Auoformer - Montana Owners Club

dandt · 01-11-2008, 12:14 PM

We are considering purchasing an autoformer to use on the rig. What is the general feeling about autoformers. Are they worth the money,necessary etc. Has anyone else added one. Please give us pros and cons. Thanks...See everyone in QZ.

rldriver · 01-11-2008, 12:28 PM

Dave, I think well worth the money. We have a 30 amp and with all the power draw in the camp ground(mid to low 20s) it keeps the voltage up where it should be.

I think there will several more people that will respond to your question but you may want to do a search as this subject came up late last summer.

Happy camping,
Dick Driver

Mrs. CountryGuy · 01-11-2008, 12:29 PM

Check out our web page:

http://www.geocities.com/genieyorks/

Crum, link did not work the way I wanted it to, so, go there, then on top left of page look for Montana improvements, One of Al's Electrical improvements, and click on it.

illapah · 01-11-2008, 12:51 PM

last summer we went to same campground in our 50 amp 3295 as previous year. Saw no power problems. Year earlier we had brownout in our 30 amp 2955. Don't really know what this signifies. Just my experience. Was going to purchase an autoformer, now way back on the things I want burner.

BTW, we were in campsite next to where we were previous year.

exav8tr · 01-11-2008, 01:57 PM

We are still evaluating whether we need one of these. Since May we have been in about 25-30 CG's and have not needed one yet. My sister has 10 year old 5er (30 amp) and they claim they have never needed one. I guess the time will come though. Just don't know how big a problem it is. Perhaps someone else has more stories about brownouts......

bncinwv · 01-11-2008, 02:19 PM

Don't know about brownouts, but when we were in 30 amp campground for Labor Day, voltage drops to 98 volts were common. Seems peak occupancy times are the problematic ones. Obviously, we were lucky to have a voltage meter on board and immediately shut down power during the peak times. At the beach last summer, there were times voltage dropped to 102-104 volts on the 50 amp draw. These two instances were enough to convince me to get the autoformer as well as the Progressice Industries electrical management system. I figured the purchase was an extra insurance policy. A/C'S and microwaves are particularly at risk at low voltage, so I think I would rather not worry about it and don't like having to constantly check the voltage meter as well.
Bingo

Mrs. CountryGuy · 01-11-2008, 02:42 PM

As Bingo points out, it probably will depend somewhat on where you park and how their electric is, and if you reach brownout levels in the electric service, etc etc etc.

We happen to frequent a bunch of state parks where the power is questionable, we have 3 dogs, we prefer to not have the A/C shut off on 90 plus days when they are in the rig.

There are a lot of opinions on this, I am not trying to start a shouting match here, just simply stating our reasons, they are ours and they are valid for us.

If you only go to 5 star rv parks with 50 amps on every pull through site and only go off season, your requirements will of course be soooooooooooo different than ours.

The information is out there, there have been a number of discussions, heated and other wise on the MOC about this subject, you might wander around the archives and see if you can shake one or two of those up. Know your needs, then make your call.

There have been reports of campgrounds refusing spots to those with autoformers, those reporting are friends of MOC and of ours, and we do not doubt them, but that is something we have yet to encounter, stick around long enough and I am sure we will find such campgrounds in our travels. I hope so, cause that will mean we are doing more traveling than we have lately! SNICKER.

dieselguy · 01-11-2008, 04:06 PM

Dave: I have an autoformer hard wired into my fiver ... wouldn't leave home without it. Having a boat and enjoying water skiing, we've stayed at several parks on lakes that have been packed with campers during near 100 degree days. I've been cool and comfortable on those hot summer days while others in the campgrounds are sitting with open windows and fans running because the voltage had dropped so low their A/C's actually quit running. Two things to remember ... 1.Depending on the brand, they will only recover around 10 - 15% of lost voltage.
2. Generators and an Autoformer don't work well together. If hardwired in your unit make provisions to be able to bypass the Autoformer when using a generator for your power source.

