AC VOLTAGE

[1L243]

At home when I am plugged into 15 amp circuit my voltage meter in the rv reads 120 volts. Plugged in at families house it reads 114 volts. With ac on 109 volts. What voltage is safe to run ac?

[wa8yxm]

What voltage is safe? Well it kind of varies A/C to A/C but generally 105 and up is safe Sounds like you have a voltage drop issue there but not enough to get upset over.

[pianotuna]

Approximately 325 watts for an absorption Fridge.

CavemanCharlie wrote:
, when voltage is low I like to switch my fridge over to gas. I'm not sure the fridge draws a lot but, I like to play it safe.

[CavemanCharlie]

You should be OK as long as you don't have any other loads. In other words don't even think about running the microwave at the same time. No toaster, no hair dryers, anything that draws a lot of currant should not be used at the same time as the AC. And, when voltage is low I like to switch my fridge over to gas. I'm not sure the fridge draws a lot but, I like to play it safe.

[Ava]

Hi, I have one of those Progressive Industries units from Camping world. It is supposed to shut the system down if the voltage drops below about 105 ( I will have to look at the specs ). Also shuts off when too high, or if there is improper wiring. There is a remote gauge inside that shows the current voltage, amperage, cycles and any errors. It has a built in delay of about two minutes if the power shuts off. This allows the A/C unit to reduce its pressure before kicking in again. Works for me, Doug

[Golden_HVAC]

I would leave mine on at 105 volts.

Actually I would be plugging in my voltage booster if it was running and less than 110 volts. But I have a 12 volt booster, you do not.

Look into buying a 'autoformer'. It will boost the voltage by 3% all the time, and boost it by 12% when the input voltage is low, automatically!

You might try plugging in to the same receptacle as the washing machine. It should be on a dedicated 20 amp circuit, and they have a second dedicated 20 amp circuit for the dryer. If they have a electric dryer, that one is free to use by the RV.

Actually if they have a 4 wire dryer, you can built a adapter. Buy a 4 wire dryer cord at Home Depot and wire it to a surface mount 50 amp stove receptacle. Then you can unplug the electric dryer, plug into the 30 amp plug, and plug a 50 amp RV directly into the stove receptacle. They are the same 120/240 50 amp plugs. If you do not already have a 50 to 30 amp adapter, you should consider buying one. You might run into a 50 amp only park someday, or more likely find that you are in a RV park with a broken or weak 30 amp receptacle, and using your adapter will prevent overheating the cord end on your RV.

If you constantly monitor the voltage in your RV, (say with a Kill-A-Watt) that stays plugged into a receptacle, you will find that many 30 amp RV parks have low voltage. Yet parks that have 30 and 50 amp plugs have higher voltage due to larger wires going to each site. Many times they wire about 10 units to a 200 amp circuit breaker! That larger wire does not drop wire like a 30 amp site that might be 200' away from the circuit breaker panel, and only have small #10 wiring.

Good luck, Have fun camping!

Fred.

[1L243]

I checked the voltage at the house a 20 amp dedicated circuit and it was the same 114 volts

[SoundGuy]

1L243 wrote:
At home when I am plugged into 15 amp circuit my voltage meter in the rv reads 120 volts. Plugged in at families house it reads 114 volts. With ac on 109 volts. What voltage is safe to run ac?

Low voltage threshold for a Progressive Industries EMS is 104 vac, for a TRC Surge Guard it's 102 vac ... assuming you're willing to believe the engineers who've designed these devices that ought to provide the answer you're looking for. 😉

I've got a TRC, have had it detect excessively low voltage several times, including our most recent trip when parts of S Ontario, including where we were camping, were subject to several days of brownouts. I'm about to side step that issue by investing in a TRC Voltage Regulator which in combination with surge protection that includes high/low voltage shutoff is about as good as it gets in protecting an RV's electrical system.

[Chuck_thehammer]

take a voltage reading as close to the family fuse box..
then inside your camper.

could be from fuse box to camper.. is lacking.

remember the LESS Voltage.. the more HEAT is generated by everything using the lower voltage. including the Wiring.

[pianotuna]

109 is fine. I get uncomfortable at below 107. I start load shedding to support the voltage.

[Canadian_Rainbi]

109V while the compressor running, not just the fans, should be OK.

[enblethen]

The AC units are normally rated at 115 volts. They should be able to start and run at 10% less. That would be around 104 volts.
I would not run mine less then 109. Problem could arise as converter kicks in or microwave maybe used.

[tenbear]

The nominal voltage for AC power is 120v. The voltage at families house is low, and the drop in voltage under load may indicate that the wiring may be too small.

I am no expert but have seen 104v as a minimum for using the AC but maybe someone more knowledgeable can give you a better number.