Air Conditioning help

Chipster · 07-06-2007, 10:48 PM

The air conditioner in my 2001 Classic will run for about 3 to 4 hours and then kick the breaker inside the trailer. The only other appliance operating is the referigerator. The outside temp is about 101-103. It is a 13500 penquin unit. It worked fine this winter when temps were 80 or so at an r.v. park for six months.The trailer is now at my home where I have installed 30amp service, water,& dump station. Last month at my house the unit worked fine but now we have this problem! Since the breaker inside the trailer kicks out does that mean the problem is in the trailer or could it be low voltage to the trailer from the source? An electrician hooked up the electrical using #10 wire, he said it would be fine.[about a 45 ft run to the trailer.] Where do I start ? Thanks in advance for any helpful suggestions, Chip

davidz71 · 07-06-2007, 11:14 PM

Chip, did the electrician use a 30 amp RV circuit box to which you have plugged in your 30 amp RV plug or are you running a 15 amp extension cord with a dogleg adapter? If you are using an extension cord with adapter then the cord is overheating. This is not good for the life of your AC -compressor.

2airishuman · 07-06-2007, 11:32 PM

hi chipster

low voltage does result in higher amperage (i think

) which will increase the heat IN the wires/breaker.

so my breaker has tripped when low voltage is encountered.

not to mention what it does to the a/c.

find a voltmeter/multimeter or get voltage monitor that plugs into an outlet...

mine is always in an unused outlet providing info or volts/cps and polarity....

are you sure the water heater is off?

cheers
2air'

Chipster · 07-06-2007, 11:45 PM

davidz71- The power is through a 30 amp rv box.and i plugged the trailer cord into it.
2air'-The hot water tank is off, and I will check the voltage in the a.m. Thank both for your input!

silverback · 07-06-2007, 11:53 PM

Are you running on Auto or High fan mode? I believe the A/C runs more efficiently on High. I had a similar experience at an RV park where the voltage checked fine on a DVM but was still suspect. Leaving it set to High during the hot part of the day stopped it.
-KL

tlavergne · 08-02-2007, 02:23 PM

Any solutions yet? I am having the same problem. I have a 1978 Ambassador with the original Armstrong AC. It has always worked great but yesterday and today I can not keep it running...it kicks out the trailer 20 amp breaker. It is in the mid-90's here (central Ohio). I have a dedicated 30 Amp RV plug in with 10 ga. wire...nothing else on the line. Any ideas?
Thanks,
Tom

silverback · 08-02-2007, 04:18 PM

Tom,
What does your volt meter say? 2air is right. It is almost always a low voltage condition. If you're down around 110 VAC that could be too low. I just stick the leds from my DVM in an outlet but I would rather have a little dedicated meter like in 2air's picture (where did you get that?).
-KL

tpi · 08-02-2007, 04:29 PM

I also recommend checking the voltage. On an AC motor, too much voltage drop will cause it to draw excessive current.

You may want to check the voltage at the AC unit itself if this proves to be a tough problem.

If the voltage proves to be normal, I'd replace the breaker with new one of the same rating as a next step. It doesn't appear to be a startup load problem due to the fact the AC runs for several hours prior to popping breaker.

HiHoAgRV · 08-02-2007, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tpi

If the voltage proves to be normal, I'd replace the breaker with new one of the same rating as a next step.

That was the fix for my AC. Worn out breaker, jeez it was only 30 years old! Ya' just can't get good stuff anymore

tlavergne · 08-02-2007, 07:49 PM

I have 118-119 volts with no load...when I fire up the old Armstrong it will dip to 95 for a half a second and then settle in at 111.5 volts. After 10 minutes of it running like that I shut it down, unplugged from shore power and removed the breaker. It was pretty warm. I think I will replace the breakers tomorrow and try it again. I appreciate everyones input.
Tom

tlavergne · 08-03-2007, 03:33 PM

I replaced all of my breakers today in the A/S and the AC has been running for hours. It is 95 out and it cooled down quick and is running great. I love those inexpensive fixes. Many thanks to all who responded.
Tom
#8848

**jcanavera** · 08-03-2007, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silverback

Tom,
What does your volt meter say? 2air is right. It is almost always a low voltage condition. If you're down around 110 VAC that could be too low. I just stick the leds from my DVM in an outlet but I would rather have a little dedicated meter like in 2air's picture (where did you get that?).
-KL

I got one like that from Camping World, but many other RV supply houses or stores sell this same unit. The only caution on this particular model is to read the fine print that comes with it. It has a potential variance of + to 1 10%. So for all intents the actual voltage could be as much as 12 volts off of actual.

I keep this unit plugged into the outlet over my kitchen counter. When it starts getting close to red, I'll use my more accurate digital tester to find out where things are at.

Jack

2airishuman · 08-03-2007, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silverback

I would rather have a little dedicated meter like in 2air's picture (where did you get that?).
-KL

the meter i posted last month was just an example of those available...

the one i actually have/use is a 3 in 1 unit...

voltage, polarity and hertz...

made by power watch technologies in colorado and called the 'good governor'

picked it up at camping world 2 years ago but they don't show it in stock now.

here is a link 2 a marine supply with accessories...

DIGITAL VOLT METER:POWER WATCH TECHNOLOGIES GG-101 GOOD GOVERNOR 3 IN 1 VOLTAGE METER

and a photo

the cps/hertz and polarity features are very handy.

at the international in 06 when the gensets were all overloaded, they started to bog down...

voltage AND hertz...

when cps dropped to 58 the electricians weren't aware of this, until they looked at my meter; then they turned up the cummins gensets a bit...

mine is always plugged in and comes in very handy when using the honda genset or during high use a/c days in most campgrounds...

the display alternates from volts 2 hz every few seconds...

i don't have the user guide handy to check +/- accuracy for the unit.

cheers
2air'

vswingfield · 08-03-2007, 05:41 PM

Ooh, digital readout, more leds…must have!

Thanks for the link and info 2air.

Vaughan