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Old 05-16-2020, 10:07 AM   #1
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What would cause a huge electrical draw (10-11 amps)???

I have a Hughes Power Watchdog on my pedestal which has a really nice Bluetooth connection to my phone, notifying me of the status of things. This is a picture of my screen.



When we are not running things like the clothes dryer, fireplace, space heaters, microwave, etc., we'll see amperage down around 1 or 2 on each line, just like this picture. Last night, my line 2 was running 12-13 amps, which I found strange because none of the above were on. I thought maybe the refrigerator was going through a defrost cycle or something. When I checked back a couple of hours later, it was STILL running at that higher number. Nothing was on except a couple of lights (LED) and a television. We turned those off and the effect was negligible, as expected. I finally just decided to hit the battery cutoff switch. Sure enough, when I turned it back on, power draw was back under 1 amp and stayed there.

What the heck could be running that was drawing so much electricity for two hours or more???
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Old 05-16-2020, 10:15 AM   #2
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Charging batteries?????
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Old 05-16-2020, 10:15 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TimmyB View Post
I have a Hughes Power Watchdog on my pedestal which has a really nice Bluetooth connection to my phone, notifying me of the status of things. This is a picture of my screen.



When we are not running things like the clothes dryer, fireplace, space heaters, microwave, etc., we'll see amperage down around 1 or 2 on each line, just like this picture. Last night, my line 2 was running 12-13 amps, which I found strange because none of the above were on. I thought maybe the refrigerator was going through a defrost cycle or something. When I checked back a couple of hours later, it was STILL running at that higher number. Nothing was on except a couple of lights (LED) and a television. We turned those off and the effect was negligible, as expected. I finally just decided to hit the battery cutoff switch. Sure enough, when I turned it back on, power draw was back under 1 amp and stayed there.

What the heck could be running that was drawing so much electricity for two hours or more???
What make and model converter do you have? It could be a battery charge cycle.

Do you have an electric heating element on your water heater? That's about the correct draw

Ray
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Old 05-16-2020, 10:24 AM   #4
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Our battery charge cycle starts off at about 11 amps draw on a bulk rate charge, eventually dropping down to about 2-3 amps float.
(Progressive Ind EMS/Freedom 25 inverter/converter)
Sounds normal, but to confirm you should be able to turn the charger off.
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Old 05-16-2020, 10:40 AM   #5
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Charging batteries?????
Possible. We've been plugged into shore power continuously for about a month. I can't imagine how my batteries could have been in need of that length of charging, but not sure exactly how those things work. I do have a display on my inverter control panel which shows the status of my batteries (fully charged, charging, etc.); if there is a "next time this happens", I'll check that display to see if I can rule this out or if it's still a suspect.

Thanks for the input!
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Old 05-16-2020, 10:46 AM   #6
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Did your block heater get turned on?
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Old 05-16-2020, 10:49 AM   #7
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Did your block heater get turned on?
Gas engine.
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Old 05-16-2020, 11:07 AM   #8
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If you have a magnum 2000w inverter/charger once your batteries are fully charged the charger runs for 4 hours on a float charge using little amps. Then it shuts off all charging are rests for a period before it starts back up with bulk charging and then float again.
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Old 05-16-2020, 11:16 AM   #9
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If you have a magnum 2000w inverter/charger once your batteries are fully charged the charger runs for 4 hours on a float charge using little amps. Then it shuts off all charging are rests for a period before it starts back up with bulk charging and then float again.
We do have the Magnum 2000 series. I'll check next time I see this "abnormal" reading. Thanks.
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Old 05-16-2020, 11:17 AM   #10
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Does your coach have a power system central monster system? If it does, compare readings on control system when your hughes system show high draw
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Old 05-16-2020, 11:30 AM   #11
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Does your coach have a power system central monster system? If it does, compare readings on control system when your hughes system show high draw
It DOES have that. I should have checked it last night instead of simply trusting the numbers from the Hughes. It will actually show me what kind of draw is happening on each line and specifically, the water heater, front ac fan, front ac compressor, rear ac fan, and rear ac compressor.

Thanks.
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Old 05-16-2020, 11:34 AM   #12
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Tank heaters, maybe ?
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Old 05-16-2020, 11:36 AM   #13
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Have you tried turning off one circuit breaker at a time to try to isolate the issue?
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Old 05-16-2020, 12:00 PM   #14
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Tank heaters, maybe ?
I don't believe my unit has those. I am pretty sure the compartment is heated by forced air when the furnace is running. Anyone else with a Bounder know for sure? Thanks.
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