TT plugged in at home?

Thanks everyone for your replies. This was very helpful.

We had an rv box installed at our home. It has a 50,30,20 amp receptacles on a 50 amp breaker. The 20 amp has it's own breaker. Since we were going to have this done we also had a cable box mounted and a water line run next to the RV box... a little over kill maybe but it's just like being at the camp ground minus the sewage hook up.

SoundGuy wrote:

westend wrote:
Both of the above posts offer an accurate assessment of the workings of an RV A/C unit and the electrical requirements. Unfortunately, they are centered around running a 13.5K BTU unit. The OP is asking about a 15K BTU unit and his household branch circuit.

To be fair I did answer the OP's question directly in my first post back on Page 1 of this discussion ...

"No. Even in your current situation running a single 13,500 BTU A/C on a 15 amp drop you should be running only the A/C and nothing else. Attempting to run a 15,000 BTU A/C will only worsen the situation.

Can't get much clearer than that. :R

Yeah, OK.

Nearly all outdoor receptacles are rated for 20 Amps so yes you can run your AC. Just obtain the necessary adapters. You cannot simply replace a 20A outlet with a 30A outlet. The wiring will have to be replaced or added to.

SoundGuy wrote:

westend wrote:
Both of the above posts offer an accurate assessment of the workings of an RV A/C unit and the electrical requirements. Unfortunately, they are centered around running a 13.5K BTU unit. The OP is asking about a 15K BTU unit and his household branch circuit.

To be fair I did answer the OP's question directly in my first post back on Page 1 of this discussion ...

"No. Even in your current situation running a single 13,500 BTU A/C on a 15 amp drop you should be running only the A/C and nothing else. Attempting to run a 15,000 BTU A/C will only worsen the situation.

Can't get much clearer than that. :R

LOL! That cost me a beer!

westend wrote:
Both of the above posts offer an accurate assessment of the workings of an RV A/C unit and the electrical requirements. Unfortunately, they are centered around running a 13.5K BTU unit. The OP is asking about a 15K BTU unit and his household branch circuit.

To be fair I did answer the OP's question directly in my first post back on Page 1 of this discussion ...

"No. Even in your current situation running a single 13,500 BTU A/C on a 15 amp drop you should be running only the A/C and nothing else. Attempting to run a 15,000 BTU A/C will only worsen the situation.

Can't get much clearer than that. :R

Our 5vr is 50A
We parked it next to house and lived in it for 3 months while selling house
Plugged into 15A outlet
Ran 15K A/C, converter and TV ....no breaker trips, no low voltage, no issues

Fridge, water heater on propane

Occasionally used microwave but had to shut down A/C first

Yes you can do it with good line voltage, isolated 15A circuit (nothing but trailer on it) and good adapters/connections.

Both of the above posts offer an accurate assessment of the workings of an RV A/C unit and the electrical requirements. Unfortunately, they are centered around running a 13.5K BTU unit. The OP is asking about a 15K BTU unit and his household branch circuit.

IMO, it's risky to run these high amperage devices on an unknown rated circuit. In most cases the RV owner will be connected into a garage circuit and those can vary by standards at that location and age of house. In my area, an unfinished garage will have 20 amp GFCI protected branch circuits and hopefully, will be separated from other house receptacles. That isn't always the case. If the garage is finished in the interior, 15 amp circuits are allowed. Another intrinsic installation method is that a builder may pull 20 amp wiring throughout the garage but will install 15 amp receptacles to save time and money. I see many of these installations.

An owner should be mindful of exactly what he has regarding the circuit he wishes to use to power the RV. I'd suggest to the OP that he should establish a 50 amp receptacle as close as possible to his new TT. This can be complex as new AWG 6 needs to be pulled back to the load center in the house but will be less risk than trying to run a 15K BTU A/C through an unknown branch circuit. The price of A/C replacement would be more than the 50 receptacle installation.

FWIW, my TT has 50 amp service. I installed a 50 amp receptacle in the garage. Since I had previously installed a subpanel for a welder with 75 amp service, it was easy to add an additional breaker and pull wire for a dedicated 50 amp receptacle for the TT.

Good luck to the OP and hopefully, this discussion helps out with his questions.

Terryallan wrote:
Fact is. IF it pulls too many amps it will trip the breaker. then you know you need more

Two hots and a cot

myredracer wrote:
Anyone attempting to run an AC unit on a 15 amp circuit or are occasionally or frequently doing this are not meeting the min. requirements specified by the AC manufacturer. The fact that you CAN get your AC unit to run does not mean that all is well.

SoundGuy wrote:
To suggest that a standard 13,500 BTU roof mount A/C cannot be successfully started and run by a 15 amp breaker protected circuit is simplistic nonsense.

myredracer wrote:
This also is incorrect. I'm an EE and I will bet my degree on it.

Sorry for your loss. :W

As you said yourself -"A Dometic AC unit with a voltage rating of 115V should be able to operate satisfactorily at 103.5 to 126.5 volts and without incurring damage.

Of interest here is that the two common EMS units shut power off at 102 volts (Surge Guard) and 104 volts (Progressive Industries). IMO, 102 volts is too low. The figure of 104 volts could very well be based on the minimum allow voltage under ANSI & NEC (104.4)."

In my test today nominal unloaded source voltage was ~ 121.5 vac, lowest voltage when the compressor first ramped up to speed was ~ 108 vac and settled in at ~ 114 vac with no other loads on the circuit and as such was nowhere near causing my Progressive EMS-HW30C from shutting down power to the trailer. As I recall, LRA for my particular Dometic Brisk II is ~ 65 amps or just 4.3x the breaker's nominal 15 amp rating, a TM breaker that won't instantly trip until the surge load is 7x that rating, or 105 amps, explaining why it never trips running my 13.5K Dometic A/C.

MY bottom line, repeated - with a nominal unloaded source voltage of +/- 120 vac, reasonable cable length, and adequate cable gauge there's absolutely no reason one can't successfully start and run a 13,500 BTU A/C unit from a household 15 amp circuit provided there are no other loads running on that circuit at the same time.