#30 amp hooked to house 110

[Longboard6]

Is it possible to run my AS 30 amp line with adapter on my house 110 or do I need to add a 30 amp circuit? I had no problems previously, but kept blowing cir. breaker last time running my ac in 100 deg temp. My grounded orange extension cord with excess coiled on grass in the sun melted and fused into orange blob. We only hook to house for a day to prep for a trip and clean on return. Oh, and I get lost in electrical mumble beyond screwing in a light bulb....early childhood trauma involving a hot socket and a toy gun.

[TG Twinkie]

You should never use an extension cord and try to run your A/C. Unless it is a 30 amp or larger rated extension cord.
If you are lucky you may not have ruined the compressor motor in the A/C unit.
A 30 amp/120 volt RV outlet is recommended when using the A/C. Even then the wire sizing must be correct to prevent any significant voltage drop. Depending on how far the RV receptacle is from the power panel in the house will determine if the wiring run must be larger than #10 AWG wire.


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[switz]

Running the air conditioner draws a lot of power and when it cycled, the extension cord could not carry the startup amp load and the wires heated up and the insulation melted.

Your home circuit breaker panel needs a single slot available into which a 30 amp breaker could be installed. Then a wire would be pulled to a spot that you can access with your trailer power cord. The proper outlet for the trailer cord would then be installed. If you are unsure how to do this, get an electrician.

While #10 copper wire is rated 30 amps, if the run to the new power outlet is very far (over 25'), then I would suggest #8 copper or even #6 copper wire to reduce the voltage drop associated with high current draw that resulted in heating the wire in the extension cord.

I just acquired a 100' three #10 copper conductor extension cord that is rated for only 15 amps due to voltage drop. That translates to a 1,800 watt electrical load. It would have overheated trying to start the typical Airstream airconditioner.

[mimiandrews]

If you decide to have a 30 amp outlet wired to your house, be absolutely sure the electrician knows to wire it for 120 volts. Too many so called electricians think all funny looking plugs have to be 220. Lots of Airstreams have been fried that way.

Tell him/her you need 120 volt power, and make him/her prove that's what you have before he/she leaves.

[Mrjkq]

My electrician installed a 30 Amp breaker & a dedicated plug just below the breaker box. I use a 30 Amp extension cord that plugs into my Airstream cord, it's the perfect set up for driveway loading/unloading or maintenance.

[markdoane]

I used to run my ac from a single 20 a outlet in my garage. No extension cord, just the regular 30a cable and an adapter plug.
I also have my ac wired through a 30a Surge Master. Despite this I still popped a breaker after about 24 hrs of operation. The adapter plug was hot as a pistol.
Cost to run #10 wire and a 30a outlet was $100.


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[SeeMore]

Saying the above answers in reverse; Do not use the microwave or air conditioner in your trailer when connected to the house until you upgrade your circuit to 30 amp.. Lights, TV, and fans are OK. Your converter will keep you battery charged if it is a multi-stage unit. If not, then you should disconnect the house power once fully charged to ensure you don't overcharge (and ruin) the battery. Be sure to check the water level in your battery at least every two weeks.

[aftermath]

I hook up to the garage via an extension cord and an adapter. I am hooked up to a 20 amp circuit with 12 gauge wiring in the garage. I do not run the AC. I turned it on once and noticed the the voltage meter was reading 119 V. I returned about 45 minutes later and saw the voltage had dropped to about 108. I turned everything off and looked at the extension cord. It was warm, very warm but no where near melting. The current draw on an AC is too large for a smaller circuit. It will result in voltage drop, heat build up and possible damage to the AC.

If you are going to use the big appliances you must be plugged into a 30AM line and and extension cord has to be rated to carry 30 amps. Anything less than this and you will be asking for trouble.

[horseylady]

I may be a little off the subject of this thread but I assume Airstreams do not come from the factory with built-in
EMS (Emergency Management System)? We use a portable one, always, and it has saved us more than once when campground electricity was faulty or voltage too low. A nuisance to have it shut us down, temporarily, but worth it in terms of appliances. We haven't taken delivery on our Airstream yet so there are a lot of things we don't know about them.

