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Old 08-09-2004, 06:57 AM   #1
Montana_1131
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Help! Breakers keep tripping

I know the most of you own Montana's, but I am having trouble with my Mountaineer. I have had it on a leased lot in the Mountains for the first of the year and this past week we went to the Beach. I hadn't had the chance to use the air conditioner until this past week.When it is own and my wife uses the hair dryer after shower and most of the time I am watching thnews during this event the breakers trip.Now all of these appliances are running off 110 voltage and I have a 30amp service. What do I need to do to preveny having to turn everything off and then flip the breakers back on?. Is this a problem I need to address the dealership or this a normal thing to many things on at the same time?. Do I need to change breakers,wiring or what. Thanks in advance for the help.
 
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Old 08-09-2004, 07:23 AM   #2
Montana_657
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1500 watts to the hair dryer, 1500 watts to the AC presuming it's running is about 3000 watts. 3000 divided by 120 volts equals about 25 amps. If the AC cycles on it can draw a surge of 25 amps or so itself. Add to that the drain of the TV converter etc. and it looks like your running almost 30 amps... which is what your wired for ... right???

Turn something off. Try raiseing the thermostat while drying hair, (the compressor will stop) then lowering it after the dryer is unplugged.
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Old 08-09-2004, 08:33 AM   #3
Montana_621
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No matter what is on, whether it is the microwave, tv, fireplace, a/c or whatever I have to turn it all off so I can blow dry my hair. There is something with the hair dryer that trips the breaker ALL the time. We can have 1 tv and the hair dryer going at the same time if we are plugged in using the 50amp or 30amp cord. If we are using the orange 110 at Mike's parents house I shut EVERYTHING off or it will trip the breaker. They could have wired these things better.
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Old 08-09-2004, 08:58 AM   #4
Random Line
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I think Gruffy has it figured right. That 120 volt 1500 watt hair dryer, uses up most all 30 of those amps.

I wonder if a person used a 12 volt hair dryer then the draw would be on the 12 volt battery and in a little while the charger would kick in but it may draw less than 25 amps through the breaker and possibly on a different circut. Something to think about try.

Hmmm... check the wiring diagram.
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Old 08-09-2004, 09:52 AM   #5
Montana_621
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Yes that is an option if you have a lot of time on your hands or don't want your hair all the way dry. A 12 volt will take forever to get your hair dry, at least it does for me. LOL I guess we can't have it all can we? LOL

Quote:
quote:Originally posted by Random Line

I think Gruffy has it figured right. That 120 volt 1500 watt hair dryer, uses up most all 30 of those amps.

I wonder if a person used a 12 volt hair dryer then the draw would be on the 12 volt battery and in a little while the charger would kick in but it may draw less than 25 amps through the breaker and possibly on a different circut. Something to think about try.

Hmmm... check the wiring diagram.
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Old 08-09-2004, 10:52 AM   #6
CmdrDewey
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by Melissa and Mike S

No matter what is on, whether it is the microwave, tv, fireplace, a/c or whatever I have to turn it all off so I can blow dry my hair. There is something with the hair dryer that trips the breaker ALL the time. We can have 1 tv and the hair dryer going at the same time if we are plugged in using the 50amp or 30amp cord. If we are using the orange 110 at Mike's parents house I shut EVERYTHING off or it will trip the breaker. They could have wired these things better.
If you are using the "orange cord" you are plugged into house 110 which is usually 20 amps but ocasionally 15. It doesn't matter that you are plugged into a 30 amp trailer. All you are getting out of the wire is 20.
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Old 08-09-2004, 11:24 AM   #7
fulltimedreamer
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Running a hairdryer when on a 30 AMP circuit is even more of a problem because most of the hairdryers you see on the shelf are 1800 Watts or better. 1800 Watts / 120 Volts = 15 AMPs + the 15 AMPs for the Air-conditioner and there is no left over power. It's even worse in some campgrounds where the voltage has dropped to 110V or less because of poor wiring. Then, that same 1800 watts / 110 volts = 16.36 AMPS and the Air-conditioner is now drawing 16.36 AMPs as well. A 30 Amp breaker can't handle 32.72 AMPS! (You can't put 10 gallons in a five gallon bucket.)

The solution is to go to a lower wattage hairdryer and/or raise the AC thermostat while drying your hair to keep the compressor off. The low voltage levels at some of the campgrounds can only be corrected with a device like the Autoformer which does voltage correction. After having problems this summer and finding a measured voltage of around 110-111 volts on outlets in the coach,I am seriously considering purchasing an autoformer to protect the expensive electrical devices we use in our modern RVs.

Here is a link to the autoformer: http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/r...ds/55-3980.htm I've also seen them in the adds at the back of Trailer Life and Highways Magazines.

Happy Trails!!
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Old 08-09-2004, 12:05 PM   #8
CountryGuy
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fulltimedreamer,

Al installed a autoformer, made a post about it here a while back, but if you go to our home page and look for a link to Al's Electrical improvements (or something like that) you can see for yourself. Of course, his install was in a specific area of the 3295, and from looking at some of the newer units, it might not fit in the same place in the new units. He had a devil of a time getting it all in there, and had the skinned knuckles to prove it!

When we need it, it has worked like a charm and we are very happy with it. Mostly we use in State Parks, but the way he wired, if the 3295 needs an extra boost, we get it.
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Old 08-10-2004, 02:01 PM   #9
Montana_1774
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We have a 328RLS Mountaineer. We have only spent one night in it, but we did not experience any problem with breakers. However; I have and have had the habit of running the water heater on gas, just to save some amps for something else. Me thinks I would consider having the electrical checked.
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Old 08-10-2004, 02:17 PM   #10
Countryfolks
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Since the dryer is being used right after a shower, the waterheater is probably still on, and it draws considerable amps also.