Imp · 01-11-2008, 04:49 PM

We have been in 2 parks that the autoformer is banned. One was Delta Shores, Isleton CA and the other was a KOA in Illinois. If you use it they will make you leave the park. We are using the Surge Guard more now, but if we could figure out how to hardwire the autoformer in the 3400 we would do it. We have run into a couple of situations where we were glad we had it.

bncinwv · 01-12-2008, 01:15 AM

Myrna,
If your rig has the gen-prep option, the autoformer can be hard-wired right in the battery compartment out of site. If not, an alternative location is near the fuse and breaker cabinet. There are several threads detailing these locations. I have the generator prep and hopefully within the next month or so will be posting detailed pictures of the complete installation that I will be doing. H. John Kohl is doing a similar install and I bled his expertise along with several other forum contributors before arriving at my final design schematic.
Bingo

ols1932 · 01-12-2008, 04:02 AM

We have a 50-amp Hughes autoformer. Don't use it often but it sure is handy when needed. When we first started full timing we found a lot of parks with substandard electric. They were built in the days when most RVs were tents or fold-downs and they didn't need much power. I've checked with a lot of them and the wire they used was generally limited to carry not more than 20 amps and most of us want 30 to 50 amps.

Orv

Imp · 01-12-2008, 05:35 AM

Our rig does not have the gen prep option wired in. That was not on the high priority list when we bought. How I wish we had as it also is a good avenue for generator hookup. Our converter etc is above the washer/dryer closet. We are still studying that all out and maybe we just need to upgrade?!!! In the meantime our Hughes 50amp autoformer rides nicely in the storage bin.

sreigle · 01-12-2008, 03:20 PM

I am absolutely sold on the value of the autoformer. We are especially glad to have it when we are in a park with weak power, either all the time or during peak usage periods. Now I just have to figure out how to wire it in place. I haven't yet figured out how to access the conveter above the toilet from the basement storage area. Meanwhile it rides in the basement on the road and is cable locked to the power post when in use.

richfaa · 01-13-2008, 05:04 AM

We have the Hughes autoformer...If you are in a C.G with very low power .I believe the autoformer will go into boost at 117 V and out of boost at 118 V. However 117V is not a low voltage that will damage anything.It is ohm's law that kills you..Low Volts=High Amps and the high amps causes the smoke. We have used it twice in 19 months and before we got the PT 50C surge guard when our kill o meter indicated a very low voltage at a C.G..that is a voltage at around 104/105 or so. The 10% boost of the auto former will bring the voltage up were the surge guard will shut down the power. One needs to do the homework on both units to determine need as they are both pricey. In our case we will choose the surgeguard over the auto former cost vs benefits IMO the PT-50C surge guard offers more of the kind of protection we need. My shinny new only used twice hughes 50 amp auto former can be had from yours truly at a special for you only slightly discounted price.If you are anywhere near us, Florida near Disney and you need one we can enter into negotiations.

ols1932 · 01-13-2008, 12:41 PM

There are some who will say the autoformer is good and bad. I believe it is good if you need it. I have one and am glad to have it although I don't use it often. It's just insurance for when the park voltage is low.

Orv

sreigle · 01-14-2008, 04:03 PM

I almost always connect ours. I figure if it isn't needed, then it will not need to boost but if it's needed, then it's already there.

I thought I remembered it doesn't boost until voltage drops to 108v. But I don't remember for sure.

indy roadrunner · 01-14-2008, 11:07 PM

Steve, I think you are right on that - it only kicks in when needed. I carry one as we do a lot of state parks and if it is a busy weekend it comes in handy. Mine is a 30 amp as most places I have needed it was hooked to a 30 amp post. Since I don't have 2 A/C's - being on 30 amp is not that big of a deal. I keep a little voltage meter plugged in on the island and keep an eye on it when we have suspicious voltage.

Mrs. CountryGuy · 01-15-2008, 03:05 AM

We were running the electric heater the other day (plus who knows what else, frig, computer, lights, water heater??, just don't remember),

We are on 50 AMP in a full resort RV park, rather new, as in less than 8 years old,

and, the autoformer kicked on.

Again, not sure just what I was running, just that it kicked on. Surprised me as I don't think it has done that down here before.

sreigle · 01-21-2008, 12:46 PM

I've seen ours kick on quite a number of times. I also have a voltmeter plugged into the island. That's only testing that particular circuit but it's still an indicator of what's going on with the power. There's been a couple of times when I've not connected the autoformer because we were "just overnighting." When it became obvious the power was very weak, out came the autoformer and up came the power. Not everyone is convinced they need it and maybe they don't. But for us it's been a good thing to have.

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