Extension Cord (need some opinions)
Hi Friends. Here is my situation. Camping at a music festival with CAT Generators. Paying for a 30 amp hook up. My TT is 30 amp. 1 AC unit. My TT is newer (2012) Although it may be closer the...
Forum Discussion
tenbear wrote:
Here is a little food for thought.
100 feet of #10 wire with a current of 30 Amps will have a voltage drop of 6 volts. # 12 would drop 9.5 v and #14 would drop 15 v. This is in addition to any drops due to the connectors. Of course you may not be using 30 A. Half the current, half the drop.
Yes true, but that's at a continuous/steady load and you also need to consider that the momentary inrush current of an AC unit is up around 60 amps (or maybe more depending on size and brand) and the resulting voltage drop can be too much for the AC to start. If things are marginal though, that's where a hard start cap or the Dometic smartstart can help. Also depends on the voltage at the supply end and for the CAT generator (I'm assuming a larger one), what size it is and what the voltage regulation is like.
