What can be run in the coach off 15 amps? HVAC?

[tstavros]

We are heading out next month on a musical mission trip across the eastern U.S. where we'll be driving 3000 plus miles, and visiting 19 cities, staying mostly in church parking lots for the tour. I'm wondering what can successfully be powered in a 50 amp coach if the churches allow us to plug into a regular 15 or 20 amp outlet?

Outside of that, for my experienced boondockers, what are your best suggestions on power, generator use, water conservation, etc? We'll be in each location for 2 days followed by a travel day to the next tour stop.

To top it all off, this is my first RV and first trip (hello deep end...cannonball!!!!)

Thanks in advance!

Troy

[HR2004]

I would use the generator.. Actually that's what we do. Generators like to be run under load.. makes them last a lot longer

[Skip426]

Your 50 amp coach ; actually 2 lines of 50 amp power ( so basically 100 amps); will be operating at 15 or 20% of designed power , then there has to be power drop allowance for the length of extension cord !
So beyond your onboard battery charger and the fridge on 120 volt power , you can't operate much ... then you need to know if the outlet has a dedicated circuit breaker , and if you can access that breaker in the middle of the night.

[aether_one]

If you are the only RV plugged into the 20 amp circuit and your batteries are charged and you have the fridge and water heater on gas you can run lights and 1 air conditioner.

If another RV is on the same circuit (that is circuit, not plug - multiple outside plugs are usually on the same circuit) you can forget the air conditioning.

[Down South]

+1 on the generator. You might be able to run the AC on their power but I'd put the reefer and water heater on propane and check your voltage for drop. You don't know how long the run of wire is to that 20 amp receptacle from their breaker.
Plus they may be drawing off the same circuit for the fridge in the kitchen or something.

[Spk64]

Since you do not know what the particular outlet is possibly shared with. I would not count on it for Air Conditioner use.
With the charger on and any other small appliances in RV your not left with much.
And as was mentioned if the breaker trips you may not be able reset and it may shut un-intended items off at the facility.

[Domo]

What's the year, make and model of you MH?


15 amp means you can watch TV, have a few lights (assuming your MH will charge the batteries from 120 VAC so your 12 volts will keep working), run a 20" fan (from WallyWorld) and charge your phones.

Turn those off and you might have a microwave running.

Bring your coffee maker to some other outlet - or run multiple contractor grade extensions cords from separate outlets (that are on different circuits) and plug directly into the microwave/hair curlers/ etc.

Learn where the breakers and the GFCI resets for the plugs you'll be using at each site - I have a feeling you'll need to know.

If you had 20 amp and ran basically nothing you could have A/C.

Is you fridge propane capable?

[Isaac-1]

Short answer 1 large draw appliance (air conditioner, microwave, hair dryer, air fryer, coffee pot), and a few trivial draw items like LED lights, modern flat panel TV, etc. Refrigerators I consider medium draw, if running on AC or if a residential refrigerator
model)


A 15 amp outlet gives you a total of 15 x 120 = 1,800 watts of available power, though NEC code says you should limit that to 80% of 1440 watts as good practice. 20 amps gives you 2400 watts, or 1920 watts using that 80% NEC rule.


A typical 15000 BTU rv air conditioner will draw around 1250 watts while running, but can pull substantially more as the compressor engages. An RV absorption style refrigerator draws about 400 watts when running on AC mode, a residential refrigerator draws somewhat less, when the compressor is running. Modern LED 60 watt replacement bulbs draw about 9 watts each. Modern flat panel TV under 50 inches in size tend to draw 25-50 watts of power. Hair dryers, microwave ovens, coffee pots, air fryers, etc. draw about 1,200-1,500 watts each.


p.s. battery charging converter will draw anything from 10-700 watts or so depending on the state of charge of your house batteries. (a few models will draw more)

[happy2rv]

As already noted, the length and size of any extension cords (the longer the cord, the larger it needs to be to carry the same current) to reach the plug will have a great impact on how much you can run. Also agree that you won't know what else is sharing any 15/20 amp outlet you may have access to. You also don't know how long the runs from the fuse box to the 15A outlet might be. I've seen 20A outlets at the end of 200+ foot runs that couldn't put out 10A while maintaining anywhere near acceptable voltage. These were installed by "professional" electricians...



I would not depend on having a workable/reliable 15A outlet at all facilities. Some facilities may have dedicated 30A or 50A RV outlets, but I wouldn't count on it. I would say its not uncommon, at least in the south, for church facilities to have them. Not suggesting anywhere near a majority of churches have them, but many do.

[153stars]

You could add a micro-air easy start to your air cond.
Many inverters you can turn down max amps charge rate but if you stay plugged in the batteries should stay pretty charged and just be floating.
I have no problem running one AC plenty of lights and TV at home on a 20A circuit 15 amp you will just be limping by with one AC.
If it's a light pole and there is one or two 400 watt HID lamps on the pole lit at night subtract power from the equation unless they ran two circuits to pole.

[TonyDi]

I would not count on using AC on a 15-20 amp circuit. You're playing it too close to the wire.

[NLOVNIT]

As was previously stated, you will have to know what else is on that 15a or 20a circuit before you'll know how much you can run. It might be less than you think if the circuit you're plugging into has other stuff on it. And the longer the extension cord it takes to get that power to you the less you'll be able to use too.

If you don't already have one, go on the internet & get a list of all your appliances & their amp draw. Just Google "RV appliance amp draw". I kept a laminated version in our last coach (haven't gotten around to it for this one). Then figure on anywhere from 1-3+ amps for just misc wired phantom stuff that's always on (microwave display, propane detector, radio display...etc). I've got way more things with monitor lights on them in this coach than the last.

Lori-

[Isaac-1]

One word of warning, many of those charts are outdated, light bulbs don't draw 60-150 watts these days, they generally draw 7-15 watts or so, TV's don't draw 100-300 watts, they draw 25-60 watts unless they are very large (50+ inch).

[tstavros]

Originally Posted by HR2004

I would use the generator.. Actually that's what we do. Generators like to be run under load.. makes them last a lot longer

Thanks! Assuming it's hot and you are trying to keep the RV cool throughout the day, how long is too long to run your generator?