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Rvdude22's avatar
Rvdude22
Explorer
Jul 28, 2020

Acceptable electrical load

Good afternoon I have recently purchased a 2007 Keystone Cougar 289BHS. I am new to the world of RVs. With this in mind me and my wife are going to be living in the Rv full time. We do not plan on moving the rv for awhile since we have nothing big enough to pull it with. The RV is a 50 amp with a single ac at the moment I am planning on adding a second to help cool the rv. We are needing extra fridge and freezer space which we are planning on running a 4.5 cubic ft in the area where the bunk beds are and 5.3 cubic ft deep freezer that will sit out side. We also want to use a portable washer. The only other electronics that will be used is normal stuff that would be used for entertainment. With all of this information for what I am drawing for power. Will I need to do anything special to prevent electrical damage to anything in the rv? Also what are some tips that I should look for or do while living in the rv? Thank you anything is appreciated. 
  • Just make sure the A/C units are on different "legs" of the 240V feed.

    Before you pull the trigger, you might want to consider installing a mini-split heat pump with dual ceiling cassettes.
  • I would recommend getting an energy management system from progressive industries. It monitors the power at the pedestal and if anything happens high-voltage etc. because of some fault in the underground cabling The Progressive Industries unit will cut the power to your trailer. Get the best one that you can find. It is cheap insurance compared to the appliances that could be damaged if there is a fault in the pedestal.

    I do not repeat do not recommend your freezers be on a GFCI circuit. They are very sensitive units and if it would trip your freezer would shut off.

    You may call me if you wish and we can talk about a lot of other things as well.
  • Only problem I could see you running into is weight issues, two large freezers loaded up, how many pounds is that?

    Otherwise, can the park provide adequate amperage service? I've seen low voltage fairly often at busy parks. Low voltage is an equipment killer.
  • With a 50 amp RV you should not have any issues. Although you may want to check voltage is good (108+) in the hot afternoon when all the neighbors are running air conditioning.
  • All the electrical circuits are circuit breaker protected with the appropriate amp rating for the wiring to those circuits. And you have a main 50 amp circuit breaker for the incoming power. And, of course, there is the park power pedestal 50 amp breaker. If you exceed the amp rating of any of these that circuit breaker will trip before damage is done.

    If you add devices and it trips one of your circuit breakers then you will know that there is too much running off that breaker. The you can try another circuit. If your breaker panel has spare slots, you might add a new breaker and run new wires to new outlet(s). And the 50 amp park pedestal almost always has a standard 20 amp 120 vac outlet. Use that with a good extension cord to run the outdoor freezer.
  • To determine the power draw, all you do is add up the amps. Normally on a 50 amp RV the load is split or balanced between the two 50 amp legs. The A/C's are on different legs and a microwave would be on one leg with an A/C.

    If you are plugging these into the RV, you need to determine which leg the plugs are on so that you do not overload one leg.

    You may want to run a separate cord to the pedestal to power one of the units.

    You may not be allowed to set one of your units outside. Many parks will not allow you to set appliances outside,

    Ken
  • Look into feeding the washer and extra refer/freezer from the rig's power source and not run it through the rig's system.
  • Not likely. 50A RV service is 120/240V which means you have two 50A 120V circuits giving you 12,000W available. That assumes the circuit supplying power can deliver that.

    If you don’t have an easily available, weathertight GFCI outlet on the outside of the RV, you may want to supply the outside freezer from a protected GFCI outlet at the power source.