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Old 05-27-2020, 05:42 AM   #1
ronheater70
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50 amp rv-30 amp service

Since my upcoming trip in 2 weeks will be the first time we take the new Cougar we bought last year to one of our favorite camppgrounds on the coast, I was wondering about the 30 amp service.
I know if I use an adapter and plug into the 30 amp service I'll only be able to run one air conditioner.. But will I still be able to run that one air conditioner and the microwave, electric hot water heater, etc without issue? Basically operate as normal except make sure only one air conditioner is on?
Just make sure Im not flipping breakers when the air conditioner is on and I suddenly want to use the microwave.
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Old 05-27-2020, 06:27 AM   #2
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You may want roll the water heater over to propane and just be aware when you use the microwave that you need to shut off the AC.
If I remember correctly I had to use a 30 amp site for a short stay at a CG. I took the lower exterior cover off the side of the refrigerator and found the 110 plug, I ran a separate cord directly to the fridge from the pedestal and replaced the cover temporarily. This put the fridge power demand on a separate power source. Not sure if that is available for you. Good luck.
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Old 05-27-2020, 06:39 AM   #3
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Simple answer is no. First IF you have 120 volts @30 amp service is different than having 105 or 110 volts. When the voltage changes so does the wattage (amperage) so without overwhelming you with Ohm's Law calculations the 30 amps is the "fixed" number at 120 volts. If the the load is 30 amps and the voltage is 120 then your good. If the voltage drops then the amperage will rise and the 30 amp breaker will trip.

You need to count up the wattage of the loads (convert to amps). 120v X 30 amps = 3,600 watts of available power. If you only have 110 volts available then 110V X 30 amps = 3,300 watts available power. So if you go in the opposite direction and you require 3,600 watts of power and you have 120 volts available then 3,600 watts divided by 120 volts = 30 amps.

So calculate the amperage load of the converter, the air conditioner, the 120 v heater for the fridge and water heater. You should be ok on 30 amps. If the voltage drops much below 110 v you may have issues. As soon as you hit the microwave button you may be tripping breakers.

