Running AC off of my home's current/Please Respond

Depending on the age of the house, outdoor outlets might be on a dedicated circuit, and other garage outlets may also be on a dedicated circuit (even if the washer is inside the house) My home was built in 1981, and code at the time did not require outside or garage outlets to be on dedicated circuits, but I believe more recent code does require it. So if the house is newer you may have that already. If not, find which breaker controls the outlet your RV is plugged into. When it is off, see what else in the house is off. Walk around with a small desk lamp and try plugging it in to various outlets to test. Most likely to be affected are outlets inside rooms adjcent to the outside outlet.

PUCampin wrote:
Olive600 - I have a very similar situation at my house. I park my Trailer on the side of my house where there is a standard receptacle. My Trailer has the standard 30A 120V cord and plug. I like to use my trailer for a guest house for my aunt, I like to have the fridge on, and very occasionally use the air conditioner. Here is what I do and why.

1. Most of the time I just want to charge the batteries, run the lights, and the fridge. These things do not use a lot of power. I use a short adapter cord, sometimes called a pigtail, that I plug into the receptacle on the side of my house and plug my RV cable into that pigtail. This works great as long as I only charge the batteries, run lights and the fridge. This receptacle on the side of my house is part of a larger circuit that includes my daughter's bedroom, son's bedroom, the living room and some lights in the house. With all these other things on the same circuit, if I tried to run the AC in the trailer I would have problems.

2. If I really need to run the AC this is what I do. I unplug the pigtail from the receptacle on the side of my house, go into the garage an plug it in to the receptacle where my washing machine is plug in. This is a dedicated circuit, required by code. There is nothing else on this circuit, just the washing maching (and dryer if you have a gas dryer) I do have to add a short heavy duty extension cord because it is further away. I can then run the AC and whatever else in the trailer with no problems.

So why can I run the AC when pluged in to the washer outlet but not the one on the side of the house? Because the washer outlet is dedicated. There are no other outlets, no lights, nothing else. The one on the side of the house shares the circuit with a bunch of other stuff, any of which can be on at the same time.

If I try to turn on the AC while plugged in to the side of the house, there will be too many things on and it can trip the breaker. However, it MAY NOT automatically trip the breaker, but can cause the voltage to sag too low which can damage the AC. This is why you have been told plugging in to a regular outlet will burn up the AC, because it is possible.

Plugged into the washer outlet, with nothing else needing power, the voltage will not sag much if at all, it will not damage your AC, and will not pop the breaker.

If you try to run the AC, the fridge on 120V, the water heater on 120V, charging the battery, and running a microwave, yea you will probably trip the breaker, but with a little common sense it is no issue.

Hope this helps some.

Thank you, your response helps a lot. Now I feel like I have the whole picture. I also understand my particular situation better. I need to:

1. find out if the /circuit I'm using has anything else on it. My washing machine is inside the house and too far away from the RV to be useful.

2. check the power in the RV when I'm running the RV from the house outlet by plugging in a voltmeter. The reading should not drop below 108v.

I checked my extension cord. It's 30amp, 125v, 3750watts. The label says it's for RV use. I think it's about 25ft long. Maybe a bit longer.

Thank you to everyone who has responded. I feel fully informed now.

Olive600 - I have a very similar situation at my house. I park my Trailer on the side of my house where there is a standard receptacle. My Trailer has the standard 30A 120V cord and plug. I like to use my trailer for a guest house for my aunt, I like to have the fridge on, and very occasionally use the air conditioner. Here is what I do and why.

1. Most of the time I just want to charge the batteries, run the lights, and the fridge. These things do not use a lot of power. I use a short adapter cord, sometimes called a pigtail, that I plug into the receptacle on the side of my house and plug my RV cable into that pigtail. This works great as long as I only charge the batteries, run lights and the fridge. This receptacle on the side of my house is part of a larger circuit that includes my daughter's bedroom, son's bedroom, the living room and some lights in the house. With all these other things on the same circuit, if I tried to run the AC in the trailer I would have problems.

2. If I really need to run the AC this is what I do. I unplug the pigtail from the receptacle on the side of my house, go into the garage an plug it in to the receptacle where my washing machine is plug in. This is a dedicated circuit, required by code. There is nothing else on this circuit, just the washing maching (and dryer if you have a gas dryer) I do have to add a short heavy duty extension cord because it is further away. I can then run the AC and whatever else in the trailer with no problems.

So why can I run the AC when pluged in to the washer outlet but not the one on the side of the house? Because the washer outlet is dedicated. There are no other outlets, no lights, nothing else. The one on the side of the house shares the circuit with a bunch of other stuff, any of which can be on at the same time.

