road-runner wrote:
Wiz wrote:
RV Main breaker is the one that trips. Has happened in a number of campgrounds and the campground breaker has never tripped.
Knowing this, if I were in your situation I'd replace the RV main breaker. It could be a failed experiment, but doesn't require a very big investment. Over multiple trips, statistically the RV breaker and pedestal breaker should each trip about half the time. I have never tripped my 30 amp main breaker, and never worry about running the air conditioner and microwave at the same time. I watch it only when there's a space heater or hair dryer in use.
breakers can degrade and start tripping below rated current, especially if they see rated current much of the time. NEC code expects (sometimes demands) that branch circuit draw be no more than something like 80% of circuit ampacity limit. so for a 30A circuit, that means about 24A.
breakers are somewhat temperature dependent high temps=lower trip point.
AC are temp dependent. high temps= higher current draw
AC motor current draw can actually go UP as line voltage goes down. counterintuitive, and takes a long explanation as to why, but it does on motors
microwaves have a terrible power factor. what that means is that the current draw is actually noticeably higher than the same power in a resistive load. and the current is mostly drawn at the peak of the sine wave.
In the end running an AC and microwave and nothing else is in the "barely adequate" capability of a 30A RV, luckily not in the "almost adequate" state. But it takes care to stay in that barely adequate state and not flip to the "almost adequate".