I have a 15k btu air conditioner and when using the ac I run the fridge and wh on LP only if we're using the air conditioner and the microwave at the same time. Our air cond does not have a "soft start" so it does draw higher amperage when the compressor starts.
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Old 05-27-2020, 06:48 AM   #4
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When I had a 30 amp camper I was able to run the a/C, fridge, and occasional use of microwave with no problem. I ran the water heater on propane and was careful to not use a toaster, coffee maker, hair dryer, etc while the microwave was in use. If you trip the pedestal breaker take inventory of what you were using and know you need to cut back.
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Old 05-27-2020, 06:48 AM   #5
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O.k well since this is a beach trip for 7 days I dont think I wanna run the fridge on propane for 7 days. I can certainly run the hot water heater on propane though. So basically just one AC and fridge and I "should" be good cause TV an incindentals dont = much of a load. Had a Hunch I should ask before going, glad I did. I know I see a lot of large fifth wheels in that area. And Im thinking one of the AC'S is a 13.5 also, although I cant remeber which one if it is the one over the master bedroom or the rear bunk.. They look similar size from the outside though.
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Old 05-27-2020, 06:49 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CedarCreekWoody View Post
When I had a 30 amp camper I was able to run the a/C, fridge, and occasional use of microwave with no problem. I ran the water heater on propane and was careful to not use a toaster, coffee maker, hair dryer, etc while the microwave was in use. If you trip the pedestal breaker take inventory of what you were using and know you need to cut back.
Well thats it right there, I mean we had a 30 amp camper prior to this one and at the same campground ran the fridge, microwave and 15K btu AC with no issues.
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Old 05-27-2020, 06:56 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by ronheater70 View Post
O.k well since this is a beach trip for 7 days I dont think I wanna run the fridge on propane for 7 days. I can certainly run the hot water heater on propane though. So basically just one AC and fridge and I "should" be good cause TV an incindentals dont = much of a load. Had a Hunch I should ask before going, glad I did. I know I see a lot of large fifth wheels in that area. And Im thinking one of the AC'S is a 13.5 also, although I cant remeber which one if it is the one over the master bedroom or the rear bunk.. They look similar size from the outside though.
The fridge takes very little gas to operate. I've operated the fridge and the water heater for several weeks along with cooking and grilling and don't have the LP tank change over. If you are worried about that then you have a couple of options. Either turn the air conditioner to fan only (either with the fan switch or turn the temp up to where the compressor doesn't run) or turn the fridge to gas and the wh to gas only or even off. When finished with the microwave turn it back. How long are you going to run that microwave? It's a typical short interval unless your defrosting and cooking a small turkey.
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Old 05-27-2020, 07:00 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by ronheater70 View Post
O.k well since this is a beach trip for 7 days I dont think I wanna run the fridge on propane for 7 days. I can certainly run the hot water heater on propane though. So basically just one AC and fridge and I "should" be good cause TV an incindentals dont = much of a load. Had a Hunch I should ask before going, glad I did. I know I see a lot of large fifth wheels in that area. And Im thinking one of the AC'S is a 13.5 also, although I cant remeber which one if it is the one over the master bedroom or the rear bunk.. They look similar size from the outside though.
If propane use is your concern, you'll use more propane heating water for one day than the refrigerator will use for the entire week. The only "flame" in the refrigerator is about the size of a pilot light flame and it only "turns on to use gas" in newer refrigerators when cooling is required. Older refrigerators had a "standing pilot" but the newer ones have electronic ignition and only use propane when operating. A 30 pound propane bottle will supply gas to operate the refrigerator for the entire summer. Refrigerators are extremely "propane conservative"...
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Old 05-27-2020, 07:05 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by flybouy View Post
The fridge takes very little gas to operate. I've operated the fridge and the water heater for several weeks along with cooking and grilling and don't have the LP tank change over. If you are worried about that then you have a couple of options. Either turn the air conditioner to fan only (either with the fan switch or turn the temp up to where the compressor doesn't run) or turn the fridge to gas and the wh to gas only or even off. When finished with the microwave turn it back. How long are you going to run that microwave? It's a typical short interval unless your defrosting and cooking a small turkey.
Thats it, I think I just wont use the microwave while the AC is on. Like you said it would only be a minute or two out of the entire day.

But like posted above I have previously camped several times in this spot with a 30 amp camper and ran a 15K AC and microwave etc.. so it must be the fact that this is designed around a 50 amp service that going down to a 30 amp service creates the problem I suppose?
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Old 05-27-2020, 07:06 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by JRTJH View Post
If propane use is your concern, you'll use more propane heating water for one day than the refrigerator will use for the entire week. The only "flame" in the refrigerator is about the size of a pilot light flame and it only "turns on to use gas" in newer refrigerators when cooling is required. Older refrigerators had a "standing pilot" but the newer ones have electronic ignition and only use propane when operating. A 30 pound propane bottle will supply gas to operate the refrigerator for the entire summer. Refrigerators are extremely "propane conservative"...
Had no Idea they were that conservative. it hink my overall answer is HW heater on Propane, no using microwave with AC and I should be fine. Ill just turn AC off when I need to use Microwave.
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Old 05-27-2020, 07:07 AM   #11
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I sure appreciate the schooling, folks!
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Old 05-27-2020, 07:08 AM   #12
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Well there you go. Once again I learned something (for future use) on this site.
Thanks.
I am convinced that ownership of an RV for anyone over 60 years old is a great way to offset your appointment with a nursing home. Between the "I have to remembers" and the exercise I get monkey climbing all around my trailer (check the roof,check the bearings,check the slides ect....) I feel I am standing off the inevitable, a few weeks anyway.
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Old 05-27-2020, 08:02 AM   #13
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My opinion is the 50A is really for 2 A/C units.

We are seasonal on a 30A. I would always run A/C, electric fridge, electric WH without issue. Only when you forget to put A/C on fan only to use microwave would it blow.

We have 2 A/C's on our Cougar. With electric WH and fridge, I turned on #2 while #1 was running and it didn't trip 30A breaker. I won't run it like that, but I wanted to see what happens.

