Adding onto electric wires

[mercedesme28]

I have a older rig, ( no computer chips to worry about) I want to add one or two GFI plugs in the kitchen, can I splice off of any 110 white line ? I see a couple of lines next to the inverter box and a couple of the look like they are coming from the outside plug
Being GFI's I wasn't sure if I needed to come out of the breaker panel ?
Thanks,
Eric

[Vulcan_Rider]

mercedesme28 wrote:
I have a very small portable AC

And here's another consideration:
If that is one of those roll around floor units with a SINGLE exhaust hose......those are a cruel joke and should be outlawed in my opinion.

They are energy HOGS because all of the air that exits that single hose has to come IN from someplace else in the house. Think about it for a minute.

The net overall cooling gain between the cooling versus sucking in all of that 90+ degree air through cracks elsewhere is small. It might even be negative in some circumstances.

Portable units with TWO external hoses don't suffer from that design defect but cost a bit more.

[Vulcan_Rider]

mercedesme28 wrote:

Running the gen sucks up the gas, for a 4 hr drive across the Desert with 100 + temps
I would run it directly from the battery.

The gen shouldn't use THAT much gas; really.

And the batteries won't supply 320 amp/hours of power without being totally flat at the end, if they even have that much capacity. The AC would stop working long before that.

No offense intended but this is a case of "Penny wise and pound foolish".

[msturtz]

mercedesme28 wrote:
The small AC is only 8k BTU with a 8 amp draw.
Running the gen sucks up the gas, for a 4 hr drive across the Desert with 100 + temps
I would run it directly from the battery. There is also a dehumidifier setting that I can use
Would that pull less than the air-conditioning ?

8 Amps at 120 V is 960 watts however at 12 V it is pulling 80 amps. However in the case of air conditioners they can pull up to 5 times the running current which could be up to 400 amps 12 VDC to start the air conditioner. Keep in mind that you will need to size your alternator for an additional load of 80 amps continuous plus conversion losses of about 10% over your existing household loads. This all assumes that you are using a pure sine wave inverter. If you are using a modified sine wave inverter the AC is much less efficient and some won't run at all. It is possible to do this and it isn't a bad idea. Just understand what you are getting into.

[mercedesme28]

The small AC is only 8k BTU with a 8 amp draw.
Running the gen sucks up the gas, for a 4 hr drive across the Desert with 100 + temps
I would run it directly from the battery. There is also a dehumidifier setting that I can use
Would that pull less than the air-conditioning ?

[msturtz]

I have a 3kw pure sine wave inverter with 1/0 cable connected to two group 31 AGM batteries and I wouldn't run a 13k btu A/C off of it. Even with AGM batteries the peukert effect would quickly drain the batteries. Very few alternators can keep up with a 150a continuous draw. This isn't to mention the 300+ amps of start surge load. Keep in mind that you must recalculate the current draw for any change in voltage. For example 1200 watt constant load at 120 V is only 10 amps but at 12 V it is 100 amps. This does not account for losses in the inversion process or capacitive start loads.

[kaydeejay]

mercedesme28 wrote:
Here is an off-the-wall question , I was looking on Amazon.com and found it inverter that you can plug into your cigarette lighter/PowerPort or connect directly to the battery it is 1000 W my question is I have a very small portable AC that is I was looking on Amazon.com and found it inverter that you can plug into your cigarette lighter/PowerPort or connect directly to the battery it is 1000 W my question is I have a very small 15amps and draws 8 Amps,
I was hoping to run this while driving in these triple digit temperatures help keep the motorhome cool while driving instead of turning on the generator to run the roof air do you think this 1000 watt would work it says it can run a appliances and TVs ?
Can it destroy my battery car overheat my battery while driving ?
Like I said another' odd question...
Thanks

A cigarette lighter type outlet will be fused at 10 or 15 amps.
That's 120 or 150 watts of power, before efficiency losses.
You will not run ANY kind of A/C on a max of 150 watts.
You need to power that 1000 watt inverter directly off the battery with VERY HEAVY wires (2 gauge or bigger) as close to the battery as possible.
Expect to be replacing your alternator on a regular basis! It's going to be working hard all the time.
Running the genny might be a better idea!

[Jim]

Our posts must have happened at the same time, OP, and I posted mine before seeing your last one.

My apologies, I did not realize you didn't have any outlets in the kitchen.

[Jim]

Ahh, OK, so in the '90s, Bounders did have a GFI in the bathroom. And from what I understand from my reading postings on RV.net over the years, many of their models looped to the kitchen. Mine does. If my GFI pops, the bathroom, hallway, kitchen, and outside patio outlets go dead. And if my patio outlet gets wet, like from rain, the GFI pops.

This design querk let to some hilarious time wasted scamperings on my part searching for the reason I had no power in the kitchen when all along it was just the bathroom GFI having popped because of rain on the patio outlet (since replaced and sealed).

Newer RVs have both a bathroom and kitchen CGFI installed as the electrical codes call for one in each location now days.

OP can certainly add one to the kitchen, but it's likely going to be redundant. I'd suggest just changing out the old one in the bathroom with a new one (they do age, experts suggest changing them once every 5-7 years).

[mercedesme28]

Yes, Jim and Arnold I have a 1992 Bounder, didn't think that mattered with the questions I asked, ,and no I do not have ANY outlets in the kitchen, which is why I'm asking how to put one there.
And yes I have a GFI in the bathroom, but that doesn't help me in the kitchen...

[Busskipper]

Jim@HiTek wrote:
Nowhere in the tread or the OPs signature is the year or model or even type of RV mentioned that I can find. Just know that we're in the Class A section of RV.net, and the rig is 'older'.

I'm curious because even 'older' Class A's looped the bathroom GFI wiring into the kitchen.

You may already have GFI protection, MercedesMe28.

OP has a 1992 Bounder

Found it in an older post

[Jim]

Nowhere in the tread or the OPs signature is the year or model or even type of RV mentioned that I can find. Just know that we're in the Class A section of RV.net, and the rig is 'older'.

I'm curious because even 'older' Class A's looped the bathroom GFI wiring into the kitchen.

You may already have GFI protection, MercedesMe28.

[time2roll]

mercedesme28 wrote:
Will 80 amps hurt the battery ?

No harm to the battery. Your alternator will try to supply most or all of the 80 amps while in transit. Battery just becomes discharged if the alternator does not keep up. Battery will get recharged at the destination when you plug in. Could max out your alternator for an extended period depending on rating and other loads.

[tropical36]

mercedesme28 wrote:
Here is an off-the-wall question , I was looking on Amazon.com and found it inverter that you can plug into your cigarette lighter/PowerPort or connect directly to the battery it is 1000 W my question is I have a very small portable AC that is I was looking on Amazon.com and found it inverter that you can plug into your cigarette lighter/PowerPort or connect directly to the battery it is 1000 W my question is I have a very small 15amps and draws 8 Amps,
I was hoping to run this while driving in these triple digit temperatures help keep the motorhome cool while driving instead of turning on the generator to run the roof air do you think this 1000 watt would work it says it can run a appliances and TVs ?
Can it destroy my battery car overheat my battery while driving ?
Like I said another' odd question...
Thanks

Most of these inverters won't work at all on a 12vdc port and certainly not to the tune of 80amps with no more than #12awg feeding it. Even when directly connecting to the batteries, stay close by at 5ft max runs and use a min. of #2awg.
Like said, run the gens set for these kind of loads.

[mercedesme28]

Will 80 amps hurt the battery ?