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Old 08-30-2018, 07:22 PM   #1
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What Can I do With 110 Power Connection?

Hi all,

My brother in law offered us an adapter and ability to hook up our rig to 110 power at his house during our stay. I was not sure about doing this so I declined.

So - can we hook up to a 110 outlet and get limited power for lights and the water pump?

Any concerns or words of caution?

FYI - We have a 30 amp Quantum. We also have solar panels on the roof top which help keep the batteries charged during the day.

Thanks for any feedback you have on this.

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Old 08-30-2018, 07:33 PM   #2
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We do that with ours all of the time.
It keeps the batteries charged, and we can run lights and TVs without worries.
But we don't run the air conditioner without shutting everything else off; the same goes for the microwave.
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Old 08-30-2018, 07:44 PM   #3
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What you can do depends upon the capacity of the circuit you are plugging into. If its just a standard 15 amp circuit, you can run things that you plug into your 110 outlets such as chargers, TV, etc. You probably could also run a microwave or space heater, but not both at the same time. Unlikely you could run AC.

If you have a 20 amp receptacle to plug into, then you probably can run your air conditioner plus some low wattage appliances such a TV, chargers, etc. Probably not air conditioner and microwave at the same time. Some homes will have a 20 amp receptacle in a garage that is intended for a refrigerator. A 20 amp receptacle has a "tee" plug on one prong's receptacle. See that attached picture.

You will need a 30amp to 15 amp dog bone adapter. Unless you are very close (most RV 30 amp cables are 25 ft) you will need some additional heavy duty extension cord, especially if you are running AC. At home we plug into a garage 20 amp circuit - we used to use 50ft of 30 amp cable and 50 ft of a heavy duty extension cord, but the extension cord would get a little warm when running the AC. So I found another 50 ft of 30 amp extension cord on Amazon. We are probably pushing it at 100 feet, but the cable doesn't seem to get warm.
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Old 08-30-2018, 08:50 PM   #4
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I run one A/C with 12 gauge, 100' cord and that's pushing it.
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Old 08-30-2018, 08:58 PM   #5
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don’t EVER turn down free electricity!!

and, yes, we all make use of ‘less’ than 30amp or 50amp(100amps really), when we have no other options - you just can’t run as many things at the same time : )
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Old 08-30-2018, 09:11 PM   #6
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The outlet you are plugging into whether it's a 15 or 20 amp may already be running items in the home you are parked at. Definitely switch to gas water heat mode if you need hot water. The only other "high rollers" are A.C. and Microwave. Avoid them if possible or you might trip their breaker. You won't know if you added to much or maybe they turned something on inside the house that put you in the dark.
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Old 08-30-2018, 09:17 PM   #7
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I was told the the AC will work on 15 amp but you might cause long term damage since it might have a surge higher than 20 amp and might need around 19.4 amps to run correctly?

So it will work (I tired it - sounds and feels normal) but longterm might cause damage? I dont do it anymore - I just installed a 30 amp RV plug in my garage so I can have the AC on while we pack the RV to get ready on a trip (or if we have company over and they want a hideway place).

Here is a picture of my colman 15000 BTU stats.
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Old 08-30-2018, 09:25 PM   #8
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OR...if you have company over and YOU want a hideaway place!!!
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Old 08-30-2018, 10:06 PM   #9
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You the old saying "House Guests and Fish, stink after 3 days"
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Old 08-30-2018, 10:15 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TurnerFam View Post
don’t EVER turn down free electricity!!
Amen to that!!
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Old 08-30-2018, 10:15 PM   #11
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110

We plug in at home to cool frig while getting ready for a trip. Having a 30 or 50 amp plug would be great for a/c. About what would that cost?
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Old 08-30-2018, 10:18 PM   #12
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It's not the cost of the parts: it's the cost of the labor!
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Old 08-30-2018, 10:35 PM   #13
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Home Depot and Lowe's have the outdoor plugs, but opted to order one with a breaker slot built in, just like at the campgrounds for $60. The breaker was $15 I guess. But the hard part is getting the cable needed from the outlet to your electric panel and that of course varies with each house.
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Old 08-30-2018, 10:43 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Long & Winding road View Post
I was told the the AC will work on 15 amp but you might cause long term damage since it might have a surge higher than 20 amp and might need around 19.4 amps to run correctly?

