wpatters1229 wrote:
It is just the internal breaker. The RV is in my driveway. I just replaced the extension cord (50 ft) with a heavy-duty gauge wire. I did feel the connection on the smaller cord where it connects to the adapter and it was warm. Maybe that smaller wire created too much load along with the A/C. Nothing else is running. The 30-amp breaker is for the whole RV. The rest of the breakers are all 15 amp. I have not tried the A/C with the larger cord. I think that may have been the problem along with the 99-degree heat here in CA. I am about to go turn on the A/C with the heavier cord to see if that was the problem. It takes about 20 minutes before the breaker trips.
When you say "heavy duty" is it a full blown 30amp RV cord or one of the orange extension cords. Even a good quaulity orange one is typically smaller gauge wire than a 30amp cord.
Also, how long is the total cordage. If you are stringing together 100+ft of cords, that's generally not good for running heavy loads.
This comes into play as smaller gauge wire and longer wiring rund will result in votage drop. When this happens, you get higher amperage and that can heat up the wiring which further reduces the voltage...if it's on the edge of popping, something like the battery charger kicking on may push it over the edge even though you didn't see or do anything.
If you have a multimeter, you should check the voltage at one of the RV outlets while the aircon is running. Ideally, it should be up around 120v. 110v or higher is OK. Down to 108v is marginal but technically in spec. Below that and you start to risk burning up the aircon compressor motor.
If you don't have a multimeter, you can pick up a voltage meter that just plugs into a wall socket. We have one that we leave always plugged in. When we set up at a new site, we typically take a look to see that the voltage is reasonable. Also, when we kick on the aircon, we check as it can pull the voltage down bye 4-5volts if the park power isn't strong.