If I try to turn on the AC while plugged in to the side of the house, there will be too many things on and it can trip the breaker. However, it MAY NOT automatically trip the breaker, but can cause the voltage to sag too low which can damage the AC. This is why you have been told plugging in to a regular outlet will burn up the AC, because it is possible.

Plugged into the washer outlet, with nothing else needing power, the voltage will not sag much if at all, it will not damage your AC, and will not pop the breaker.

If you try to run the AC, the fridge on 120V, the water heater on 120V, charging the battery, and running a microwave, yea you will probably trip the breaker, but with a little common sense it is no issue.

Hope this helps some.

The difference between a 11k and 13.5k amp draw is about 2 amps.
The OTHER problem is this. That outlet you are plugging into is usually NOT the only plug in your house on that circuit. You may have other items in your house plugged into wall outlets that are on that circuit. VERY FEW Home wall outlets will have a 20 amp breaker, most are 15 amp. You need to verify this,. Using a heavy Extension cord helps but people forget the WEAKEST link in this is the adapter from the RV to the 15 amp adapter. THIS IS A 15 AMP ADAPTER, NOT A 20 AMP ADAPTER. That means ITS rated at 15 amps max. The wall receptacle, is also rated AT 15 AMPS not 20 or 30. When you plug into at Shore current, the AC is NOT the only thing ON in your RV. You have a Power Converter pulling current also, but usually 1 to 2 amps. LOW voltage will NOT trip a Circuit Breaker(VERY common misconception about this on this type thread). LOW voltage will indeed ruin a Compressor or fan motor.
Since you are a novice, the best advice is to NOT do what you want to do without having a true 30 amp service connected at your house. Remember, the MINIMUM rated current IN the RV for a RV roof AC is a 20 amp breaker, NOT a 15 amp breaker. Doug

I run my 13.5 off of a 20 amp circuit all the time with no problem. I am not saying its what you should do, but it works for me.

HiTech wrote:
Also it looks like your unit came standard with an 11,000 btu AC or optional 13,500. Do you know which you have? 11,000 would be easy peasy on a good 20 amp circuit IMO, but it would not hurt to have a master electrician out to look at your wiring and plug and tell you if it would work or what it would take to give you an outlet capable of doing what you want.

Jim

Jim, I don't know what size the AC is. I'll do the research. Thanks.

Several years ago some friends of mine wanted to live in their RV for the summer at my home. I installed a 30A RV outlet on the wall using a 30Amp breaker and 8 gauge wire to the outlet. They ran the AC all summer long and now I have my Class A hooked up to it when it's parked at home. I've had no problems at all and never had a serious voltage drop. I also hooked up to the sewer line and water supply and it makes a super RV pad. My advise is to have an experienced electrician do the work and make sure he/she uses a proper circuit breaker and proper size wire for the length of wire run to the outlet. Hook up and be happy!!!

I can run my 13.5 btu AC for my TT from my 20A/120V washing machine plug all day long with no issue. It requires a properly sized extension cord. The only thing that will affect your AC is running on low voltage (under 108V, this will kill it), insufficient amperage (under 20A the breaker will trip) or plugging it into a 220A outlet (likely will fry all electrical circuits and devices).

I do NOT endorse the idea of running your rig off a single 120vac 15-amp outlet.

The reason is this. Nerds (me included) do things like buy meters and monitor them, turn things off and on, to compensate (cheat) for a hodge-podge setup that is so easy to mismanage it isn't funny.

If you are indeed willing to jump through hoops, buy meters, and then obey the laws of electricity then OK you can plug into a house receptacle (plug-in)

People who want to help -theorize- and base their assumptions on having everything in their scenario -perfect-. No older, loose house receptacle, a home with up to date code wiring, and ten dozen other things that we nerds automatically check for when undertaking such a task.

You may not be versed in all this nerdery. You might wish to simply plug in and not be forced to buy a bunch of meters, and memorize just how many accessories on at the same time is "enough" and not "too much".

This is your call, not someone else's.

You need professional advice for your own exclusive and particular case. Advice that is not biased. Seek unbiased and dispassionate professional advice IMHO.

Thank you everyone. I do not have a "special RV line" at my house. It's unlikely that I will get one. I just ordered a volt meter for the RV. I'll use it as soon as I get it. I do have a heavy duty extension cord, but I don't remember if it's 30 amp. Not sure that I knew what to look for when I bought it. It is probably longer than I should be using. I'll check out all of this. Thanks again for the help. There seems to be consensus around some basic points. Those are what I'll go with.