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Old 09-08-2018, 08:52 PM   #21
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If at all possible get 30 amp service to your RV. I have 30 amp service at home. I keep my air conditioner set at 80 degrees. Before camping I turn the fridge on the air conditioner down and get ready for the trip. The best part is when we get home you don't have to rush clearing out the fridge. Thurn the air back on and take my time.

Florida summers are brutal with no air. The best thing it keeps the humidity out of the rig.

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Old 09-08-2018, 09:04 PM   #22
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Yes, I agree that 30 amp is best and I plan to have that installed in the next few weeks. I just wondered if anybody could confirm that using 110 could in fact damage the house batteries.
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Old 09-08-2018, 09:07 PM   #23
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Arrow

Quote:
Originally Posted by cprewitt View Post
Hi...I was told I was damaging my house batteries by plugging in to 110…
bunk

apparently 'someone' knows nothing about electricity


your coach and your batteries do NOT care whether you are on 50amp, 30amp, 20amp, or 15amps... 120v of power is 120v of power, not matter. It doesn't change just because your breaker is 50amp, 30amp, 20amp, or 15amp, they are only to LIMIT the amount of amps drawn thru the wires.

your batteries are charged by 120v of power, simple.
Don't worry about what 'size' outlet you are using.

and yes, your batteries will appreciate the constant charging : )
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Old 09-08-2018, 09:10 PM   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cprewitt View Post
Hi....I have a 2015 Chateau.....I used to plug in regularly to 110.....I replaced two sets (2 each) of house batteries that went bad in a very short time. When all of that was going on I was told I was damaging my house batteries by plugging in to 110… can anybody confirm or deny that? I would love to keep my unit plugged in to charge the batteries and be able to turn on the refrigerator/AC.
A poor quality converter can kill your batteries. If the converter isn't capable of holding a proper float voltage, or has too high of a bulk charge voltage, it can easily boil your batteries. Have you checked water levels, or noticed that you have to add a lot of water?

The WFCO converters that come standard in most Class C's and a lot of Class A's (and most trailers) are pretty cheap and are often cited as battery eaters. Harris Batteries, which is what most Thor non-diesel products come with, has a reputation for refusing to honor battery warranties. They say that the WFCO converters cause their batteries to fail. Thor acts like they don't know anything.

I had a trailer with a WFCO converter that killed a set of Interstate Batteries in a year. So when we got our ACE 30.1, I changed out the converter about the same time my Harris batteries died (less than 6 months). Progressive Dynamics make very good multi-stage converters (4 stages, vs the 2 stage of the WFCO) in formats for both as a slide in WFCO replacement and stand alone converters.

Since installing the Progressive Dynamics converter, I haven't had problems with losing water in Interstate 6 volt batteries with which I replaced the POS Harris batteries. You still need to check your water levels regularly as continuous charging at any voltage will tend to wear off battery water, but it won't boil them off in a few days.

Took less than an hour to swap the Progressive Dynamics for the WFCO. Only issue I had was that the 12VDC distribution board that came with the PD converter only had a 30 amp supply fuse, while my WFCO had 40 amp. PD told me I could continue to use the old distribution boards. I think they may have upgraded their distribution board since I got mine.

https://www.progressivedyn.com/rv/po...r-4600-series/
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Old 09-08-2018, 09:13 PM   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rscheibel@cfl.rr.com View Post
If at all possible get 30 amp service to your RV. I have 30 amp service at home. I keep my air conditioner set at 80 degrees. Before camping I turn the fridge on the air conditioner down and get ready for the trip. The best part is when we get home you don't have to rush clearing out the fridge. Thurn the air back on and take my time.

Florida summers are brutal with no air. The best thing it keeps the humidity out of the rig.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cprewitt View Post
Yes, I agree that 30 amp is best and I plan to have that installed in the next few weeks. I just wondered if anybody could confirm that using 110 could in fact damage the house batteries.
30 Amp is 120 VAC. The problem is not your current, it is your converter failing to shift to "Float" mode (about 13.0 VDC) and overcharging your batteries. Check your converter voltage when your batteries are fully charged.


EDIT: The 2 posts above mine nailed it.
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Old 09-08-2018, 09:19 PM   #26
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also, sometimes we jump to the conclusion that we 'must' have full 30amps for our coach, but the fact is, you can power most anything in your coach on any simple household 15amp outlet - an extension cord is much simpler and more economical than spending the money to have to 'install' some type of special '30amp outlet', wiring, and breaker within your main panel, or sub panel.

If your air conditioner, which is usually the item most folks think they 'can't' run on anything less than 30amps, is a 13.5 unit, it will easily work on a household 15amp outlet that you probably already have easy access to. The best thing to do is to try it and see. If you don't have much of anything else in your coach on, or plugged in, then it'll be a fair test. Also, make sure you don't have much of anything on, or plugged in, to the circuit that the outlet is on that you are plugging into. Sometimes a 'garage' or 'shop' outlet is perfect since not much is in use on those circuits.

