Voltage Regulators - effect on CG breaker?

I read this argument fairly often. An autoformer on a 30A circuit is going to draw 30 amperes at max. There isn't any "stealing" of electricity. In reality, the CG needs to look at their wiring to get it to code.

As an alternative, there is using a "hybrid" inverter such as what Magnum or Victron make, which, if voltage drops below acceptable standards, will boost the voltage from the battery bank. Then, you plug a battery charger into a 20A receptacle to keep the batteries topped off. Essentially the same thing as an autoformer, but people are less apt to gripe about a 20 amp plug in use to an external appliance than they are a visible autoformer.

I have my voltage booster in circuit all the time. Most of the time I don't know if it is boosting or not. I got it so I don't have to worry about low voltage. We got the booster because at some of the campgrounds we frequent, we were getting shut down by our low voltage detect system. We do manage our power use so we aren't drawing so much current that we are causing the CG breaker to open.

A person has to live with

a) carefully calculated (ie rationed) wattage

b) no power

c) a different campground

accsys wrote:
The problem with using a voltage booster is it does increase the amperage used if it is boosting voltage. Since the original problem with the campground supply is that it cannot handle the current amperage being drawn, the voltage booster only adds to the problem. It reduces the problem for the voltage booster user but makes it worse for every one else. IF everyone in the park was using one, it would just keep drawing extra amperage as the voltage kept dropping until the campground supply was completely compromised and the main breakers blown!

This is exactly what happens at the park in Florida where we spend the winter. The CG supply is very poor and more people are getting voltage boosters and cannot understand when their site breaker starts tripping and occasionally one of the main CG breakers trips. I keep telling them that there is no free lunch especially when more and more people want feeding.

A similar situation has developed with the CG WIFI. It is very slow, especially in the evening when most people are using it. So far I am the only one who has installed a directional antenna and signal amplifier which allows me to grab more than my fair share of the band width. It won't be long before more people catch on and I will be back to square one.

Tony

The problem with using a voltage booster is it does increase the amperage used if it is boosting voltage. Since the original problem with the campground supply is that it cannot handle the current amperage being drawn, the voltage booster only adds to the problem. It reduces the problem for the voltage booster user but makes it worse for every one else. IF everyone in the park was using one, it would just keep drawing extra amperage as the voltage kept dropping until the campground supply was completely compromised and the main breakers blown!

It is a bit more complex than Road-Runner's explanation but .. he is essentially correct.

I have read pages and pages and pages of argument on this subject.
I also have a degree in the field so I know how to sift the "Information" as it were.

And here is how it works
If the unit is NOT boosting then it is drawing a very tiny amnount of power for operational reasons (it is after all a computer device, very simple and low power, but still it computes).

If it's boosting then you have transformer loss (Roughly 10%) and you have a rather complex relationship between volt amps, watts, power factors and input current/voltage v/s output current voltage.

BUT.. Which is more annoying: Having to go out and reset the circuit breaker

Having to pay $1,000 to replace a rooftop air conditioner?

Assuming the voltage regulator is an autoformer, yes it will result in you drawing more amps and increasing the risk of tripping the main breaker. You devices will draw more power (in watts) at the boosted voltage, resulting in more amps at the lower voltage of the shore power connection. The maximum power you can draw from the pedestal is the breaker size multiplied by the voltage. When the voltage is lower, the available power is lower.