So i recently purchased a 2011 jayco 29 bhs withat 15,000 btu a/c unit. When i was at the dealer i asked them if it was okay to plug my camper into a 20amp outside wall outlet and run the a/c in the summer and they said no, 30 amp only or you run the risk of buning up the cords or the a/c unit itself. I have a buddy who has a 1991 camper with a roof a/c unit and has never plugged his into anyhting other than 20 amp and has been doing so for 2 years with no problems. so can i or can't i use 20 amp service to poer my a/c? .....Thanks!!!!
Another camper question...20 amp to power A/C?
- Thread starter mikes99ss
- Start date
pwolfy2003
Member
we used to do it but with the large cord and an adapter. otherwise cords could burn up, they get really hot.
fusionfool
New member
If you are going to run on lower amp, you should use a surge / brown out protection in line with your plug. They are not cheep but worth the money.
We use one I purchased from Campingworld: http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/product/portable-surge-guard/2279
We have never tried 20 amp, we have a 50 amp capable unit and run 30 amp.
We use one I purchased from Campingworld: http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/product/portable-surge-guard/2279
We have never tried 20 amp, we have a 50 amp capable unit and run 30 amp.
skeeter2010
Member
Its the whole volts and amps thing if you have a voltage drop from the cord the amps increase in turn, the higher the amps the more heat in the windings of the motor and the more likely you are to burn it up. It's more the plug adapter and the wire that is the problem your best bet is to have it wired for the proper plug that way its not a problem.
polarisrider1
New member
My answer would be NO. Run a 30 amp line and be done with it. Not only does the air run but what about the hot water heater and built in battery charger and the fridge. Your trailer is 20 yrs. newer than your buds and uses more juice, oh and the TV. Your fridge goes to elec. if the gas runs out or vice versa. I have done it without running the air with an adapter for 20 amp. Air pulls a lot of electric.
We have done it with our 2010 jayco bhs29. I would not use any other extension cord besides the cord on the camper and don't run the microwave at the same time. They told us when we bought our camper never to use a smaller guage extension cord, and to use a 30 amp service whenever possible. But sometimes you have no choice so try to limit the load whenever your not using the optimum equipment.
raceinsnow
New member
If the amps try and exceed the 20 amp limit it will just trip the breaker in your house.The voltage is the same 120 volts.I really don't see how it could be a problem to run your camper plugged in to your house.The amperage is limited at the breaker box with the breaker only because of the wire that is used from your breaker box to the outlet.That piece of wire is your limiting factor here.
Exactly!! Just use the shortest cord you can and make sure it too has the proper size wire (#12) for a 20 amp circuit. Providing the house, or campground, has a 20 amp breaker for the circuit, all will be good.
snow_monkey
New member
When a campground is busy you will see a power drop. The amps to start the unit is where it gets tricky and many people end up fryin their stuff. I sometimes ran two cords one for ac and one for the other stuff when demand was high.
Seems like the question has been answered already and I concur with the NO. I plug mine in at home and run everthing BUT the A/C. I would like to run a 30amp outlet into the garage but I don't do electric projects well. That feeling of getting zapped is bad! If anyone around here wants a side job and do it for me, let me know. (sorry for the hijack)
Dave
Dave
I have a 1998 Jayco 35ft. with the 15000 BTU A/C unit. I always used the 20 amp outlet to keep the unit plugged in between trips. The A/C did fine as long as the circuit had nothing else on it. Did it every year exept the last couple, the new house has a 30 amp wired in. Over all those years I probably only had the breaker trip 3 or 4 times and I think that was when the A/C kicked on. Everything runs off 12V from the power converter on the trailers exept the TV, Microwave and A/C unit. Plug it in and if it doesn't trip the breaker I wouldn't worry about it. If you have to use an extension get on from an RV store and don't use the round black rubber adapters, find a hard plastic orange one. The adapter is where the heat and resistance comes from. My dealer supplied mine.
