Quote:
Originally Posted by Yaktop
Thanks for the great explanation. Someone had told me I shouldn’t run the heat pump unless I had the full 30 amp in use. Wasn’t sure if running it with just 110 was wearing it or shortening its life.
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that's why the 'someone had told me...' can be misleading. Many folks in rving have 'heard' things that may be true, and many that may just be false.
120v power is 120v power...it simply is not true that just because you are on a 30amp outlet versus a 50amp outlet that somehow your 'power' is less.
It is EXACTLY the same, and will power any device or appliance that uses 120v power - anything in your RV.
The only 'question' is of how MUCH this device or appliance demands, as far as AMPS go.
120v power is what is coming 'into' your RV, period. It doesn't change just because you are plugged into a 50amp outlet, a 30amp outlet, or a regular household outlet.
the ONLY difference is the AMPS your device or appliance NEEDS while it is running. Larger appliances have motors that require more of the 120v power than smaller lights and fans do, so the 'amps' they are needing creates a much larger DRAW on the wires within your RV, creating HEAT.
HEAT is what determines when a breaker trips, which is it's safety design.
A circuit breaker is sized for the appliance or device or outlets that are wired to it. So, your air conditioner is probably on a 20amp circuit breaker, whereas your outlets are only on a 15amp breaker - they may be on a thinner/smaller wire and cannot handle the amount of heat that a larger wire, like to your air conditioner, are designed for.
AMPS are the only difference in your power needs, limited by the size of the Shore Power breaker - the size or configuration of the outlet matters very little to most any RV or motorhome. While a 50amp RV service outlet is truly 240v service, each 'hot wire' going to your RV is only 120v, and your electrical panel only uses these 120v wires to each 'side' of your circuit breaker panel, almost like two separate panels, just integrated into a single box.
A very few motorcoaches DO use 240v service for a household Dryer or other appliance, but the vast majority of any and all RVs and motorhomes only use 120v power.
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