way I can plug my camper 220 VAC cord into his dryer outlet in his basement and run off of it?


Thanks for your insight.


Outsider.

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by Outsider

We're going to my son's in GA in 2 weeks and will be parking our Geo Pro G19FD beside his house to live out of for 3-4 days. The air conditioner in the camper is on a 15 amp breaker so I'm wondering if plugging into a common 15A outside outlet at his house will be supply sufficient current to run it properly. (I remember once last year we had to run the air through a 25 foot 12/2 extension cord to the 15A outlet on a campsite post and the outlet there got somewhat hot.) We will primarily be using the camper to sleep in, may even be showering in his house.


Or, option 2, is there a way I can plug my camper 220 VAC cord into his dryer outlet in his basement and run off of it?


Thanks for your insight.


Outsider.

Is your RV 30 amp or 50 amp. I don't see your smaller RV being 50 amp (which is 240 volts). I figure yours is 30 amp (which is 120 volts ONLY). Trying to connect a 120 volt RV to 240 volts is how you mess stuff up big time. Let's confirm what you got before you do mess something up. Read this link below, especially post #4

https://www.forestriverforums.com/fo...let-27223.html

Also can you possibly take a pic of the circuit breaker panel in your RV and post it here. That is going to answer a lot of my questions (if you have 50 or 30 amp) and also if your A/C is actually on a 15 amp circuit breaker as many are on 20 amps. Thanks

Is this a pic of your smaller RV:

[Aussieguy]

DO NOT try and use the 240 v 30 amp .... on a 120v 30amp RV
totally different wiring and you will NOT like the repair bill

--------------------------------------------------------


as long as you keep all other 120v usage low you can run the a/c
BUT get a high quality extension cord + 15 to 30 amp adapter


before turning on the a/c
make sure ... water heater is set for propane
battery has a full charge... converter can use around 5 amps

all other 120v... you can use most items cause they have a 15 amp breaker
just only one at a time until you can work out which can be used together

there are adapters you can purchase 15 to 30 amp or 50amp
make sure the garage circuit is not running anything too

[Outsider]

Sorry guys, my mistake. I phrased all that info incorrectly.


The Geo Pro is 30A only (NOT 50A and NOT 240 VAC).


The Air conditioner is on a simple 15A single pole breaker in the circuit breaker panel.

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by Outsider

Sorry guys, my mistake. I phrased all that info incorrectly.


The Geo Pro is 30A only (NOT 50A and NOT 240 VAC).


The Air conditioner is on a simple 15A single pole breaker in the circuit breaker panel.

I understand, can you still please post a pic of your circuit breaker panel inside your RV, showing the circuit breakers? Thanks

[Bob K4TAX]

Originally Posted by Outsider

We're going to my son's in GA in 2 weeks and will be parking our Geo Pro G19FD beside his house to live out of for 3-4 days. The air conditioner in the camper is on a 15 amp breaker so I'm wondering if plugging into a common 15A outside outlet at his house will be supply sufficient current to run it properly. (I remember once last year we had to run the air through a 25 foot 12/2 extension cord to the 15A outlet on a campsite post and the outlet there got somewhat hot.) We will primarily be using the camper to sleep in, may even be showering in his house.


Or, option 2, is there a way I can plug my camper 220 VAC cord into his dryer outlet in his basement and run off of it?


Thanks for your insight.


Outsider.

DO NOT under any circumstances try to use a 240-volt outlet.

Yes, you can run your a/c by plugging your camper into a 20A 120-volt outlet in the garage. Be sure nothing else is on that circuit such as a refrigerator or freezer.

You will need an adapter or dog bone to connect between the 30A camper connector and the 20A garage outlet. You need to be aware of the total amps required by the TT because items, in addition to the a/c, such as the converter, refrigerator, etc. will also consume power.

If you have to use an extension cord, it should be #12 ga or larger wire and minimum length required. Make sure someone has not chopped off the 3rd pin ground terminal.


