Voltage Booster questions- where to put it

[cvin]

My rv has 30amp
Unfortunately right now I am 100feet away from the pedestal - hopefully will move it closer to about40- 50ft in the next month

Have the progressive surge protector on it with a 50ft cord and 2-25 foot extensions

Don’t run big power like the AC in there a lot but sometimes

Got a Hughes voltage booster and am not sure where to put it in the electrical line
Almost wondered if at the 50ft mark in the lines would be better or 25ft from the rv????
Or right after the surge protector?

Any advice is appreciated

[bobbecky]

Depending on which park you are in, you might not want one of these voltage boosters to be seen by park employees, as some parks do not allow them. If you must use one, try to install it inside the rig so it's out of sight.

[cvin]

I am not in a park, my RV is parked at a friends house all summer

[notanlines]

Cvin, rather than spending money on a booster, not an agreed upon device I might add, I would recommend buying 100' of 10/2 w/ground and build your own 'umbilical cord.' Voltage drop will be very low, and it will remove the grief you are up against using the THREE cords together. What you are using is NOT a good system. Before this is over you will probably hear from xrated or hopefully a few others who can expand on what I've suggested.

[wiredgeorge]

Originally Posted by notanlines

Cvin, rather than spending money on a booster, not an agreed upon device I might add, I would recommend buying 100' of 10/2 w/ground and build your own 'umbilical cord.' Voltage drop will be very low, and it will remove the grief you are up against using the THREE cords together. What you are using is NOT a good system. Before this is over you will probably hear from xrated or hopefully a few others who can expand on what I've suggested.

Price of Romex 10/2 seems to have gone the way of everything in our new and improved economy. Home Depot has a 100' roll for $240. Guess if I had to drag 30A 100 feet that putting some connectors on that way would be the way to go.

[rhagfo]

Originally Posted by notanlines

Cvin, rather than spending money on a booster, not an agreed upon device I might add, I would recommend buying 100' of 10/2 w/ground and build your own 'umbilical cord.' Voltage drop will be very low, and it will remove the grief you are up against using the THREE cords together. What you are using is NOT a good system. Before this is over you will probably hear from xrated or hopefully a few others who can expand on what I've suggested.

OP didn't state what his cords were, they could be 10 gauge, to fight voltage loose best to get some 8 gauge wire to cover the distance.

[flybouy]

Few questions. Do you know how far the outlet you are plugging into is from the breaker in the distribution panel. Do you have the Hughes autoformer or are you considering purchasing it?

I would suggest getting an inexpensive plus in volt meter and plug into an outlet in the camper. Use the camper as you “normally” do in a cg. If the voltage drops below about 110 watch it closely, below 105 don’t run the air conditioner. If you need the autoformer place it as close to the camper as you can. Remember that using it is a trade off as it boosts voltage at the cost of less available amperage.

Lastly, sell the surge protector. They are useless and will just add 2 more connections via plugs to fail. Get a true EMS. Yes they cost 3 times more but offer at least 100 times the protection. With an EMS you could plug it in and set back and relax. If the voltage drop got dangerous the EMS would shut down the power and protect the camper.

[cvin]

I have progressive EMS-PT30X

Pedestal is directly on the house main electrical box and ems shows 120 , no errors etc

If we cannot move the box closer soon i will do the 8 gauge custom wire plus use the booster - hate to price out that wire if 10 gauge is $250 lol

Already purchased the Hughes voltage booster

Think i have a plug in monitor for the voltage and plan to watch it today with the ac on with and without the booster

My cords are all 10 gauge cords, i thought all 30amp cords were this way

If i have to build an 8gauge wire does anyone have suggestions of heavy duty plug brand to use on the ends?

Thank you for all the help

[notanlines]

Having given this a little thought today while waiting for Momma to buy shoes () I believe Raghfo is correct with the 8 gauge over the 100'. Seems like the 10 gauge is more like 75'. I'd have to look it up.

on edit: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Southwir...3602/202316591
https://www.ebay.com/itm/19203546805...oAAOSw-4JcBuFv

[flybouy]

Word of caution, don’t go buying #8 Romeo and lay it on the ground, it’s not rated for ground contact nor is it UV rated.

[notanlines]

I'd be interested in knowing the history behind using Romex as an extension cord laying on the ground as being dangerous. Neither the male nor the female ends would be subject to weather problems. OP is moving his RV in approximately 30 days. It appears that the UV point would be moot.
Actually this whole thing of suggesting Romex is also a moot issue in that he has already made a purchase of the voltage booster. He will now be going through six transitions to supply the electricity from the pedestal to the actual face of his RV. Simply not an acceptable move by anybody's standards.