Another simpler idea is to run a 20amp household outlet, versus a 30amp outlet - it looks most like a standard outlet, and normal things can certainly plug into it, but it's wires are a little larger, and it has the 20amp circuit breaker.

In our 50amp coach, we've run one of the air conditioners, fridge, tv, satellite receiver, and computers, etc., - all while on a single 20amp household outlet. If I was getting ready to go on a trip and just wanted to cool the coach, or get the fridge started, a 15amp outlet and an extension cord would work just as well.
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Old 09-09-2018, 11:14 PM   #27
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I know that my AC will not start from my 15 amp outlet in my garage that I plug into at home. It might if I stopped the batteries from charging, but have not tried that. I often camp in friend's driveways when traveling and will plug in to their 15 amp outdoor outlet, but I don't try to run the AC.

I saw this video on YouTube, and I am considering this as a solution that should allow me to run AC while plugged into my home or someone elses.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=cjLzqmUmTcM

https://www.microair.net/collections/easystart-soft-starters/products/easystart-364-3-ton-single-phase-soft-starter-for-air-conditioners?variant=30176048267
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Old 09-10-2018, 01:46 PM   #28
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All of our RVs are 110V. It's a matter of whether you have a single leg power supply on a 15A or 30A circuit or 2 legs on a 50A circuit. By adapting down to a 15A plug, you still have the same electrical supply, just not the same capacity. So you won't be able to run your microwave and air conditioners. You may not even be able to run your air conditioner. However, I would always take him up on it and if I need more capacity, start the generator.
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Old 09-10-2018, 02:17 PM   #29
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gladinwj View Post
I know that my AC will not start from my 15 amp outlet in my garage that I plug into at home. It might if I stopped the batteries from charging, but have not tried that. I often camp in friend's driveways when traveling and will plug in to their 15 amp outdoor outlet, but I don't try to run the AC.

I saw this video on YouTube, and I am considering this as a solution that should allow me to run AC while plugged into my home or someone elses.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=...&v=cjLzqmUmTcM

https://www.microair.net/collections...nt=30176048267
Did you shift your Fridge to gas and insure the electric water heater element was off?
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Old 09-11-2018, 03:58 AM   #30
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Originally Posted by Tfryman View Post
Did you shift your Fridge to gas and insure the electric water heater element was off?
My refrigerator was turned off, and my water heater is on demand and uses 12 volts and propane only.
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Old 09-15-2018, 09:43 PM   #31
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THOR #12340
Ok... Here's a totally stupid question.

While in the driveway at home with a regular 110 extension cord, where ON the RV do you plug it in to be able to run some lights and maybe a/c?

When in the driveway, I unplug the fridge from the rv in the exterior compartment and use a 110 extension cord run from the garage to the fridge plug directly (2016 Axis). I do this the night before I leave and get the fridge down to temp.
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Old 09-15-2018, 09:51 PM   #32
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Don't use a 120V extension cord. Use your normal RV park 30 amp cord with a pigtail converter. Something like this guy (Amazon).
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Old 09-15-2018, 10:02 PM   #33
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Yup! Use your "shore-power cord", and an adapter...
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Old 09-15-2018, 10:25 PM   #34
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yes...

- your shore power cord IS an extension cord(!)*
- it will easily plug into any 'normal' power supply - like 50amp or 30amp at rv parks or campgrounds, or 15amp or 20amp(household)... you only need the proper 'adapter' to do so(go to the RV section in Walmart and you will find all the ones you might ever need)
- you RV doesn't 'care' which one you plug into, they are ALL the same voltage - 120v.
- the ONLY difference is how many items you can run AT THE SAME TIME... less amperage equals less things... otherwise you will trip a breaker, somewhere. A household 15a outlet will serve your RV just fine for storage, just to keep the batteries charged, etc.

*and yes, you can use any typical 'outside' type extension cord, if your power cord is not long enough to reach the outlet


travel, then plug in, and enjoy : )
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Old 09-15-2018, 10:30 PM   #35
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I bought a 100 foot, 10 gauge, 20 amp rated cord, and have been recently using that to plug in my RV...
(I got it: why not use it?)
Last year: I ran my shore-power cord, an additional 25 foot 30 amp cord, and an adapter...
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Old 09-15-2018, 11:22 PM   #36
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Told you it was a stupid question.

Thanks!
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Old 09-17-2018, 02:01 AM   #37
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Check around for a good price on a 50' 30 amp RV extension cord. The type that fits to the end of your RV cord and has the same male end as your cord. It will come in handy when you can't get close enough to a pedestal or you need to connect to the next closest pedestal cause yours is not working. Then you can use it with an adapter at the end to plug into a standard home outlet. That 30 amp cable all the way will help keep you from having any voltage drop.
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Old 09-17-2018, 03:40 AM   #38
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Quote:
Originally Posted by csseeker View Post
Told you it was a stupid question.

Thanks!
It's not a stupid question, and I bet that someone else in here was wondering the same thing.
You were the one who had the guts to ask it.
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