Power conditioner at koa campground

MartiniSCP wrote:
Hello all.

We're staying at a koa in Seattle Tacoma.
Running the a/c and microwave simultaneously makes the $250 power conditioner turn off.

Upon inspection, the power level shows 109 or 105 volts and goes from 15 amps to 25 amps on the display.

The maintenance guy said bypass the conditioner because their system is fused and they've been getting this all summer.

Needless to say, I'm hesitant to take his word for it.

Opinions anyone?

Thanks.
B

Yes, I have an opinion...
I actually worked at this campground several years ago as a maintenance worker. The problem with this campground is that it is OLD. The wiring is undersized and has too many pedestals on each electric loop. We found many loose connections in pedestals and lots of half burnt and undersized wiring. We also had to set a fan to blow on the mains to try to cool them off because they were too hot to touch. And, we poored ice on the transformer to cool it off. Low voltage is a known problem. At this time of the year with the campground fairly full the problems really show up. What the owners need to do is totally rewire the campground from the transformer, to the main breaker panel to... everywhere. Keep using your auto disconnect. It is protecting you.

Hi,

Simple solution is to raise the A/C thermostat to 90F and leave the fan on while cooking in the microwave, then set it lower once you are done. Each will draw about 12.5 amps, and is nearly enough to trip the 30 amp breaker found in many campgrounds.

Another solution is plug in a Hughes Autoformer. I recently read that they run about $369 for the 30 amp version. The 50 amp version is rarely needed, as 50 amp campgrounds normally will not suffer from low voltage. Then the protection system will see the boosted 115 - 118 volts, not the 109 that the campground is giving you.

Bypass the protection system? In a campground where the maintenance crew says "We have power problems all summer long". Do what you will with that statement. No I would not bypass mine (if I felt the need for one).

I do have a voltage booster, and would be using it there. I also have voltage monitors, and it is plugged into a receptacle near my kitchen sink, so I can look at it from time to time. In the afternoons, if it is hot, I keep an eye on it, when at 108, I would normally plug in my booster. Yet I have run the A/C as low as 105 volts, it is safe at that level, but not 104.

Nominal voltage is 110 or 115. When you are getting 120, it is boosted by the power supply company to make things run cooler, and more voltage means less amperage across their lines, so they can install smaller copper lines. Motors are designed to run on 115 volts, + or - about 10 volts. When -10 volts, then the amperage of a motor will increase by about 10% while +10 volts will drop by 10%. However a heating element, like your refrigerator heater will increase in amperage when the voltage is higher, and decrease with low voltage.

So when you are using a voltage booster, it is best to switch the refrigerator to gas. The refrigerator will run cooler on gas, as it's burner is 2,200 Btu's and the electric element is only about 300 watts at 120 volts (250W at 108 volts) and that would be only about 900 or 800 Btu's to the boiler. When there was a recall on refrigerators, it involved electric heat elements that cracked the steel tubing, and they where rated at 350 watts, melted (due to overheating I guess?), and caused problems.

I noticed that when I change from electric on the refrigerator to gas, most times my voltage increases by about 1 volt.

Fred.

I certainly would not take the maintenance guy's advice. Your device is disconnecting presumably due to low voltage, protecting the appliances. My Surge Guard disconnects when the power drops to 102v for 14 seconds. In summer months I insert a voltage booster before the surge guard, so I have never reached this level in use.
Consider not using 2 heavy current devices at the same time, and let your protection equipment do its job.

Personally.....
I don't run my A/C unit when the AC Voltage drops below 108V.
Low(er) voltage causes higher amp draw. High amp draw means motor has to work harder.

And what good is having a 'power protection' device if you aren't going to use it?

Just don't run A/C and Microwave at same time.......lower your AC Demand by placing fridge/water heater etc. on propane.
It's your rig.......manage the load and protect YOUR equipment.

Maintenance guy isn't going to cover cost of damage to your stuff.
And those 'fuses'........they are to protect the CG's equipment not yours.

does your sitehave a meter on it?