Bob

[Outsider]

I was wrong. The air conditioner is on the only 20A breaker in the panel. I thought for sure it was 15A.


Breakers are labeled as follows left-to-right.
1) Main 30A
2) GFI & Fridge 15A
3) Microwave 15A
4) Air Conditioner 20A
5) Converter 15A
6) Water Heater 15A



Now back to the original question. How can I run just the AC in the camper while docked beside my son's house?


Thanks again.


Pics to follow.

[Chuck_S]

My Roo AC will run off the 120vAC outlet in my garage so yours probably will too but I don't try to run the electric water heater or microwave at the same time.

-- Chuck

[Aussieguy]

with the extension cord and a 15 to 30 amp adapter

https://www.amazon.com/Camco-PowerGr...a&gad_source=1

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

[Outsider]

But it looks like it will need to be a 20A breaker in his panel, not a 15A, all agree?

[Oaklevel]

My short answer maybe yes maybe no. If your AC had a soft start added then probably. All my outside outlets are 20A and I would do it here. You are very close on a 15A breaker that has age.

As others have said you can not run other 120 appliances.

[mmartin_tdc]

I use a 20 amp to run my trailer when parked next to the house.
I use my 30amp cable to run to the outlet and then use the adaptor at that end.
This takes care of the need for a high quality extension cord.
You still have to be mindful of total amp usage. I have a 15k AC and could run it on my set up prior to my adding a softstart to the unit. Now - much easier to run without issue.

[Aussieguy]

I used both 20 OR 15 amp
depends on if at my Brother-in-law's (15 amp) or my house 20 amp

we use to use the 15 at home ..... but it did trip the main once in a while
but there was some other stuff in the house using that circuit

Bought the better cord so I could run to the garage (20amp)

Had to check the voltage too ...
Got 108v on a THIN crappy cord .... and I would trip the INSIDE a/c breaker in the trailer
guessing the poor a/c had to work hard on the low voltage..

bought the better 10/3 cord ... got 120v (same outlet in garage) no more tripping

[Aussieguy]

Originally Posted by Outsider

But it looks like it will need to be a 20A breaker in his panel, not a 15A, all agree?

garage panel?

all he needs is a outlet that cam handle his load
a 15000 BTU a/c will only draw 12.5 amps (120v)
if the breakers are in good condition they should handle the surge

I would replace the breaker if it is OLD and trips at startup of the a/c before I went out and got a expensive softstart


PS used 1500BTU as example
more than likely the OP has a 1350BTU

[Bob K4TAX]

Originally Posted by Outsider

But it looks like it will need to be a 20A breaker in his panel, not a 15A, all agree?

Most garage outlets are wired with #12 solid copper and protected by a 20A breaker.

Bob

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Bob K4TAX

Most garage outlets are wired with #12 solid copper and protected by a 20A breaker.

Bob

Except those, like mine, that have only 15 amp outlets on #14 awg wire.

Like everything else, it totally depends on the garage, when it was built, and who designed the wiring.

Only place 20 amp recepacles are required by my local code (and maybe elsewhere) is for kitchen counters and bathrooms.

To the OP's question, a 15 amp receptacle will run a 13,500 btu A/C under most circumatances but ONLY the A/C. If batteries are charging or any other device, like microwave, water heater, etc., are on, chances are between slim and none.

[wmtire]

Outsider, can you check your private messages? Depending on your answer there, this may be so easy to solve.

[bikendan]

On my 13.5k btu a/c, it ran fine plugged into my garage 20amp outlet.
With a 15amp outlet, it wasn't as dependable.

[timfromma]

Once I installed a soft start cap on my AC, I could then power it from a 15A outlet.

[Outsider]

Just for the record, according to the manual this is a 13.5K BTU AC and no, I do NOT have a soft start device installed.


I think all my questions have been answered and I appreciate all the responses.


Outsider