Power Sag/Current Issues at Seasonal Site
We are in our first year at a seasonal site we think we will be staying at long term. Everything is great, but the power. We only have a small Jayco 16XRB but even its 8K Btu AC and fridge prove cha...
Forum Discussion
Well its been a few weeks of tinkering, and I bought the Hughes Surge Protector with the Bluetooth so I could track the trailer for a full weekend of use.
We average about 12kwh of use in 24 hours. The average current we draw is 8A at about 104-108V. I did some testing and with the A/C on we tried the Microwave and saw the 95V at 17.5A. So its obvious we can't do that, but knowing that I went ahead and ordered the Autoformer. Worst case it doesn't work but Amazon's return policy is so good I am not too worried. While I had the Watchdog I used it on my neighbours trailer. He blows the 20A from time to time (I have not yet). He is drawing about 15.5A with his rooftop A/C on, and when the fridge he has on his deck kicks in he see 30A spikes, which is crazy. I am surprised he doesn't blow it all the time.
I also ordered a Frigidaire 6K Btu which is far quieter than the stock PD unit, and is far more efficient, drawing 4.6A instead of 6.4A the current one does. I did it more for volume than efficiency but every little bit helps. It arrives the 24th I think, so I will at least post up how it does for me.
As an aside, the Watchdog Surge is a very nice unit, very stoutly built compared to the others I've seen. But the phone app is lacking. It keeps track of the total kwh used since on, but has no functions for keeping a log of the voltage/amperage usage, or high and lows when I am not at the trailer. I bought a small $15 Engbird temp sensor for the fridge, and with 2 AAA's and bluetooth it fully logs the temp and can send it to the app when I get back to the trailer. I wish Hughes would do the same for such an expensive unit. I also wish the Autoformer which has surge, also had the bluetooth reporting, because I have to make the decision now whether to keep both which sucks.
We average about 12kwh of use in 24 hours. The average current we draw is 8A at about 104-108V. I did some testing and with the A/C on we tried the Microwave and saw the 95V at 17.5A. So its obvious we can't do that, but knowing that I went ahead and ordered the Autoformer. Worst case it doesn't work but Amazon's return policy is so good I am not too worried. While I had the Watchdog I used it on my neighbours trailer. He blows the 20A from time to time (I have not yet). He is drawing about 15.5A with his rooftop A/C on, and when the fridge he has on his deck kicks in he see 30A spikes, which is crazy. I am surprised he doesn't blow it all the time.
I also ordered a Frigidaire 6K Btu which is far quieter than the stock PD unit, and is far more efficient, drawing 4.6A instead of 6.4A the current one does. I did it more for volume than efficiency but every little bit helps. It arrives the 24th I think, so I will at least post up how it does for me.
As an aside, the Watchdog Surge is a very nice unit, very stoutly built compared to the others I've seen. But the phone app is lacking. It keeps track of the total kwh used since on, but has no functions for keeping a log of the voltage/amperage usage, or high and lows when I am not at the trailer. I bought a small $15 Engbird temp sensor for the fridge, and with 2 AAA's and bluetooth it fully logs the temp and can send it to the app when I get back to the trailer. I wish Hughes would do the same for such an expensive unit. I also wish the Autoformer which has surge, also had the bluetooth reporting, because I have to make the decision now whether to keep both which sucks.
