Campground Breakers - EDITED
We have been traveling in our current motorhome for nearly 12 years, with 8 years of it as full timers and the last four at 3/4's of the year so we are very familiar with this coach. I heard somethin...
Forum Discussion
Assuming there was nothing else of significance consuming power in the RV, there is no realistic way two air conditioners should trip a 50A breaker on their own. If their current consumption is abnormally high, the 20A breaker for the air conditioner circuit(s) would trip long before a properly functioning 50A breaker. That ought to be true even if both air conditioners are on the same leg, which is not the way things ought to be wired up.
If a bunch of other stuff is running at the same time, say an electric water heater element and the converter charging rather low batteries and the fridge and maybe the microwave oven, then one may be able to legitimately exceed 50A and cause a healthy breaker to trip as it ought.
(Incidentally, the suggestion that current always goes up when voltage goes down is absolutely incorrect for many loads. Electric motors and motor-driven equipment is a rather complicated case; the current may go up, down, or stay the same, at least within some reasonable range of voltages. If the voltage drops low enough, the current will of necessity go down; otherwise you'd have the air conditioner etc. consuming inifinte current when unplugged with the generator off! For resistance heaters and incandescent lights, the current (and hence power consumed) drops as voltage drops.)
If a bunch of other stuff is running at the same time, say an electric water heater element and the converter charging rather low batteries and the fridge and maybe the microwave oven, then one may be able to legitimately exceed 50A and cause a healthy breaker to trip as it ought.
(Incidentally, the suggestion that current always goes up when voltage goes down is absolutely incorrect for many loads. Electric motors and motor-driven equipment is a rather complicated case; the current may go up, down, or stay the same, at least within some reasonable range of voltages. If the voltage drops low enough, the current will of necessity go down; otherwise you'd have the air conditioner etc. consuming inifinte current when unplugged with the generator off! For resistance heaters and incandescent lights, the current (and hence power consumed) drops as voltage drops.)