[jasin1]

If I was running 100 ft of wire of any kind across a yard I’d invest the extra $75 and feed it into 3/4” pvc conduit. Maybe drive a stake every 20’ or so and wire tie it. You don’t have to worry about anyone hitting it with a lawnmower or yanking on it and causing stress. Don’t even need to glue it just dry fit and lay it on the ground..and I agree with Marshall to use UF wire if it was long term and I also agree with Jim that if it was only for a couple months it prob wouldn’t matter.I like the pvc for either just to make it more durable and visible

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by notanlines

I'd be interested in knowing the history behind using Romex as an extension cord laying on the ground as being dangerous. Neither the male nor the female ends would be subject to weather problems. OP is moving his RV in approximately 30 days. It appears that the UV point would be moot.
Actually this whole thing of suggesting Romex is also a moot issue in that he has already made a purchase of the voltage booster. He will now be going through six transitions to supply the electricity from the pedestal to the actual face of his RV. Simply not an acceptable move by anybody's standards.

Actually the ends, Especially if laying on the ground will be subject to water intrusion. The aftermarket plugs don’t seal like molded plugs do and they are designed for nice round flexible cable. Romex is solid wire and therefore not flexible and the sheathing is not designed to protect it from being bent until it’s flattened or from repeated impacts. So, if his “friend” mows the grass using the same path, or say his kids drive their ATVs over the same place like exiting the driveway there could be an issue.

I could go about code violations but that’s another story. Just like having the right truck for the road you have rules and standards in electrical codes and for good reason. Romex is not appropriate for outdoor use. Any inspector would tag it and lock out the cb at a minimum. If he’s related to the PO’d neighbor that reported it I can imagine a fine would follow.

I agree that a 30 day stay wouldn’t “ruin” the Romex it very may damage it. Some of the stuff on the market these days if bought online can have questionable origins and materials. Then there’s no guarantee that it will be there for 30 days only. What if he “gifts” it as a show of appreciation and his friends decides to keep another buddies camper there? What if the OP decides not to “ waste all that money” for 30 days. He then folds the wire like an accordion to fit it in the storage compartment. A few times of that and there will be issues.

Bottom line, at least for me, it’s a case of too little experience, and too many variables for me recommend or promote using romex for this application.

[notanlines]

Marshall, it is seldom you and I disagree, but this time we'll have to agree to disagree. You've come up with so many 'what if's' that the same things could be applied to every facet of RV'ing.
The first would be "Actually the ends, especially if laying on the ground will be subject to water intrusion."
The male end will be plugged into the pedestal and the female end into the RV, neither on the ground. His setup right now is certainly subject to water, lawn mowers, electrical inspectors, HOA rules and locusts, cicadas and love bugs.
Overall we're not that far apart, just not exactly together. But we do agree that his present setup isn't the way to go.

[Javi]

8 gauge will lose 4% voltage in a 100 foot run at 30 amps...

6 will lose 2.5%

[cvin]

Thought i would update this

Put the booster in a box and have it in between extensions 25 ft from the rv

I have a kill-a-watt digital meter and have it plugged in, most of the time it shows 119-120

The frig is back on electric and with the ac compressor kicked on it goes to 113.5-114 until the compressor kicks off

Then back up to 115-119 depending on frig and lights i guess

My multimeter leads are not getting a good connection to double check this -just ordered some different that will be here sunday

Also ordered the Hughes dual color plug in to replace the kill a watt hoping it will be most accurate for a plug in meter…

What i am noticing is the wires are never hot, the booster will be warm but the wires all are cool..

This is an older booster and i wrote Hughes about it to get more info

One thing i should add is i have always been careful running electric in here, so i would never run the ac and the microwave together or the hair dryer. Etc
All lights are led

I have always been careful about that stuff probably because i run on 110 a lot

Watching everything closely and hopefully will get the electric box moved 50 ft closer in the next 2 weeks

Once i have new multimeter leads etc will update this more

[cvin]

Second update today

Borrowed a multimeter and can say the kill a watt is running close to the meter readout

Left the Ac off for a while , tested everything
And turned it back on and tested

Booster seems to be doing its job
Voltage dropped to 112.5-113 when the compressor kicked on and then the booster kicked in and brought things up to 124-126

Watching to see how long before this drops back down

[firestation12]

It's a little late for this comment since you've invested in a solution, but I would have looked for a couple of 50 amp rv cords on craigslist or offerup and used a 30 to 50 amp adapter to span the 100'.

[cvin]

I did not think about anything like that and I got the voltage booster used so it wasn’t that big a deal
and seems to be working pretty good

So 50 amp cords are eight gauge or what?

That’s good info though and hopefully that’ll help somebody else if they stumble on this thread at some point

[firestation12]

50 amp cords are 6 gauge wire. Careful shopping on the used market can turn up some bargains. I forgot to include Facebook Marketplace as a possible source as well. Good of your friend to accommodate your campers electrical needs!