Stupid question from a total newbie
Hi, we just purchased a kodiak express 186e and are leaving for our first outing this week. We will be staying at a place with electric hookup. Will I be able to plug in and use regular appliances s...
Forum Discussion
Since you're asking about ampere usage, here's a short, very short tutorial.
Every appliance uses electricity to operate. Electricity is measured in amperage and wattage. Breakers are used to control amperage so you don't melt wiring and start fires. If you exceed the amperage of the breaker it will "pop" and shut off the electricity. A breaker is a manual device controlled by heat generated by electricity. Common to RVs is 30amp service and 50amp service. Common household service is 15amp and 20amp except for dryers and cooktops.
As stated above, every appliance uses electricity to operate. In order to determine how much you can use at any one time, it's important to know how many amps each device uses. But appliance use is measured in watts. So, we need to convert watts to amps. There's a simple formula to determine this. Amps=Watts/Voltage. This also can be shown as Watts=Amps X Volts or Volts=Watts/Amps. Simple mathematical variations. Using this formula, say your coffee maker, at 900 Watts would be equal to Amps=900W/120V equals 7.5amps. Total the amount of amps you're using at any one time would tell you if you're exceeding your 30amp service. Using that same formula, 30amps=?/120V equals 3600watts. Got it?
Using that same formula, consider how 30amp and 50amp service differ:
Amps X Volts = Watts
30Amps X 120Volts = 3600 Watts
50Amps X 120Volts = 6000 Watts - BUT, 50amp service actually has TWO legs of 120Volts so the ACTUAL result is:
50Amps X 120Volts X 2 = 12,000Watts!
This is why the larger coaches are using 50amp service. Can you use 50amp service in your rig? No. You can use an adapter, 50 to 30 but you'll still be relegated to only 3600watts because you'll only be using ONE leg of the 50amp service. Hope this wasn't too confusing.
To determine the ACTUAL amount of electricity any appliance uses, you could buy a simple device called a Kill-a-Watt, which is a simple plug in device that shows you how much wattage each appliance uses. Add them together and you'll know which ones you can use together and which ones you cannot.....Dennis
Every appliance uses electricity to operate. Electricity is measured in amperage and wattage. Breakers are used to control amperage so you don't melt wiring and start fires. If you exceed the amperage of the breaker it will "pop" and shut off the electricity. A breaker is a manual device controlled by heat generated by electricity. Common to RVs is 30amp service and 50amp service. Common household service is 15amp and 20amp except for dryers and cooktops.
As stated above, every appliance uses electricity to operate. In order to determine how much you can use at any one time, it's important to know how many amps each device uses. But appliance use is measured in watts. So, we need to convert watts to amps. There's a simple formula to determine this. Amps=Watts/Voltage. This also can be shown as Watts=Amps X Volts or Volts=Watts/Amps. Simple mathematical variations. Using this formula, say your coffee maker, at 900 Watts would be equal to Amps=900W/120V equals 7.5amps. Total the amount of amps you're using at any one time would tell you if you're exceeding your 30amp service. Using that same formula, 30amps=?/120V equals 3600watts. Got it?
Using that same formula, consider how 30amp and 50amp service differ:
Amps X Volts = Watts
30Amps X 120Volts = 3600 Watts
50Amps X 120Volts = 6000 Watts - BUT, 50amp service actually has TWO legs of 120Volts so the ACTUAL result is:
50Amps X 120Volts X 2 = 12,000Watts!
This is why the larger coaches are using 50amp service. Can you use 50amp service in your rig? No. You can use an adapter, 50 to 30 but you'll still be relegated to only 3600watts because you'll only be using ONE leg of the 50amp service. Hope this wasn't too confusing.
To determine the ACTUAL amount of electricity any appliance uses, you could buy a simple device called a Kill-a-Watt, which is a simple plug in device that shows you how much wattage each appliance uses. Add them together and you'll know which ones you can use together and which ones you cannot.....Dennis
