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quote:Originally posted by sreigle
We don't have the Hughes AutoFormer but I've yet to hear anything bad about it. Can someone give me a birds-eye view of the functions of the autoformer? We have 50amp service but seldom drag out the 50amp cord. Mostly we use an adapter and 30amp cord and plug in to 30amp service at the post.
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In laymen's terms, what the Hughes Autotransformer does for you is to increase the input voltage to your rig about 8 to 10%. In other words, if your pedestal voltage was 102 volts, the transformer would boost it to 110 to about 112 volts. The reason you might want the transformer is when site voltage is very low and you begin drawing on it you pull it down even more. Now consider that you might want to run your AC, refer, microwave. With the voltage low to begin with you stand a chance of burning out your AC motor. It has to do with Ohm's Law of Voltage=Current X Resistance. If the voltage goes low, resistance stays the same (AC motor resistance), thus current goes down. Therefore, if you increase voltage to begin with, then current goes up.
As I've mentioned before, I have the transformer (not Hughes, but similar), and it has saved me many times, especially in older campgrounds.
Someone previous mentioned that if a site was providing 50 amp and 30 amp service at a pedestal wouldn't it make sense to plug into the 50 amp and dog bone it down to the 30 amp cord. The answer is no. When you plug into the 50 amp and dog bone it down to the 30 amp cord, you still only have 30 amps.
Does this help?