I have been RV'n for 3 years now, more is better on power. Power surges are very common. 20 amp breaker will run your ac. But, sorry I had to but you. A large cord, the shorter the better, to carry the load. I can run my whole rig on 4K generator. The new AC 15000 pushes it all the way. We run huge cords, short to handle the load. These are not extension cords. Remember in the old days 60 amp service was the norm, time has shown us that can cause problems. Plug in and somehow otherthings get turned on. This is a 011, run a new line to it 30-50amps. You never know if you need a welder anyway. More is better, less will cause issues.
Exactly. You will not ruin anything just run a risk of a tripped breaker or blown fuse. If you have the ability or help to run a 30 amp that would be best for a R.V. but there is no risk of burning up anything on a 20 amp circuit. Some are confusing volts and amps here. As another post stated make sure the wire is 12 awg and the receptacle is rated for 20 amps and your good.
anonomoose
New member
It's all about the resistance. The unit will not likely ever pull more than 20 amps which is near the load that the circuit breaker will allow. If it exceeds that, the breaker trips...no big deal.
Just remember that resistance also factors into the "run" to the unit.
That is why they sell huge cords to carry the load better without...heating up that cord. If your cord gets HOT, then you are exceeding it's capacity to carry the load and you can melt that cord down to a fire, or if your lucky, it will short circuit, and blow the breaker.
So keep the "run" short, use the approved cording or greater, and then see what happens. If it blows the circuit then you will know that the unit is drawing more than 20 amps.
Starting AC compressors or Refrigerators or any other electric motors always draws the most, and I agree that you should not try and run everything in the unit that can draw more juice....such as micro, fridge, etc. Shut them off.
Now someone else mentioned that the camp ground can have a draw down of the power, aka, brown out...those are different...cause you are now not getting 120 volts....more like 80-95, and when THAT happens, you can destroy the unit that is running, and this doesn't stop at your camper, this includes your home well pump, fridge, AC, etc. A brown out protector senses this, and will shut the juice off if a brown out occurs.
If you go to a camp ground that shows the lights dim alot, get a voltage meter that simply plugs into an outlet in the overhead and as you walk by, you can see what the voltage is....if it goes up and down a bunch...disconnect and run from a genset. You will save yourself a bunch of dough.
Just remember that resistance also factors into the "run" to the unit.
That is why they sell huge cords to carry the load better without...heating up that cord. If your cord gets HOT, then you are exceeding it's capacity to carry the load and you can melt that cord down to a fire, or if your lucky, it will short circuit, and blow the breaker.
So keep the "run" short, use the approved cording or greater, and then see what happens. If it blows the circuit then you will know that the unit is drawing more than 20 amps.
Starting AC compressors or Refrigerators or any other electric motors always draws the most, and I agree that you should not try and run everything in the unit that can draw more juice....such as micro, fridge, etc. Shut them off.
Now someone else mentioned that the camp ground can have a draw down of the power, aka, brown out...those are different...cause you are now not getting 120 volts....more like 80-95, and when THAT happens, you can destroy the unit that is running, and this doesn't stop at your camper, this includes your home well pump, fridge, AC, etc. A brown out protector senses this, and will shut the juice off if a brown out occurs.
If you go to a camp ground that shows the lights dim alot, get a voltage meter that simply plugs into an outlet in the overhead and as you walk by, you can see what the voltage is....if it goes up and down a bunch...disconnect and run from a genset. You will save yourself a bunch of dough.
The Moose is right, 120 is 120. And if its not, the ac and fridge will suffer. Sounds like you will have this RV for awhile. So run a designated line and be done with it. Then no problems, no questions. It can double as a mancave. We run a 50amp cord, but the water heater and dryer have there own breakers. Our Winnebago ran 30 amp and when we installed the new 15000 ac it struggled on start up, but never blew the breaker and it did get hot on heavy use days. Its all in the cord, run a short heavy cord and all will be good. Looks like alot of fun to be had in your new camper, we planned on 3-4 months in ours, just a few days past 3 years now. On our 3rd rig, bigger is better I guess. Darn cats needed more room to play.
raceinsnow
New member
A 50 amp circuit is going to be 240 volts. (Sorry I ment to say 240)
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