Appliances & Amps Used

[KanTC]

Last year, at an overnight stop, we received an RV Park info packet which included a complimentary flyer called:
"Before you blow your Breaker!!". Good info & very surprising how quickly the amps add up..... thought I'd share
the following (from the flyer) simply as an FYI.


Typical appliances used and the average amps required to operate them:

Air Conditioner............. 15 to 17 amps
Refrigerator................ 5.7 amps
Electric Water Heater....... 12.5 amps
Microwave Oven.............. 12.8 amps
Electric Coffee Pot......... 9 amps
Toaster..................... 10 amps
Hair Dryer.................. 10 amps
TV.......................... 2 to 3 amps
Dirt Devil Hand Vac......... 2 amps
Electric Fry Pan............ 10 amps
Iron........................ 10 amps
Food Processor.............. 6 amps
Crock Pot................... 1.5 amps
1,100 watt Electric Heater... 9.2 amps

Other electrical items commonly used:
Clock... Fan... Night light... Lamp... Electronic video games/toys...
Laptop computer (charging)... Cell phone (charging)...
Remember! some items draw a slight amount, even while turned off.

Most electrical products show how many watts or amps it takes to run the appliance (printed on the product itself or on the instructions). If it shows the watts: divide the watts by 120 (volts) & that gives you the amps. To get the watts: multiply the amps by 120 (volts).
-----

As a side note, given that the amps above are shown as "average required", I'll assume the info is fairly correct.

Terri, the Chevy co-pilot [& DH Kevin] :)

[Festus2]

Thanks Teri, for sharing this with us. Doesn't take too many "appliances" to be on at the same time to be close to or over 30A! The crock pot was a bit surprising but sure enough, I checked ours and it would take 2.3 amps - thought it would be higher. I guess different brands might require different amp draw but the "averages" you gave us are an excellent guide. Will be printing this off for sure!

[Txoutback]

A Kill-A-Watt meter from Home Depot or other locations will measure the amps and watts for anything that has a plug. It also measures the supply voltage. Very handy device to have.

The watts/volts= amps is only for resistive loads, which most appliances listed above are except the dirt devil and food processor. There is a little more to this for devices with a motor running but it will put you in the ball park.

[Johnnyfry]

Good list. Remember that you don't use all of these things atbthe same time. In addition, you need to be always cognizant of what you are using at any given time. In addition, if you are using, or contemplating using, an inverter, you need to multiply the amperage by a factor of 10. That is, if you are drawing 1,200 watts you are taking 100 amps out of your batteries.

John

[hankpage]

KanTC, Good list. Also, if the voltage is low from the campground you will draw much higher amps. Most electric heaters I have seen are 1500 watts on high and 750 w on low. (I think 1500 watts is the legal limit for portable heaters but not sure) Thanks for the info, JM2¢, Hank