30 amp hookup

[therollingstones]

we are going to a campground this weekend that has only 30 amp. we are going to use an adapter for it, but my question is, can we camp ok? I know we can't use both air conditioners but will the refrigerator and 1 air conditioner and say microwave work ok?

[H. John Kohl]

Yes I feel you will be ok. You mention the refrigerator - remember it can work off propane if their is a demand for 30 amp on other electrical items. But that should not be needed.
The first thing that happens when you plug in is the water heater pulls power to warm the water if on. The converter is recharging the batteries.
You may have to power manage the fireplace, microwave, coffee pot, or other heaters.
Good luck and enjoy.

[8.1al]

When on 30 amp we figure we can run the fridge plus 2 large items. Micro and air, micro and water heater, you get the idea. This does tax that 30 amp. breaker to the max. You could run the fridge on propane to play it safe

[snfexpress]

Since we often boondock and use our Honda generators which produce 13.3 amps each, we opted to install these meters from Datel to monitor our current draw. They also come in handy when we are in a State park (typically 20 amps) and when we are in a park such as where you will be that only has 30 amps.

[therollingstones]

thank you John, I mention the refrigerator because I have never had a 12 cu. ft before.

[therollingstones]

love the amp meters! We might have to have those!

[snfexpress]

They're $65 a piece. Good value in our opinion.

[racerjoe]

we camp mostly on 30 amp service. we do run our h.w. tank, air, and fridge witout any problem. what I do monitor is voltage with a simple plug in meter from radio shack just to make sure the park voltage stays up to normal. If the d.w. uses her hair dryer in the morning,I make sure the coffee pot is off,but thats about all. if the voltage is low,I will put the ac on fan while she is making herself pretty. I am always under the impression that low voltage puts more strain on your system. we have not yet tripped a breaker.
We stayed at a state park this past summer and the voltage stayed at a constant 120v,never dropped and we ran everything without fail

[snfexpress]

RacerJoe,

Respectfully, voltage and amperage, while mathematically related cannot be transposed. A voltage of 120 is what our appliances are looking for, but the amount of voltage (sorta), or amperage, is what the appliances require to work.

So, while your voltage may be at 120, your total amount of power (amperage) will vary according to the load you are powering. This is why we use meters. Our voltage remains fairly stable, but our load varies greatly depending on what we are running.

Now, the reason for monitoring voltage and how it relates to amperage is best analogized at the RV park level. The gauge of wire that is supplied to the park for its entire load is engineered by someone for typical loads. As the current (or load) increases, the size of the wire that was installed can supply only so much voltage. At a certain point, the load exceeds what the size of the wire can supply, so the voltage starts to drop. Look at it this way - the higher the voltage, the smaller the wire, at the same current load.

You are correct in that our appliances look for a voltage around 120 but typically can withstand a low voltage of about 103 and a high voltage of about 130. And, remember, when you monitor the voltage with a plug-in meter, you are only monitoring one leg of your power, if you have a 50 amp trailer. This is why we have two meters - one for each leg.

Hope this helps...

[snfexpress]

RollingStones,

The 12 cu ft refer uses about 3.5 amps on electric.

Of course, your mileage may vary. That is why we have meters...

[racerjoe]

Thanks mike, I do sorta understand that all appliances have a certain amp draw and will trip a breaker if overloaded. But without some kind of amp draw meter all I have to go by is my voltage meter. So,I err on the side of safety(for lack of a better word) and use voltage as a guide. If I am not sure on draw I will switch fridge and or h.w. tank to gas so I wont hurt the electronics. So far so good..:-)and I did not know that I was only montoring one leg. Learn something new everyday.thanks

[snfexpress]

RacerJoe,

Your predicament about not having a meter was why I went looking for an affordable, aesthetically pleasing meter because before we had these meters, all we had was a voltage meter that plugged into an outlet. And, yes, before we had amperage meters, we tried to interpolate with the one plug-in voltage meter. We just found that it could not provide the information we needed to keep the breakers at the pedestal from tripping.

With a plug-in voltage meter (or a voltage/amperage meter, like ours), the voltage that you are monitoring is the voltage that is coming into your trailer from the RV park which goes back to my earlier post about voltage and amperage.

Happy trails!