AC on 110?

[poopy]

Wife's parents will be in town during the summer. I have a Surge Guard coming off the 110 outlet, and the trailers cord plugged into it. No extension cord, and it's a 13,500 btu unit. Will they be able to use the AC? Thanks alot.

[shiggs68]

Probably not. If you turn your converter off and all other 120vac appliances, you may be able to especially if the outlet is protected by a 20amp breaker.


TravelingRVDoctor -Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[hankpage]

20 amp is the key. (15 amp is not happening ) If you start with a fully charged battery and keep 110v and 12v use to a minimum you should be alright. With the converter just maintaining it's amp draw should not be too high.

[Mike484]

I beleive you need 30amp service and you can't get that from a regular 110 plug.
But I could be wrong.
You can get a portable indoor unit that would work.

[slow]

When working inside my trailer on the driveway, I run my 13,500 btu ac on 15 amp 120 Vac without any issues as long as nothing else is also running on 120 Vac.


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[Mike484]

No attempt at hijacking the thread intended.

But, inhave our trailer plugged into 110 when in storage, could I turn on our refrigerator the night before taking a trip and expect it to be cold the next day?

[slow]

Originally Posted by Mike484

No attempt at hijacking the thread intended.

But, inhave our trailer plugged into 110 when in storage, could I turn on our refrigerator the night before taking a trip and expect it to be cold the next day?

Yes, that is what we do.

[hankaye]

poopy, Howdy;

Originally Posted by poopy

Wife's parents will be in town during the summer. I have a Surge Guard coming off the 110 outlet, and the trailers cord plugged into it. No extension cord, and it's a 13,500 btu unit. Will they be able to use the AC? Thanks alot.

Just looked at the circuit-breaker for mine and it IS a 20amp. So, I would
check the circuit-breaker in your house to see if it is appropriate. If not
then you may need the services of an electrician to swap out the one you
have and swap out the outlet to one that is rated for 20 amps or create
an isolated circuit solely for the RV.
Just a suggestion ...

hankaye

[mfifield01]

You won't be able to just swap out the outlet. You need to run 12 gauge wiring for a 20 amp circuit.

I ran a dedicated 20 amp circuit in my garage. It's as close as I could get to the back of the trailer when it's parked in the driveway. I then purchased a true 20 amp to 30 amp adapter (most are 15 to 30). If everything else is off, I can run my 15k A/C off of it. Since I live in Texas, I want to cool off the trailer before loading it in the summer.

BTW, I took a watt meter to the line while running the A/C and converter. It was around 1800-1900 watts (that's about 15-16 amps). The thing that could be a problem is the initial surge of the A/C.

[dcg9381]

I have dedicated 20A circuits (12Ga) - running a 13.5k AC and the converter is marginal - it works well enough for a few hours, but I don't totally trust it and even the good extension cords tend to get warm at the plug.

If you have access to a plug for your dryer or water heater, there might be an option to use that if you don't mind swapping out.

[jsmith948]

Keep in mind it is also a function of distance. We run our a/c while plugged into a 20 amp circuit. Can't run anything else (have to shut the a/c down if we use the Shark vacuum). If you aren't using an extension cord, you should be ok. However, I would definitely check the line voltage while the a/c is running to make sure you aren't experiencing a voltage drop. We have one of those plug-in voltmeters so we can monitor the voltage.

[hankpage]

Originally Posted by dcg9381

If you have access to a plug for your dryer or water heater, there might be an option to use that if you don't mind swapping out.

FYI! Clothes drier and water heaters are 220v .... unless you know what you are doing, this is not something to fool with. JM2¢, Hank

[Mike484]

What is an easy way to check and see if your dryer is 220? Can you just look in your breaker box and see? And, is there a way to make some type of system that will plug in to the dryer plug and have a 30 amp (or 50 amp) plug, possily haveing a juction box between the two? Or, can you not just put a 30 and plug on the side of your breaker box with a 30 amp breaker? Not that I plan on doing this, I highly doubt my trailer will ever be parked at my house, I'm just curious.

Right now we are in the process of have an electricion install 3 - 30 amp plugs at our hangar at the airport for visitors to use, I will use that rather than park at my house.

[chuckster57]

Electric dryers are 220V and gas dryers are 110V. Looking at the dryer cord will tell you which you have.

