Nubie with a 2015 Flying Cloud

[Kristy]

Question about running on 110 power.

I have my 'new' 2015 Airstream hooked up to my barn's 110 power with guests in it.

I also have a solar panel that I keep the batteries topped up with when not in use.

When I purchased the trailer from the dealer I was told that it would run everything but the AC on the 110. But it has gotten a bit cold here in Oregon and folks are using the heater at full blast and it keeps tripping the breaker. I ended up running an extension cord to another power source, but it's about 100ft, and I am sure I am loosing power with that long of a cord...

Are there any rules of thumb that I should be aware of? Like don't run the TV, heater and Microwave at the same time? Ha!

I am hoping at some point to get the 30amp installed, but can't get an electrician to drive out to the farm for what they consider a small job.

Thank you for any help in advance
Kristy

[RamblinManGa]

Hi from AZ. . . you didn't say what size circuit you have it plugged into (15-20 amp is pretty standard for houses) and that won't run everything. The microwave is the biggest draw you mentioned & running an extention cord is not a great idea, unless it's a big, fat one. Stop using the microwave & see if then it holds, for a start. . . just thinking out loud. . . Craig. . .p.s. Welcome to the Forums

[SeaLevel]

You could probably run the furnace instead of the heater that is part of the AC unit, but then you would go through propane pretty quickly.

[NoResults]

Do you have propane on the farm? Possibly you could use a propane generator close to the barn and use the 30 amp cord. Most standard generators can be easily converted to run on propane.

The furnace fan is also a big draw on the electical.

Dave

[mandolindave]

Small job ????????? It was a lot of work.( digging an 80 foot long trench ) Even with doing the work myself, it wasn't cheap. ( 30 amp circuit breaker, 100 feet of 8 gauge wire, schedule 40 PVC, the 30 amp outlet and box )

I am guessing that your extension cord has wire that is too thin, most are 16 gauge.( voltage drop ) You could make a heavy duty power cord, that is NO longer than it need be ( again voltage drop )

You could verify my suspicion by checking voltage at the end of your cable. My voltage is 121. BTW 110 volts is kinda low. I think 117 is about average ?????

Also make sure that nothing else is on the circuit that is running to the trailer

[franklyfrank]

Originally Posted by Kristy

Question about running on 110 power.

I have my 'new' 2015 Airstream hooked up to my barn's 110 power with guests in it.

I also have a solar panel that I keep the batteries topped up with when not in use.

When I purchased the trailer from the dealer I was told that it would run everything but the AC on the 110. But it has gotten a bit cold here in Oregon and folks are using the heater at full blast and it keeps tripping the breaker. I ended up running an extension cord to another power source, but it's about 100ft, and I am sure I am loosing power with that long of a cord...

Are there any rules of thumb that I should be aware of? Like don't run the TV, heater and Microwave at the same time? Ha!

I am hoping at some point to get the 30amp installed, but can't get an electrician to drive out to the farm for what they consider a small job.

Thank you for any help in advance
Kristy

Do you have a separate breaker box to your barn ? If so you may have heavy enough wire in there to simply accommodate a larger breaker say a 30 AMP. You could do that yourself.

[Floatingair]

Hello, Kristy
Welcome to the Airstream forum.
I really like the idea of using your AS as a temporary guest house.
I'm hoping you are not planning to use your AS guest house during an Oregon winter. My suggestion would be to move your guest to the main house & winterize the AS before your weather reaches freezing temperatures.
As for running your single A/C; a 110v will do fine in very comfortable outdoor temperatures, as long as your AS is in the shade. This winter, I would suggest to move your AS to a open area or inside your barn. Last winter a SOB was destroyed from falling ice and heavy snow four RV spots from mine. Luckily the person wasn't hurt but was very shaken up.

