Plugging in at home

Sully2 wrote:

prism wrote:

Mr.Mark wrote:
Meffrig, I certainly would plug in if you can. It will keep the batteries charged up and you can run the fridge on electric.

MM.

wont run the fridge and charger system if its a standard house 15 amp type plug in

Yes it will...

well obviously not always.In my bus If the batterys are low and the charger is asking for 30-50 amps my system on my 08 allegro bus wont let the ats engage.says warning low line voltage.I have to charge my batterys up if that low with a 15 amp charger then after that it works fine but I cant run a the norcold fridge and inverter/charger off a 15 amp line and be dependable in that if the fridge and the inverter/charger try to power up at the same time that's more than 15 amp draw and voltage drops so I make sure my fridge is off and all is well.My 02 bus worked the same way so I guess it depends?I will add Iam running through a 100 ft #10 cord

I plug in 24/7/365

Our RV is in the driveway and plugged 24/7 into a 30amp circuit AND cable TV. All house systems are always working and available. The chassis battery is trickle-charging with a Battery-tender. I believe it best for the RV's health to keep as many of its subsystems in a consistent, running-warm condition. If something does break or wear-out, I'd rather it happen at home.
Therefore, we are ready to load-up and head for the hills when the Zomby Apocalypse erupts.
> A few choice seats are still available for you and your loved ones at a small nominal expense. Show them you care with early reservations! <

prism wrote:

Mr.Mark wrote:
Meffrig, I certainly would plug in if you can. It will keep the batteries charged up and you can run the fridge on electric.

MM.

wont run the fridge and charger system if its a standard house 15 amp type plug in

Yes it will...

RV's (motor homes and trailers) come in two kinds as related to this discussion.

And a 50 am rig is almost guaranteed to be just one of those.

Some older Trailers mostly (But I won't rule them out in a motor home) have some very nasty converters like the Magnetek 6300 which is well know to kill batteries by boiling them dry in as little as 1-3 weeks.

These will nearly always be 30 amp rigs (in fact the 6300 is designed for use in 30 amp rigs only)

Some have more modern converters like the parallex 7300, This unit is still a single stage converter but it has much better regulation so is less likely to kill your battery.... Or fully charge it for that matter.

Many have better converters, and here the list is too long to post.. I'm partial to the Progressive Dynamics Intella-Power 9200 line (or the 9100 with optional charge wizard) or any converter/distribution combo with the charge wizard.

These are top of the line3-stage converters with at least one special feature. (The Charge WIzred gives a quick shot of overcharge every 20 hours of float, This helps stir thins up in the battery (Equilize) but is not long enough to do serious damage)

The result.. When my Interstate U-2200's were new I had to add water every... Mother's Day. Yup, once a year. and to be honest I could have gone a month or two over (But mother's day was easier to remember as that is when I de-winterized) Today they drink a bit more but they are over 8 years old, that's like 80 in a human.

One time when running the generator a while with the A/C's on I did not turn off one A/C. I was surprised the A/C was running later just being plugged into the 15 amp outlet.

I'm plugged into 50 amp service 24/7/365. Chassis batteries are maintained by a small trickle charger. House batteries take about 1 gallon of water a year.

My Direct TV receiver also stays "active" and doesn't require refreshing when
leaving on a trip.

siggyd777 wrote:
I'm plugged in to a regular 15Amp outlet 24/7 and can also run the all
electric fridge. Batteries are float charging 24/7 also.Before leaving
I even run an electric heater on 750 watt.
For the engine block heater I run an additional cord direct to the
block heater cord.
Siggy

thats interesting as Iam on 15 amp system showing about 124 volts
I can only run the charger as long as the batterys are not dead.
no way I can run a heater etc.The EMS gives a warning of low voltage as soon as I run any significant power draw and also the ATS will cut out

Thanks for all the responses. I thought about adding a 50 amp service at my home but I can't really see the benefit of doing that now. I will continue to go with the 50-30-15 set up.

I plug mine in for one day every other week just to keep the batteries topped off. On the other weeks I run the generator with both a/c running and both the fridge and below freezer. Once a month I take the mh out for a run so that the tires,bearings,engine, etc all come up to operating temps.