I think as long as you don't run both A/C's, you'll be fine on 30A.
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Old 05-27-2020, 08:20 AM   #14
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If you don't have a surge protector/EMS, GET ONE ASAP!
Buy the EMS the same amp as your shore cord. You can still plug your 30 to 50 amp dogbone adapter into the 30 amp.pedestal then the EMS the your 50 amp shore cord to your RV.
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Old 06-13-2020, 11:58 AM   #15
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I can only speak of our own experience , our 5er is 50 amp but some places we stay have only 30 amp and have never had an issue running one AC unit , W/H , Microwave and TV. Maybe we got lucky and the W/H didn't cycle but I'm sure it had to because we wash dishes while cooking. Not sure what would happen if we ran the washer/dryer combo at that time.
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Old 06-13-2020, 01:28 PM   #16
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Well we had a successful trip, no issues running everything that needed to be ran, key being only 1 ac at a time.I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at how well 1 ac did in that big of an RV in fairly warm temps. We were partially under tree cover but a good portion was still getting direct sunlight.Again to poke fun at myself one of the Main reasons we upgraded was to get dual acs to run at our favorite beach campground so we wouldn't have to be so picky about sites.. Ironic..
The last day as we were packing up to leave when we took the fridge of power to go back on propane for the trip home to keep things cool, the fridge bugged out and gave us the E0 code " not communicating yada yada" Which seems that is not completely abnormal as there is a lot of info about it on various forums. seems i just need to cut power to the fridge for a bit and let it reset. i have no fuse or breaker for the fridge that I can see though so I expect it is p;urged into one one wall outlets which does have their own breaker and I can kill it that way.
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Old 06-13-2020, 05:43 PM   #17
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We've always had 30 amp travel trailers until about 2 years ago when we purchased our current 5er that is 50 amp.

The secret to success with 30 amps IS power management.

If your refrigerator is electric and propane, run it on propane.
Run your water heater on Propane.
Run the air conditioner with the microwave off.
Run the microwave with the air conditioner off.
If you run an electric skillet, plug it into a source outside the trailer.

The secret is to know approximately how many amps each appliance in your camper uses and constantly do the math in your head that the total of everything running cannot exceed 30.

If you have an EMS (Surge Protector, Energy Management System), that displays the AMP usage, turn everything off in your camper and get a baseline for what the converter uses to charge your batteries. Should be 1 or 2 amps almost all the time for all the electronics inside (like television and microwave) that never truly turn off unless they are unplugged. Now you have a base-line what constantly draws amps. Now, turn on each appliance and capture the amount of amp draw for each item. Subtract the baseline number. Do this with just the electric is on the water heater. Turn it off, now do the refrigerator. Turn it off, now do the Air Conditioner, and on and on. Write them all down.

Now you know what you can run at the same time, don't exceed the total amp draw over 30. Power management.
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Old 06-15-2020, 01:55 PM   #18
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Originally Posted by ronheater70 View Post
The last day as we were packing up to leave when we took the fridge of power to go back on propane for the trip home to keep things cool, the fridge bugged out and gave us the E0 code " not communicating yada yada" Which seems that is not completely abnormal as there is a lot of info about it on various forums. seems i just need to cut power to the fridge for a bit and let it reset. i have no fuse or breaker for the fridge that I can see though so I expect it is p;urged into one one wall outlets which does have their own breaker and I can kill it that way.
The fridge is actually running on the 12V system, so it would be a fuse, not the 120V circuit breaker. The 120V line for the fridge is just to power the heating element when that power is available (and the fridge is running in Auto).
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Old 06-15-2020, 02:33 PM   #19
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The fridge is actually running on the 12V system, so it would be a fuse, not the 120V circuit breaker. The 120V line for the fridge is just to power the heating element when that power is available (and the fridge is running in Auto).
The controls for the fridge will be 12 volt, but the power will either be gas or 120 volt, will not run on only 12 volt.
Set the control panel to "auto" & leave it there, no need to constantly switch back/forth from gas to electric.
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Old 06-15-2020, 03:16 PM   #20
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In the post to which I was responding, they were talking about resetting the fridge to clear some issue. I was only pointing out that removing the 120V power would not do that, as the brains of the fridge is run from the 12V system.


Sorry if I caused any confusion.
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