Volt Regulator

Bobbo wrote:

accsys wrote:
IMHO an EMS system such as the Progressive Industries ones are very necessary. They protect against power surges and low/high voltage situations.

On the other hand many people use the autoformers to boost the low voltages that are sometimes prevalent in a campground. In my opinion these just exacerbate the problem for the whole campground. The only reason the voltage is low is because of an overtaxed distribution system and too many people pulling too many amps. An autoformer raises the output voltage by increasing the amps pulled on the input, just making the problem worse for everyone else. If everyone in the campground was using an autoformer, you would have a cascading effect that eventually would blow the main trunk line to the campground.

Actually, the Autoformer can't use more amperage than the outlet provides. If you are hooked to a 30 amp outlet, the Autoformer can't pull more than 30 amps or it would trip the breaker. If you are hooked to a 50 amp outlet, it can't pull more than 100 amps (50 amps per side). Since you are already "authorized" to pull that many amps, you aren't cheating anyone out of "their" power.

What it actually does is give you REDUCED amperage at INCREASED voltage. If you are on the 30 amp circuit, the autoformer can pull only up to 30 amps, but uses some of those amps to raise the voltage, so your RV may actually only receive 27 amps, or so, at the increased voltage. Same applies to the 50 amp circuit.

That being said, I do not have any kind of voltage booster, whether Autoformer or other.

I standby what I said. Naturally you cannot draw more current than what the circuit breaker is designed for on the pedestal. Few of us pull the maximum power the pedestal is designed for, especially 50 amp pedestals. But, if you use an autoformer in a low voltage situation, you are pulling more current from the pedestal than you would without the autoformer and thus contributing to the low voltage situation for everyone else that is originally caused by the high current draw throughout the campground.

It's simple electrical math. To get higher power on the output windings you have to increase the power on the input windings and in low voltage situations the only way to do that is increase current through the input windings. And since the autoformer is not 100% efficient, you actually lose some power through the autoformer, requiring an even higher current on the input.