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by horseylady

I may be a little off the subject of this thread but I assume Airstreams do not come from the factory with built-in
EMS (Emergency Management System)? We use a portable one, always, and it has saved us more than once when campground electricity was faulty or voltage too low. A nuisance to have it shut us down, temporarily, but worth it in terms of appliances. We haven't taken delivery on our Airstream yet so there are a lot of things we don't know about them.

What does the EMS do, provide temporary power? Your AS will have an inverter that converts the 12VDC battery power to 110VAC. You won't be able to run the AC or microwave but you will be able to power small appliances that don't draw too much electricity.

Maybe you mean the EMS is a circuit tester/surge protector? You should have one of those too. It checks the CG connection to make sure it's not reversed wiring, open ground etc.

[m.hony]

You can run everything except the air conditioner. Your house receptacle is only 15 or 20 amps.

[Longboard6]

Originally Posted by horseylady

I may be a little off the subject of this thread but I assume Airstreams do not come from the factory with built-in
EMS (Emergency Management System)? We use a portable one, always, and it has saved us more than once when campground electricity was faulty or voltage too low. A nuisance to have it shut us down, temporarily, but worth it in terms of appliances. We haven't taken delivery on our Airstream yet so there are a lot of things we don't know about them.

At first I thought your EMS was going to be about CPR on me after I electocute myself. Thanks for not making fun of my electronic disfunction. I will look into the EMS
Longboard6

[Boxite]

AMPS is like GALLONS of water. VOLTS is like PRESSURE (PSI).
Volts multiplied by Amps equals WATTS (which is the ability to perform Work, similar to 10 gallons per minute at 50 psi.)

So... 30 Amps, says nothing about VOLTS. If you hire an electrician worth his salt (like an IBEW member or other journeyman) then he will know to determine the voltage required when he makes the circuit. And you should specify that for RV use, what you want is a 30 Amp, 120 Volt circuit, properly grounded using a 30 Amp RV receptacle.

[kennethowens]

house outlet - 20 amps.

good for a few lights and such....No A/C...NO MICROWAVE

you want to do all that - go purchase some (#6 best) or #8 gauge stranded wire,
makeup a cord that you could plug into the clothes dryer outlet...or suitable large
amperage outlet(if available).

Safety - get an Electrician to help you.

[mimiandrews]

Originally Posted by kennethowens

house outlet - 20 amps.

good for a few lights and such....No A/C...NO MICROWAVE

you want to do all that - go purchase some (#6 best) or #8 gauge stranded wire,
makeup a cord that you could plug into the clothes dryer outlet...or suitable large
amperage outlet(if available).

Safety - get an Electrician to help you.

Clothes dryer outlets are 240 volts. No! Don't plug your Airstream into one of those, no matter how big the extension cord.

[NavyCorpsman]

30A house circuit breaker via 10-2 w/ ground via conduit to stub for trailer. One 30A outlet for trailer service or you could wire a sub panel for an additional 15-20A outlet. It's what I built for mine and works flawlessly.

[Wanderer2604]

Originally Posted by Boxite

AMPS is like GALLONS of water. VOLTS is like PRESSURE (PSI).
Volts multiplied by Amps equals WATTS (which is the ability to perform Work, similar to 10 gallons per minute at 50 psi.)

AMPS is more like GALLONS per SECOND. COULOMBs are more like GALLONS. An AMP-HOUR (used in battery specs) is 3600 COULOMBs.

[TG Twinkie]

Just because an electrician is in a Union or even licensed doesn't mean he/she knows anything about providing power to your coach.
Be sure the person you hire knows precisely what is needed. Otherwise there could be severe damage to your coach.


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[DavidsonOverlander]

Originally Posted by mimiandrews

Clothes dryer outlets are 240 volts. No! Don't plug your Airstream into one of those, no matter how big the extension cord.

In kennethowens defence, you can do this, if you REALLY understand what you're doing. You just need to make sure that you have connected to only one of the hot wires, along with the neutral and ground. If you're going to go to that much trouble you might as well install a proper 30 amp, 120 volt outlet.

[Koheleth]

One additional point relative to the original post: coiling an extension cord up is a good way to cause it to overheat. Cord reels are good for that, too.