Skip
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Old 08-11-2004, 05:03 PM   #11
larryngail
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by Countryfolks

Since the dryer is being used right after a shower, the waterheater is probably still on, and it draws considerable amps also.

Skip
Good point with the water heater.

I've been wondering about something related to this topic -- so am going to ask. We moved from one site to another in the same RV park.

Since moving, the electricity goes off and I have to reset it by pushing the little reset button on one of the outlets (GFI?). Anyhow....my usage hasn't changed....honest. Any ideas why my power worked fine in one site and not another?
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Old 08-12-2004, 07:21 AM   #12
Karl
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re: GFCI

If the GFCI outlet you are having to reset is at the pedestal, it is quite possible that the GFCI breaker at the new site is more sensitive than the other. I had a similar problem with one of the GFCI outlets in my house, and after I replaced it, it was fine. The tripping of the GFCI does not have to do with load, but rather with a percieived ground fault somewhere in the circuit.

If the outlet(s) you have to reset are in the 5er, check the things you have plugged in to outlets on that circuit. It is possible that one of the items plugged in has developed a ground fault. It is also possible that water has dampened an appliance or has spilled to wet an outlet attached to the circuit (This happened to me when the kitchen faucet was bumped and leaked... finally finding the outlet.

Just some food for thought.
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Old 08-15-2004, 12:04 PM   #13
ols1932
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Quote:
quote:What do I need to do to preveny having to turn everything off and then flip the breakers back on?. Is this a problem I need to address the dealership or this a normal thing to many things on at the same time?. Do I need to change breakers,wiring or what. Thanks in advance for the help.
We have a 3555RL Montana. The ac power comes in on 2 legs. On my rig, one leg powered the entire rig while the other leg was routed only to the outlet where the washer/dryer would be (if we had one). So I rerouted the Air Conditioner electrical input to the other leg of the ac. I had to install a conduit under the rig and run the electrical wire up into the back of the converter. I installed a junction box in which to connect the original wires for the Air Conditioner (that were connected to the Air Conditioner breaker) to the new wire installed in the conduit. I then attached the other end to a breaker in the input box. My main input power comes in the rear of my rig to a breaker box containing a 30 amp and two 20 amp breakers.

My wife can run her hair dryer with the TV on, one computer on, and the Air Conditioner. Everything works fine (except when we boondock . Have an electrician friend look at your rig to see what can be done. I modified mine for about $35 which included the conduit, junction box, and wire.
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Old 08-20-2004, 11:30 AM   #14
sreigle
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If your Mountaineer is like our Montana there are lots of outlets on the GFCI circuit (aggravating) and also the refrigerator. We have 50 amp service but 20 of that apparently is only for the washer/dryer and maybe the 2nd AC prep (don't have the 2nd AC unit). We can have two major draws going at one time so long as they are not on the same circuit. We figured out on ours that if we plug the hair dryer into the outlet at the end of the dresser, by the closet, (that one's not on the GFCI circuit on ours) then we are ok. But we also run the hair dryer on the low setting using roughly half the rated amperage. It's worse for us in the winter when we may have two electric heaters going at the same time and want to use the hair dryer. Sorry no easy answers for you. One of these days I may see about moving some circuits around like others have done.
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Old 08-20-2004, 04:21 PM   #15
ols1932
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by sreigle

If your Mountaineer is like our Montana there are lots of outlets on the GFCI circuit (aggravating) and also the refrigerator. We have 50 amp service but 20 of that apparently is only for the washer/dryer and maybe the 2nd AC prep (don't have the 2nd AC unit).
On our 2000 Montana, we have only two GFCI receptacles. One is in the kitchen, the other is in the bathroom. The receptacle outside the rig is connected to the same GFCI circuit.

The major problem we had until we rerouted our Air Conditioner input (see my previous post) was that all the other receptacles in the rig are connected together. Therefore, if we run too many appliances we expect to trip the breaker. We've learned that we can run a hair dryer and the microwave as well as one TV at the same time.
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Old 08-21-2004, 05:29 AM   #16
sreigle
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Ols1932, on ours, besides the bathroom, outside receptacle, and fridge, the GFCI circuit also includes the kitchen slide outlet (toaster), the outlet at the rear of the kitchen island (coffee pot), and at the computer desk. No wonder we have breaker problems. That's way too much on a single circuit. Months ago I emailed Keystone asking them to point me to someone who might be able to do some rewiring at a reasonable cost but did not get a response from them. One of these days I guess I'll call them.
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Old 08-21-2004, 11:38 AM   #17
ols1932
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by sreigle

Ols1932, on ours, besides the bathroom, outside receptacle, and fridge, the GFCI circuit also includes the kitchen slide outlet (toaster), the outlet at the rear of the kitchen island (coffee pot), and at the computer desk. No wonder we have breaker problems. That's way too much on a single circuit. Months ago I emailed Keystone asking them to point me to someone who might be able to do some rewiring at a reasonable cost but did not get a response from them. One of these days I guess I'll call them.
WOW! That is too much load for the one circuit. The only way around it short of rewiring is just to be frugal in your use of appliances. As I had previously mentioned, the biggest problem we had was when the AC would kick in, then we couldn't use much more than a TV and/or computer. But once we rewired the AC we don't have near the problems. Of course we have to remember that these units were not designed for full-time living like we do. We don't complain, we just live with it.
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Old 08-21-2004, 01:42 PM   #18
sreigle
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Being frugal with appliance use is what we're doing. It doesn't take too many resetting of the breakers plus resetting all the clocks and all that lost power before you learn to be careful. You also learn which outlet you can get away with using, too.
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