Can I Do This?

[banderabob]

2016 25 FBT, standard equipment. I’m pretty darn smart about a lot of things, but NOT electrical. At home, can I run both the standard furnace and the spec’d refrigerator for this model off standard home service via a 30amp extension cord?

[richard5933]

The furnace will likely do its heating from propane, and the 12v electrical load will be minimal running the fan. The fridge will use 12v to run the controls, and there is a 120v heating element which runs the cooling unit.

Should be no problem if you're plugged into a 30-amp receptacle as long as your converter/charger is working (need to keep the batteries charged up as both the fridge and furnace will draw from 12v system.)

[wulfraat]

yes.

[Fungus]

Not even close to maxing out the 20-amp or 15-amp home circuit. Add an air conditioner or run the heat pump and you might have a problem UNLESS you installed an East Start on the AC.

[dspeltz]

I ran lights, refrigerator (electric), furnace and stereo off of the 20 amp house current. I monitored the load and I don’t think I would add anything else. But it worked fine.

[Captn.Ken]

Agree--Furnace heat is on Propane. Very little current draw for fan. Should be no problem at all.

[thewarden]

Yes, with the exception of your A/C, you can operate all your trailer's electrical systems, including the microwave, from your household current. Just make sure to use a good quality extension cord and keep the length reasonable. 100ft or less.

If you have an Easy Start on your A/C, then you can operate it on household current as well.

[PatLee]

I’m going to piggyback on this question. I’m facing 3 days of no-hookup camping where temps will be in 30’s at night. I have 3 solar panels (installed by JC) and will be in a sunny site. Can I turn on propane in morning - say 10 minutes - to warm trailer (and me) up without killing my AGM batteries?

[SeaJim]

If your heater is like ours (2021 FC 23 FB) it draws about 5 amps. For 10 minutes of run time that’s a bit less than 1 amp-hour. Whether that’s OK depends on the state of charge of your batteries when you went to bed and how much solar charging you can expect the next day which varies based on time of year, orientation of your trailer and clouds. A good battery monitor will give you better information to determine whether you might draw down your batteries below the standard 50% charge level.

[DAVSCH]

2019 Sport 22’ here. Yes. The power cord and house current at 15 amps will run nearly everything EXCEPT the Air Conditioning. I just got back from 2 weeks of boondocking. Ran my propane heater almost every night, never got my 1 Interstate lead-acid battery below 12.1 volts. Ran my generator for about 1.5 hours in the evening before bed…repeat the next day. No problems! If you have solar panels charging charging all day, no problems. Oh, don’t use the heat pump to warm up the camper, it’s a gigantic power hog almost as much as the A/C. Use the propane. Your only power consumption is the blower fan.

[88Limited]

For those of you saying that if you have an easy start you can run it off a household plug, please please be aware that's only if it's a 20 amp outlet and a cord rated for 20amps. A typical roof top air conditioner pulls 16ish amps, do not try it on a 15 amp outlet/cord. An easy start reduces the starting amp draw of the air conditioner (which can be as high as 50-60amps), not it's running amps. Running amps for the compressor and the fan are dictated by the load (compressing refrigerant for the compressor and moving air for the fan motor) not the easy start. Source: I am an HVAC tech.

[thewarden]

Originally Posted by 88Limited

For those of you saying that if you have an easy start you can run it off a household plug, please please be aware that's only if it's a 20 amp outlet and a cord rated for 20amps. A typical roof top air conditioner pulls 16ish amps, do not try it on a 15 amp outlet/cord. An easy start reduces the starting amp draw of the air conditioner (which can be as high as 50-60amps), not it's running amps. Running amps for the compressor and the fan are dictated by the load (compressing refrigerant for the compressor and moving air for the fan motor) not the easy start. Source: I am an HVAC tech.

In the real world, I have been using household current to run my A/C for years without issue. Cords and plugs have always remained cool, never tripped a breaker in the house, and have never had a problem. The highest amp draw that I have seen on my A/C has been 14.8 amps.

[Fungus]

Originally Posted by thewarden

In the real world, I have been using household current to run my A/C for years without issue. Cords and plugs have always remained cool, never tripped a breaker in the house, and have never had a problem. The highest amp draw that I have seen on my A/C has been 14.8 amps.

Same amperage here and checked with a clamp meter. I run the 30 amp cord from the adapter plugged into the wall. No extension cord.

[richard5933]

Originally Posted by thewarden

In the real world, I have been using household current to run my A/C for years without issue. Cords and plugs have always remained cool, never tripped a breaker in the house, and have never had a problem. The highest amp draw that I have seen on my A/C has been 14.8 amps.

If you're pulling 14.8 amps you're overworking a 15-amp circuit. Circuit breakers are generally designed to have only about 80% continuous load. Running a 15-amp circuit at/near its capacity is asking for problems. Best to use a 20-amp circuit for a load that large.

Something to remember here is that the outlet you're plugging into is very unlikely to be the only one on the circuit. In additional to whatever loads you're applying from your Airstream on that 15-amp circuit, you've have to calculate all the other loads in the house that may/may not be on it at the same time.

[thewarden]

Originally Posted by richard5933

If you're pulling 14.8 amps you're overworking a 15-amp circuit. Circuit breakers are generally designed to have only about 80% continuous load. Running a 15-amp circuit at/near its capacity is asking for problems. Best to use a 20-amp circuit for a load that large.

Something to remember here is that the outlet you're plugging into is very unlikely to be the only one on the circuit. In additional to whatever loads you're applying from your Airstream on that 15-amp circuit, you've have to calculate all the other loads in the house that may/may not be on it at the same time.

I am always plugged into an exterior outlet, which is normally on its own circuit, at least up here.

I agree a 20 amp circuit would be better, 30 amp better yet, but what kind of problems could one get into. Am I incorrectly assuming that the 15 amp breaker would trip before anything bad would happen?

[richard5933]

Originally Posted by thewarden

I am always plugged into an exterior outlet, which is normally on its own circuit, at least up here.



I agree a 20 amp circuit would be better, 30 amp better yet, but what kind of problems could one get into. Am I incorrectly assuming that the 15 amp breaker would trip before anything bad would happen?

In an ideal world, yes. The breaker will trip and all will be okay.

On the other hand, things are not always ideal.

What I've seen happen in situations like this is the smaller wires on the 15-amp circuit result in a voltage drop. Voltage drops are not good for things like a/c units.

Worse case scenario is the wires in the walls overheat and cause a fire.

I read an interesting article recently about circuit breakers. It seems that they will usually trip as expected if a too-large current is suddenly applied to them. But, scarily, if you sneak up on the limit little by little they don't trip consistently. By sneaking up on the limits of a breaker, to me, you're literally playing with fire.

[Fungus]

Is your need a one-time event or ongoing. If ongoing, can you get an electrician to install a 30-amp circuit within 50 feet of the trailer.