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happypill · 11-05-2009, 12:42 AM

here's my problem. when i plug into shore power (30 map) and plug the univolt into the trailers ac power, the trip breaker keeps surging and snappin' off. the breaker is a 20 amp and the univolt is listed as 30 amp, or so the sticker on the device indicates. obviously the univolt is demanding too much from the system (why) to solve this problem i have simply run an extension cord from the shore power 110 and plugged in my univolt..after that no problems.. but i would rather be more "self-contained" any ideas out there. could it be so simple as upgrading to a 30 amp breaker? my breaker box does have a 20 amp for the a/c and a 30 amp main, and then the 20 amp for lighting, which is the one that keeps tripping oh yeah it's also one of those cgfi breakers (if that makes a difference)

crispyboy · 11-05-2009, 06:40 AM

Happypill,
I went through this same exact problem back in August. An electrician explained to me that GFCI breakers can become over sensitive to electronics as the breaker get older.
When I was troubleshooting the problem I did just like you did and ran my converter from an extension cord and had no other problems with the breakers tripping. As soon as I plugged in the converter the breaker would trip. I switched out my breakers with new ones and solved the problem. Home Depot had the same exact breakers in stock. Took about twenty minutes to switch out the breakers. The GFCI was about $35 and the other two standard breakers were $3.75 and $4.75.

Minno · 11-05-2009, 06:40 AM

The univolt 30 amp sticker indicates the max output amperage on the 12 volt side of the univolt. There’s no way it would normally draw 30 amps on the 110 vac side. Is the univolt the only thing on that 20 amp circuit? When the breaker trips, what else do you lose? Are all the 110 vac outlets affected? Here’s a couple of thoughts:

1. Make sure nothing else is plugged into the same circuit as the univolt.
2. If you have other outlets that still have 110 vac power to them, try plugging the univolt into one of them and see if it trips the breaker.
3. Is the outlet you plug the univolt into with the extension cord a GFCI outlet?
4. If you have a 20 amp GFCI outlet in or on your house close enough that you can use an extension cord to plug the univolt into, try that. If the GFCI outlet trips, your univolt is bad. If the GFCI outlet does not trip, then I would replace the GFCI outlet in the airstream.

Do not replace the 20 amp breaker with a 30 amp one. That’s just asking for trouble since the wiring is only rated at 20 amps. Trouble as in overheating wires and starting a fire – not good.

Chris