So it will work (I tired it - sounds and feels normal) but longterm might cause damage? I dont do it anymore - I just installed a 30 amp RV plug in my garage ...

no, AMPS is not the issue - either your breaker will trip, or it won't...it's simple. The power will be enough to power it, but the breaker will determine if the WIRING is heavy enough to handle it. 'Normally', yes, a standard household 15amp outlet and breaker can easily handle the running of the air conditioner, but it's the initial compressor starting that could trip the breaker. If it does not, then you are probably just fine.

...as for the over-concern about air conditioner compressor, and life expectancy, that's more to do with VOLTS. If a park or campground has low voltage, the compressor will 'struggle' more... it's doubtful, though, that the 'stories' of ruining air conditioners because of low voltage is any big issue, at least compared to the number of stories people have been led to believe over the years.

I simply plug in. If things work, then they work, I don't worry anymore about it. If a breaker trips, then it's telling me that it can't handle the amount of items/amps I am trying to run thru it. I then cut back on those items, on that circuit.
If the tripped breaker is the one for the outlet the coach is plugged into, then that tells me that my 'total' amps are exceeding that outlet's breaker.

Some times other items are drawing power and they go unnoticed, such as the battery charger, TVs and devices that are plugged in, but not really turned 'on', satellite receivers, as they draw power even when not on, etc.
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Old 08-30-2018, 10:56 PM   #15
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The problem with low voltage is that current will go up for the same load. As current goes up heat losses in the motor windings go up which could cause the motors to run at a higher temperature which could shorten their life.
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Old 08-30-2018, 10:57 PM   #16
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Install one of these, and you'll have all the power that you could ever want!

Search Results : KaleCoAuto.com, Your home for the rare, unusual, and hard to find auto parts.
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Old 08-30-2018, 11:11 PM   #17
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Quote:
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The problem with low voltage is that current will go up for the same load. As current goes up heat losses in the motor windings go up which could cause the motors to run at a higher temperature which could shorten their life.

while there's some truth to that, the Original post was simply a concern about whether they could 'plug into' a regular household outlet, whether 15amp or 20amp, we don't know.
throwing in other miscellaneous info and unrealistic concerns for the common camper is overkill...

I think the concern about 'low voltage' is not a real problem with typical household outlets, as otherwise the whole house would be experiencing problems before the 'camper' ever arrived.

You can't control voltage, you can only control the amps you use.
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Old 08-30-2018, 11:29 PM   #18
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We were boondocking at a RC flying field once that has very limited 120V available. We were plugged in with 100 foot light gauge extension cord to basically run the fridge and 12V lights. Or so I thought. My wife turned on the AC and the cord got so hot it welded the 30 amp to 15 amp adaptor to the extension cord. I couldn't separate them!
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Old 08-30-2018, 11:41 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WSPhil View Post
We plug in at home to cool frig while getting ready for a trip. Having a 30 or 50 amp plug would be great for a/c. About what would that cost?
I thought about doing it myself but all of my breakers were taken and no room to add more so I hired a guy (Not real confortable messing with stuff like that - plus it would have taken me a lot longer).

THey had to run it from the back side of the garage to the front side (Via the attic) and I wanted a proffessial look (finished garage with racedeck floors, ceiling fans, cabinets etc).

It was around $289 with tax. Took them about 3 hours to complete.

It turned out great - I wish I would have done it sooner.

Now we can have frig. on electric and cool down the RV with AC before we go on a trip to some Mtn bike trails.
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Old 09-08-2018, 08:36 PM   #20
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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.
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