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gorgill · 09-01-2012, 12:50 PM

I recently took a trip that require me to run the central air on the coach full time when parked. When I tried to heat up the hot water tank on electric it would not work. I switch water heater to gas and was fine.

My question is the RV repair garage told me that the Winebego Adenturer is wired for 30 amps and if runing the air conditioner a protective ckt will not let you run water heater on electric at same time. Is this a case of smoke blowing or is this true?

Any help appreciated,

Gary

Cruzer · 09-01-2012, 01:08 PM

First of all, I don't know what year you have so its hard to make any definite suggestions. My 2003 Suncruiser (same thing as Adventurer but different trim) was set up for 50 amps. Most coach's nowadays are but the older ones may still be 30 amps.

Winny generally uses an energy management system to shed loads when on a 30 amp shore power pedestal if you exceed a 30 amp draw. Mine had an Intellitec system but I belive tyhe newer ones use a Precision Circuits system. Either way, if you have an EMS, it will indicate if any loads are shed.

One thing I did run into on my unit was that the Atwood water heater had an overheat protection reset on the backside of the heater (where it was very difficult to get to). Whenever I drove, the Motoraide feature would heat up the water heater tank. If I drove in the mountains and worked it hard it would get really hot. AS soon as I sweitched on the electric water heater element that reset would trip and I had to crawl in back and reset it (after it cooled down). That may be your problem, especially if you were driving with the generator on and the water heater switch left on.

Gary D · 09-01-2012, 01:10 PM

First what year and model is your Adventurer? Do you have a 30 amp or 50 amp system?

If it has a 30 amp system then the air conditioner will take the bulk of that power and if your rig is equipped with a shedding system it will prevent other loads from operating in order to prevent your rig from exceeding the 30 amp limit. If you were connected to a 30 amp supply it would prevent the breaker from opening.

The other possibly is that your heater electrical element needs replacing.

Things to try:

Turn A/C off and see if heater works on electrical. If so it would suggest that the shedding is working as it should.

if not check for continuity at the the heater element with an ohm meter. Make sure power is OFF and lines to the element are disconnected. If open it suggests a new element is in order.

More info on your rig would be helpful.

Good luck.

Gary

gorgill · 09-01-2012, 05:40 PM

Sorry about that, I have a 2004 Winebego Adventurer Workhose Chassis and Motor.

Sky_Boss · 09-01-2012, 06:05 PM

The o4 Adveturer came staandard with 30 amp and 5.5 onan genset. It had an option for 50 amp and 7.0 onan genset. Also Powerline EMS.

Based on your discription and the statement by the tech, your EMS is cutting power to the electric water heater. My EMS shuts power down in the order of

1. Water heater
2. AC compressor 2
3. Fan speed (I assume that meand also AC compressor 1)
4. Refer. (Refer automatically goes to LP if that happens.)

You can test this out by starting your genset and then watching the amps increase as you add items. I would start with refer on LP then add electric water heater (you may need to run the hot water to make sure it is cold enough to start up), then add refer on electric, finally add AC. You will need to make sure you set the thermostat so that it is at least 3 degrees colder than the curren temp to get both compressors running.

As AC 1 kicks in, you should still have 4 green lights on your EMS showing everything available. When AC2 kicks in you MIGHT see the electric water heater light go out on the EMS. If your buld hasn't blown out on the electric water heater switch (like many do) is should also go out if your EMS has taken it off line. CAVEAT...I have a 50 amp EMS and your 30 amp EMS might be slightly different in how it sheds devices.

If you EMS also reads out amps in use, you can learn how many amps any item draws simply by running your genset or being plugged into snore power. Then turn on various items in your coach to see what they draw. For example, a hair drier will generally draw about 10 amps! This will NOT work if you have a 50 amp coach and are plugged into 50 amp service. In that case, you will not see any information on amps in use.

Good luck!

gorgill · 09-02-2012, 05:58 AM

Thanks for all the responses, I feel that I am gaining knowledge in owning a coach. I wish I had known about the 30/50 difference when I bought but now I feel I know how to handle the problem.

This is a great Forum, especially for someone new to the world of Class A RVs.

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