Power conditioner at koa campground

[MartiniSCP]

Hello all.

We're staying at a koa in Seattle Tacoma.
Running the a/c and microwave simultaneously makes the $250 power conditioner turn off.

Upon inspection, the power level shows 109 or 105 volts and goes from 15 amps to 25 amps on the display.

The maintenance guy said bypass the conditioner because their system is fused and they've been getting this all summer.

Needless to say, I'm hesitant to take his word for it.

Opinions anyone?

Thanks.
B

[wa8yxm]

Rereading first post. A power CONDITIONER is one of two devices,

one (Actually called a power line conditioner) is a combination of converter, 12 volt battery and true sine wave inverter in series, last time I priced one it had a comma in it's price tag, and you would not use one of those to run an air conditioner,, A delicate lab test device yes, a air conditioner.

The second is what we here call an auto-former (Which is a trademark for one company) that is an automatic voltage boosting or bucking transformer, It has no "OFF"

What you have is a power Manager or Monitor (I prefer monitor) also known as an RV Surge guard that's the only one of the devices which can turn you off.

Problem: too much resistance getting to your park outlet or bad connection to park outlet

Solution.. Do not run A/C and microwave at same time.

[time2roll]

If my PI shuts down for low voltage I will be plugging in the Frank's booster.

[Oaklevel]

120 Volt AC Amp Ratings fo RVs

Appliance or Electronic Equipment Estimated Amps
Air Conditioner (X number of A/C) 12-16 Amps
Blender 5-6 Amps
Coffee Maker 5-8 Amps
Compact Disc Player 1 Amp
Computer (Laptop) 2-3 Amps
Converter 1-8 Amps
Crock Pot 1-2 Amps
Curling Iron <1 Amp
Drill 2-6 Amps
Electric Blanket 0.5-1.5 Amps
Electric Fan 1 Amp
Electric Water Heater 9-13 Amps
Electric Skillet 6-12 Amps
Hair Dryer 5-12 Amps
Iron 5-10 Amps
Light (60 watt % 120V) <1 Amp
Microwave 8-13 Amps
Microwave (Convection Oven) 13 Amps
Refrigerator in AC mode 5-8 Amps
Space Heater 8-13 Amps
Television 1.5-4 Amps
Toaster 7-10 Amps
Vacuum (handheld) 2-6 Amps
VCR 1-2 Amps
Washer/Dryer 14-16Amps

[Oaklevel]

If you have a 30A trailer it is not uncommon to trip a breaker with the microwave on at AC start up esp if the water heater is on electric. Real easy to get over 30A with that combination. If your trailer is 50A it should not do it.

[canoehenge1994]

MartiniSCP wrote:
So then beware this campground folks.
Last night our conditioner (SurgeGuard 34730) showed 103 volts and 3,yes THREE amps!

Completely unacceptable when I paid for 30.

But that did prompt a question from DW.
How much power does the power conditioner itself draw.
I would think a very small amount, if any.

Thanks again to all.

Happy trails.
B

If the campground is only providing 103V with only a 3A current draw, I would pack up and move to another campground. How many AC units is this campground frying due to their old and faulty wiring?

[tpi]

MartiniSCP wrote:
Hello all.

We're staying at a koa in Seattle Tacoma.
Running the a/c and microwave simultaneously makes the $250 power conditioner turn off.

Upon inspection, the power level shows 109 or 105 volts and goes from 15 amps to 25 amps on the display.

The maintenance guy said bypass the conditioner because their system is fused and they've been getting this all summer.

Needless to say, I'm hesitant to take his word for it.

Opinions anyone?

Thanks.
B

The safest choice is not to run the microwave and air conditioner compressor at the same time. It could only be a minor inconvenience to switch off AC for a few minutes when using microwave. If it is a problem, I'd put a voltmeter on your system and bypass the conditioner temporarily. If the voltage didn't sag below 103 volts with both running, you're OK according the the specs on my Dometic. From there, lower voltage is a murky non recommended territory. I may be tempted to go a little lower for a brief time for a good reason.

Overall though managing load by shutting off the air conditioner while using microwave is pretty typical RV practice when needed.

[MartiniSCP]

Oh well, hell.
My bad.
Op here.
I bet the readout of amps on the power conditioner is the amperage that the trailer is drawing a given moment, NOT the amperage available!

Duh.

B

[MartiniSCP]

So then beware this campground folks.
Last night our conditioner (SurgeGuard 34730) showed 103 volts and 3,yes THREE amps!

Completely unacceptable when I paid for 30.

But that did prompt a question from DW.
How much power does the power conditioner itself draw.
I would think a very small amount, if any.

Thanks again to all.

Happy trails.
B

[steveownby]

motorcycle jack wrote:
For those who are recommending a power booster: Nothing is free, i.e. increasing the voltage INCREASES the current load on the power pole. P=IE that is power (watts) is the voltage multiplied by the current. E=IR, so the voltage is the current times the resistance on the line. If you want to increase E, voltage using a fixed resistance (your AC and the microwave) then the current goes UP. Now the E has gone up so Power goes up or current increases - you will trip the PMS system much quicker this way so he won't gain a thing!

He certainly will gain something! If the voltage at the pedestal is within 5-10 volts of the PMS low voltage limit, it will gain him enough head room to run one A/C and a few basics without tripping the 30 amp breaker. You are correct if he is trying to run 3600 watts of appliances but if he can manage with 3000 watts the Autoformer will allow him to do so at a reasonably safe voltage level.

It's also a fallacy that 50 amp service seldom has a low voltage problem. Lots of older campgrounds installed 50 amp service "on the cheap" and have the same issues described here.

[time2roll]

motorcycle jack wrote:
For those who are recommending a power booster: Nothing is free, i.e. increasing the voltage INCREASES the current load on the power pole. P=IE that is power (watts) is the voltage multiplied by the current. E=IR, so the voltage is the current times the resistance on the line. If you want to increase E, voltage using a fixed resistance (your AC and the microwave) then the current goes UP. Now the E has gone up so Power goes up or current increases - you will trip the PMS system much quicker this way so he won't gain a thing!

If the air is running nicely at 101 volts and 14 amps it will slowly overheat and burn up.

If you boost voltage to 112 you might draw 15 amps from the 30 amp supply but your air conditioner will keep you cool running for years to come. And with 112 volts the PMS will keep the power on. Still it is appropriate to run the water and fridge on propane to save power.

[motorcycle_jack]

For those who are recommending a power booster: Nothing is free, i.e. increasing the voltage INCREASES the current load on the power pole. P=IE that is power (watts) is the voltage multiplied by the current. E=IR, so the voltage is the current times the resistance on the line. If you want to increase E, voltage using a fixed resistance (your AC and the microwave) then the current goes UP. Now the E has gone up so Power goes up or current increases - you will trip the PMS system much quicker this way so he won't gain a thing!

[TXiceman]

DO not disconnect the power monitor. The power is running to low for the load. Limit the items you run and keep an eye on the voltage. Low voltage is not good for most appliances and will eventually harm them.

To help with the low voltage, put the frig on gas and not electric. Also put the water heater on gas and not electric.

The problem generally goes back to the campground not having adequate wiring for the number of users.

Ken

[time2roll]

If you plan to be there for an extended period consider a Powermaster voltage booster.

http://www.powermasterrv.com/products.html

DO NOT bypass anything except than man's advice.

[TyroneandGladys]

At Tahoe Valley RV Resort last year when I reported low voltage they stated it happens whenever it gets hot since the campground's electrical system was designed when RV"s only had one AC unit and with so many units having two or even three the system can not handle the load. No apologies or any plans to upgrade the system.