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Old 11-07-2019, 09:36 AM   #21
JRTJH
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sourdough View Post
This, or something like this, may be where old soldier got the part about light fixtures;

https://www.cerrowire.com/products/r...ations-charts/

If so, just go down to the next portion and it says that 14ga. wire will carry 15A. That is a LOT of light bulbs, especially LED. My take is that the wire carries 15A of "whatever", the first section is just a generalization of uses for it.
Yup. In every RV that has a gas/electric refrigerator and/or a gas/electric water heater, there's "heating appliances on 14 gauge ROMEX"... They are all built to RVIA standards with solid core ROMEX used in heating circuits.

Then, any RV that has a dishwasher or a washer/dryer has even more "heating circuits" powered by solid core ROMEX.

I agree. 15 amps is 15 amps, doesn't matter if it's a resistive heater core or a bunch of resistive bulb filaments or a bunch of LED circuits. The wire doesn't know what is the end "amp user" it only knows that it's carrying 1 amp or 15 amps and the molecules of copper will expand/contract based on the heat generated within the wire from "amp flow" not from "what's connected to the end of the wires".....
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Old 11-07-2019, 03:06 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cag View Post
I was saddened to learn that all of the outlets in my Montana High Country are one single 15 amp circuit. REALLY, 50 Amp service and I get only 15 Amps to use.

What have people done to make this more usable? Can you split up the existing circuit to make more?

I want to run 2 1500 watt heaters which you can't do with the silly setup, unless I plug in an extension cord to the Washer/Dryer plugs.
I know this will not fix your issue, but this is Just another unseen reason why the High Country version of the Montana is cheaper. You get what you pay for.

My 2011 unit has 5? receptacle circuits.
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Old 11-07-2019, 03:25 PM   #23
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What size is your Montana? Mine is a 320MK, so on the smaller side.

I knew it would have cheaper things, like the thermostat that won't switch from heat pump to furnace. But I needed to keep the weight down and I liked the desk in the back.

Overall, we like the design. We stepped down from an Eagle Cap camper, so we knew the quality would be less. Some choices don't make sense at least to me.
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Old 11-07-2019, 11:03 PM   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cag View Post
I was saddened to learn that all of the outlets in my Montana High Country are one single 15 amp circuit. REALLY, 50 Amp service and I get only 15 Amps to use.

What have people done to make this more usable? Can you split up the existing circuit to make more?

I want to run 2 1500 watt heaters which you can't do with the silly setup, unless I plug in an extension cord to the Washer/Dryer plugs.
There's no difference between solid or stranded. Electrician pulling wire want stranded because its easier to pull.

If you do this in the walls you need to use Romex 12/2 and two circuits per NEC codes.

1500w + 1500w = 3000w / 120v = 25amps
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Old 11-08-2019, 04:15 AM   #25
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what's the issue anyway? just run them on two different circuits.

we run toaster and electric heater all the time.


and as for 240 voltage, you don't have that, only 2 120 lines coming in.
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Old 11-08-2019, 04:40 AM   #26
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Originally Posted by Old soldier View Post
Do NOT use 14 gauge wire! 14 gauge is only approved for lighting circuits. Use 12 gauge braided, not Romx SOLID CORE WIRE. If you only plug in lighting 14 gauge is OK. But heaters will overheat 14 gauge wire. Totally unsafe to do as advised here. Romex, with solid core, can vibrate and break from campers motion...especially if you make any sharp bends. If you intend to play in wiring, go to Vintage Camper Supply: they the industry standard book on working with 12 volt (and all other) wiring. Do not follow advice from unknown sources...go to a manual or better yet go to an RV technician.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JRTJH View Post
EVERY (that means all of them) that I've seen that was built after 1972 has used ROMEX for all 120VAC wiring runs. I haven't seen one (that means none) that have stranded wire on the 20 amp or 15 amp AC circuits. Every one that I've seen uses 14 ga ROMEX on 15 amp breakers and 12 ga ROMEX on 20 amp breakers. They are ALL (again, every one of them) are built to industry standards (RVIA).

Where are you getting your information that states it is unsafe to use 14 ga ROMEX in a heating circuit? If that's true, then my home, my RV and every home and RV in this area is unsafe ????? Do you have any references available????
While I agree with John (JRTJK) that 14 gauge wire can carry enough juice to power a 1,500 watt space heater. When I add circuits to my RV they are 20 amp on 12 gauge romex. I also prefer back wired outlets, NOT the cheap stab-lock ones, the ones where the side screw tightens a clamp that gives about 3/8" solid contact on almost the entire surface of the wire. If in a storage compartment it gets a GFIC outlet.
I don't use space heaters in the RV, I stated before we use cheap heat system so my electric heating source is on the furnace, on a 220 volt 30 amp circuit.
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Old 11-08-2019, 02:27 PM   #27
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Originally Posted by Roscommon48 View Post
and as for 240 voltage, you don't have that, only 2 120 lines coming in.

Actually, you do have 240V available, it's just that most coaches aren't wired to use the hot feeds that way. Some are.

http://www.myrv.us/electric/Pg/50amp_Service.htm
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