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Janss
Explorer II
Jul 07, 2017

30A Circuit Breaker at house tripping

Motorhome plugged in full time. Temps outside around 100-105 degrees. MH basement a/c running constantly during the day. Except when the circuit breaker trips :( I'm talking about the one on the side of my house, not inside the motorhome.

Panel inside MH shows 26 or 27 amps for a/c and frig.

Breaker doesn't feel loose or worn to me. 30amp plug looks okay, not melted. Why is the breaker tripping? Because the circuit is getting too hot, just because the a/c is working so hard due to the hot weather?

37 Replies

  • Frig is not residential. And I forgot to write that this happened last week without the frig running...just the a/c.

    I believe both compressors are running, because when I turn on the a/c, first the panel shows 15 amps for a few minutes, then it rises to 23. Or could the second compressor kicking on use a momentary high draw? What if I turn off the MH circuit breaker for the 2nd compressor? Maybe the 1st compressor could keep up my set point of 85 degrees since I leave it on all the time (i.e. not just turning on the a/c when temps reach 100 and expect it to cool down the MH).

    Could the amps go up during the hottest part of the day, or are amps a constant? (I don't know enough about electricity.)
  • Is your coach a 50 AMP coach?? are you adapted down to the 30 amp box on your house?

    If so.... up grade to the 50 amp box on the house.
  • 27 is pretty high for a 30 amp breaker. I believe 28 is the max continuous that is recommended.
    I would move any load you can to another circuit as the gentleman above suggests.
  • Janss wrote:
    Motorhome plugged in full time. Temps outside around 100-105 degrees. MH basement a/c running constantly during the day. Except when the circuit breaker trips :( I'm talking about the one on the side of my house, not inside the motorhome.

    Panel inside MH shows 26 or 27 amps for a/c and frig.

    Breaker doesn't feel loose or worn to me. 30amp plug looks okay, not melted. Why is the breaker tripping? Because the circuit is getting too hot, just because the a/c is working so hard due to the hot weather?


    You might put your reefer on a different circuit. Run a cord on a different breaker.
  • The basement airconditioner is a 2 stage unit. 2 stage compressor. If the thermostat setting cannot be maintained with one stsge, the second stage kicks in. It may be that if/when the second stage comes on it exceeds 30 amps and opens the breaker. So if you measured amps with only the first stage operating you didn't measure the bigger load.
  • If your fridge is residential, when it cycles on it's drawing a higher amperage than when it's just running, with the AC already running your likely getting a momentary high draw (above the 26 or 27) that is causing it to trip. Can you turn something else off to lessen the load somewhat?