[ijustlee]

Living in a trailer is "life at the end of an extension cord"! Generally speaking the weak link is the adapter to a standard 3 prong plug from the 30 amp trailer plug, they melt very easily! You should probably rely on the propane furnace for heat and then life should be good. Also many times barns are wired thinking that nothing other than a light bulb or two will be run. You need to check and see what size wire runs to the barn, sometimes a good clue is what size breaker feeds the barn? If it's a 15 amp breaker somebody scrimped on wiring and ran #14 wire. If a 20 amp breaker you might have #12 wire which is still minimal. You might just have to be happy not using much power or keep using another feed with an extension cord from the house. You can buy #12 extension cords but they are not cheap or all that common for a good one and if you shop hard you can find #10 cords for around $100. You didn't tell us enough information so that we know what is really going on. A good 30 amp RV outlet needs fat wire, the longer from the main panel the fatter and more costly the wire will be!

[pcskier]

If the thermostat is set to 'auto' and they're using the heat pump on the roof--that's a pretty big draw.

I've used one of those little 1500 w electric ceramic heaters on household power and it was toasty. Just have them turn it off before using something else

A 100 ft ext cord is REALLY long as well.

Or set the thermostat on 'furn' and use propane instead depending on how long they'll be in there.

[Wazbro]

First your trailer 30 amp cord is 120V (many people call 110V) so your question is WRONG. Your question should be about running on 15amp.

Second the heat pump and AC are the same thing, the heating setting uses as much or more power then the cooling setting.

Now the important thing to remember is that many electricians are too incompetent to understand that the 30amp outlet is NOT 240V or even believe you when you tell them it IS 120V.

240v will fry your appliances, don't let that happen.

[duncans]

Hi Kristy,

I don't have an answer to your question, but wanted to say hi. We are nearly neighbors as Burnside Bob (Dave) and I live on Butte Creek, on a farm, just west of 213 on Wagon RD. Welcome to the Forums!

Susan

[Kristy]

Originally Posted by Kristy

Question about running on 110 power.

I have my 'new' 2015 Airstream hooked up to my barn's 110 power with guests in it.

I also have a solar panel that I keep the batteries topped up with when not in use.

When I purchased the trailer from the dealer I was told that it would run everything but the AC on the 110. But it has gotten a bit cold here in Oregon and folks are using the heater at full blast and it keeps tripping the breaker. I ended up running an extension cord to another power source, but it's about 100ft, and I am sure I am loosing power with that long of a cord...

Are there any rules of thumb that I should be aware of? Like don't run the TV, heater and Microwave at the same time? Ha!

I am hoping at some point to get the 30amp installed, but can't get an electrician to drive out to the farm for what they consider a small job.

Thank you for any help in advance
Kristy

Thanks all...
So I now understand that it is a 15 amp, not 110...
And I now know that the furnace setting must have been turned off! (I didn't know that there were different settings)...
Will play with the settings when my guests leave tomorrow...

The hook up is a 25ft 15 amp 12# extension cord. Will check to see if I can figure out what the breaker box reads... But as I have found that the previous owners skimped on everything... and the farm is over 100 years old, my guess is it is way sub standard...

[mandolindave]

Many circuits are [ 15 amp /110 volts ]

20 amp circuits require a different circuit breaker and 12 gauge wire ( still 110 volts )

110 volts isn't really 110 volts

[m.hony]

If you are saying the heat pump is tripping the breaker, the heat pump is still the a/c.
If you are saying the furnace fan is tripping the breaker, I don't get it.
The furnace fan is 12 volt.

[Pat.Mann]

When we have 15 amp power, we usually use gas for the fridge and the water heater as well to keep from popping breakers; that lets the furnace fan get all it wants, and we turn off the furnace when running toaster, microwave, coffee grinder or coffee maker - and we run only one of those at a time. If the furnace isn't on, we'll run the water heater on electric.
You want a 10-guage or larger (smaller number) extension cord if you're running it 100 feet - that will run you about $100. We use a 50-foot 12-guage extension cord when sharing 15-amp power with others at rallies and caravans.