220 will have 4 prongs and 110 will have 3 and look like any other appliance/extension cord end.

As far as tapping into that circuit for service to the trailer? I wouldn't do it.

[dcg9381]

Originally Posted by hankpage

FYI! Clothes drier and water heaters are 220v .... unless you know what you are doing, this is not something to fool with. JM2¢, Hank

So are 50A RV connections... You DO need the right adapter, I thought that goes without saying but maybe not.

Originally Posted by chuckster57

220 will have 4 prongs and 110 will have 3 and look like any other appliance/extension cord end.
As far as tapping into that circuit for service to the trailer? I wouldn't do it.

There are older electric dryer plugs that are 3-prong and 220v. I wasn't suggesting that anyone tap the circuit. I was suggesting that you can use the plug, but the amount of confusion this is causing, perhaps I should say that you could use the plug if you understand what you're doing. A 3-outlet 240v plug should not be used.

[JRTJH]

110 VAC RV 30amp plugs and 220 VAC Dryer plugs look the same but are wired dramatically different. There are a number of threads on this forum about the "unfortunate damage" caused by "thinking a plug was wired for an RV" because the shore power cable "fit perfectly". The damage caused, in some cases, ran into the "multi-thousands" of dollars.

Even some electricians have problems wiring an RV plug, so relying on a professional with "little or no experience" with RV's can even cause an issue. All electricians "know the difference" but some "forget to think about it" when they are wiring a "220 plug to use as a 110 RV outlet"...

If you're not "thoroughly familiar" with RV wiring and with converting (or making an adapter) to use a "home 220 dryer plug" to power your RV, you may be in for an expensive lesson in what "won't work".....

I'd advise against the "average tinkerer" attempting such a task. I'd also urge anyone who is attempting to power their RV and run the A/C on a conventional household 110 outlet, to first be sure the outlet is rated at 20 amps (not 15 amps) and then, to reduce as much power consumption in the RV as possible. There are some things that need to be considered, such as the length of AWG12 wiring run from the house main breaker panel to the outlet being used (voltage drop/current carrying capacity) -- The longer the run, the less available power once you plug in the RV at the "other end". Remember, you'll also have the voltage drop in the extension cord or RV power cord to consider in just how long that "run from the main breaker panel really is.

Next, monitor the voltage available "INSIDE" the RV (with a meter, not by looking for dim lights) to assure it doesn't fall below about 105 VAC. Anything less than that will cause overheating in the A/C compressor and fan motor causing damage that can't be repaired.

So, can it be done? Yes, but only if you know what you're doing and are vigilant about not overloading your house circuit with the RV. Relying on the "house circuit breaker" to open if you overload the garage outlet is a very poor way to protect your RV from damage and may cause more damage than just hiring someone to install the correct outlet and wiring for your RV.

[nellie1289]

I had a master electrician wire me a plug for RV(50amp) for less than 300$. Folks, just do it the right way. Now I can camp in my driveway lol.

[dcg9381]

Originally Posted by nellie1289

I had a master electrician wire me a plug for RV(50amp) for less than 300$. Folks, just do it the right way. Now I can camp in my driveway lol.

I think that the costs are going to vary greatly on that. If the breaker box is nearby has a double-pole slot available and it's a direct run of wire that doesn't have go through walls, $300 all day long... For many homes, it could get much more expensive.

[nellie1289]

Originally Posted by dcg9381

I think that the costs are going to vary greatly on that. If the breaker box is nearby has a double-pole slot available and it's a direct run of wire that doesn't have go through walls, $300 all day long... For many homes, it could get much more expensive.

I hear you there, but my box did not have a double pole slot available so he had to combine a couple older style ones(several 15 amps) into "smaller" ones that fit the same slot, and made room for the 50 amp double pole. He rand the conduit line about 10 feet down the inside of the garage wall to the side of my house and installed the box, punching the line through to the exterior wall. Very professional!

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by nellie1289

I had a master electrician wire me a plug for RV(50amp) for less than 300$. Folks, just do it the right way. Now I can camp in my driveway lol.

This is so true, get a licensed electrician. Wire it incorrectly and you will destroy all the electronics in the RV and possibly cause a fire in your home. Your insurance policy most likely would not cover the damages for it when they discover your error. Just my 2C worth.