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Adventurer_Buck's avatar
Aug 04, 2014

Problems with 50amp Class When Plugged Into 30amp Service

We have a 2012 Class A built for 50amp service. We are traveling in Canada were 30amp service has been the norm. When plugging in, we use a plug converter…nothing special or funny…just a plug that converts the plug pattern from 50amps to 30amps.

There's never been a problem with power or breakers tripping while using 50amps or 30amps while running any appliances. With 30amps, we typically only run the electric water heater, frig and 1 - a/c.

Two stays back (Stay #1), the site's 30amp breaker tripped when we used: 1 - a/c unit, the frig and the water heater. At the same time, the Power Control Center would reset itself. During that reset, power was not available.

An error code on the Inverter Pane was also received which translated into "overheat". We turned everything in the RV off including the batteries for about 30 minutes and the error code was resolved. After that, all worked fine through the night. We pulled out and left for the next stay the next morning.

At the next stop (Stay #2), we were able to run the a/c and the frig (no water heater) without complications and did so for 4 days in a row. We elected to use the water heater in LP mode to avoid the previous problems as the power panel said we were drawing 25 amps +/- thinking that the surge of the a/c coming on and off was causing the overload.

At the current stop (Stay #3), the power control center began resetting itself again with only the a/c and frig on. When the amps being drawn reached 20, everything "flipped" and then reset within 5 minutes. There were no spikes or anything that exceeded 30amps.

NOW, the internal power control panel says there are 50amps available, when there should openly be 30amps. The only appliance on electricity is the frig, yet there are no amps showing on the panel's dimply indicating amos are being drawn. The frig runs without a problem, yet as soon as the a/c is started, everything "flips" off again.

We tried both the front and rear a/c to make sure it wasn't a short or something in one of the units causing the overload. Both a/c unit when turned on caused the power panel to reset.

All of this seems to suggest that we have a problem at the control panel or inverter??? However, with it working at one stop and not another also seems to suggest some kind of incompatibility in the quality of service being provided???

Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

14 Replies

  • Are you using a dog bone or one of those stubby plug adapters? If not a dog bone, this may be your problem.

    Bruce
  • If you have low voltage at the pedestal, causing an increase in amps, as myredracer noted, the draw of the AC at locked rotor draw (start up) and it's fall off to the running draw, may be enough that it trips the electrical management system. If the refrigerator and the AC unit both start at the same time, the current may also be enough to overcome the settings on the management system.

    Depending on how the management system is built regarding surge and circuit protection, you may also be having a problem with that. To correctly diagnose these issues, a measurement of the incoming power and the draw of the devices would need to be done. At best, when powering from a 30 amp supply, you may need to use only one high amperage device along with the fridge.
  • Unplug till you find fire hazard... next Inspection of ALL Shore Power junction Boxes and look for burned and overheated Loose Wire Lugs anywhere there are connection's on your MH. Power Cord, Main CB, etc.

    Remember to remove AC Power before handling wires.

    DJ
  • Sounds like it's low voltage. Do you know what it is? When the voltage drops and you have an AC running, the current draw goes up and not down. If you don't know what the voltage is, try running a couple of 1500 watt appliances like a hair dryer and toaster which should draw near 30 amps at 120 volts. If it holds, then try adding a smaller appliance if you have one and see if it still holds. If it does, it's very likely low voltage causing the problem. When running appliances like toasters, hair dryers, coffee makers, etc., the current goes down when the voltage does.

    Low voltage is a common problem in the summer time with so many using AC units. You really want to know what the voltage is when running AC units in the summer because when it gets down to 105 volts and below, it will damage an AC unit. It was probably okay at night because people are not running AC units and other heavy loads and the voltage was probably closer to normal.

    If you are at campgrounds with low voltage and really want to run an AC unit or two, there's always an autoformer you can use like the Hughes or Franks units.

    The campground that we are currently at for a couple of days in eastern Wa. is having major issues and has asked people not to use their AC units. It's been bad enough that their main breaker for the whole CG has even tripped.

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