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Jbrougham · 03-29-2023, 10:24 AM

What does 30 amp power not run? Second AC.......camped 10 years on 30 amp rv with 1 AC and no issue.

Whats difference on 30 amp vs 50 amp? Allows you to operate on 2 AC's.

**Lt Dan** · 03-29-2023, 10:31 AM

On 30 amp, you can run just about anything in the coach, just not all at once. You can normally run two A/C units, but nothing else or one A/C and microwave or water heater. With a 50 amp, you can run just about anything you want. The difference is 30 amp is 3600 watts total power available, where 50 amp is 12,000 watts or 6,000 watts per leg.

Coarsegold · 03-29-2023, 12:08 PM

I am no expert on electrical but when I was on my last road trip I found my 2007 Fleetwood Southwind did not really like 30 amp. My front TV did not work, only 1 AC unit worked and a few outlets up front did not work.

When on 50 amp everything was all good, so I would avoid old or small RV parks with only 30 amp when traveling.

KenZ71 · 03-29-2023, 12:12 PM

Not so sure about 2 ACs on 30 Amp service. It worked in my Phaeton for a few days. Then I went to unplug the dogbone 30 --> 50 adapter - it had arced and fused to the Phaeton's 50 Amp power plug.

Easy enough to cut the end off and put a new one on, just a pain. Now I usually run the Generator if I can't get reliable 50 Amp service.

96 Wideglide · 03-29-2023, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KenZ71

Not so sure about 2 ACs on 30 Amp service. It worked in my Phaeton for a few days. Then I went to unplug the dogbone 30 --> 50 adapter - it had arced and fused to the Phaeton's 50 Amp power plug.

I went thru exact same thing running two at home, and that was 'with' my Hughes Autoformer inline! My EMS was showing 27-28A draw.

No more 2ac's on 30A for me!

bigb56 · 03-29-2023, 12:39 PM

Yep if you're running over 80% of the circuit rating for long enough things will melt. It's OK to run over 80% for short periods but NEC requires the circuit to be sized at 125% of the load if the load is continuous, which is defined by 3 hours or more. I will guess though, that running 2 ACs non stop at near the circuit max will melt things sooner than 3 hours if things are not in perfect condition.

bubby124 · 03-29-2023, 02:12 PM

I have a 2002 windsor if yours is like mine it has an electrical management system it will prioritize front air over rear air and will shut stuff off when over amperage I have run 2 airs on 30 amp but everything else has to be off and star one at a time but if I turn a TV on rear air goes off

tpaul · 03-29-2023, 02:28 PM

If you have an EasyStart or similar soft start on your AC's you might find that you can run them and other appliances.

twinboat · 03-29-2023, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tpaul

If you have an EasyStart or similar soft start on your AC's you might find that you can run them and other appliances.

Easy start only helps with starting the A/C. That lasts about 2 seconds.

If both are running, using 26 amps, the device will not give you more amps.

aggieof4 · 03-30-2023, 04:16 PM

Whats difference on 30 amp vs 50 amp? Allows you to operate on 2 AC's.[/QUOTE]

The biggest difference between 30A and 50A is that 30A is a single 120V leg and 50A is two 120V legs out of phase. So 30A your are limited to 30A load. With 50A you now have 100A load capability. That is why on 50A you can pretty much run everything in the coach.

ArtJoyce · 03-30-2023, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lt Dan

On 30 amp, you can run just about anything in the coach, just not all at once. You can normally run two A/C units, but nothing else or one A/C and microwave or water heater. With a 50 amp, you can run just about anything you want. The difference is 30 amp is 3600 watts total power available, where 50 amp is 12,000 watts or 6,000 watts per leg.

X2 for us. If I'm going to run 2 AC's on 30 amps. I switch the fridge and water heater to propane. To use the microwave we turn off one AC while we use it. If the battery banks are low when I plug into shore power. I normally wait about an hour for the big amp draw to drop down before starting the second AC.

wamcneil · 03-31-2023, 07:31 AM

First couple times camping with 30a I struggled with problems. I would plug into the pedestal and start turning things on and popping the pedestal breaker. Melted the dogbone adapter once.
Eventually I figured out that the inverter was trying to charge they batteries at 100a, and I wasn't adding that into my estimates of electrical load.
So while it should be fine to run the water heater and one AC, add the additional 10a of battery charger and the breaker pops!
Cheers,
Walter

Cookguy2007 · 04-04-2023, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jbrougham

What does 30 amp power not run? Second AC.......camped 10 years on 30 amp rv with 1 AC and no issue.

Whats difference on 30 amp vs 50 amp? Allows you to operate on 2 AC's.

Basically, two AC’s will mot run on 30 Amp. If you have a generator, that is large enough you would have to use that.

TXduo · 04-04-2023, 01:53 PM

If I need 2 A/Cs on 30A, I turn off the power to the inverter and let the solar/inverter power everything else from the batteries and the Pedestal only power the 2 A/Cs load shared with the hot water heater. At night I'll flip the breakers to the inverter/charger back on to recharge the batteries.

YMMV