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Old 07-22-2017, 09:14 AM   #1
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Electrical Usage

Our 2012 Jayco Pinnacle 35LKTS seems to be using a large amount of power, even at night when we are sleeping with only a small fan running. Our fridge and water heater are on propane, both ACs off. Anyone have any suggestions?
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Old 07-22-2017, 09:25 AM   #2
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Welcome to the forum.

I'm assuming you're on battery power only and your trailer is not plugged in, correct?

How do you know you are using a large amount of power? Are you checking current draw or the battery's voltage?

Is this the first time you've used the trailer? Are you comparing power usage now with what it used, last season or yesterday or ?

BTW: 12volt fans will use a lot of power when compared with LED bulbs, fridge and water heater controls.
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Old 07-22-2017, 09:31 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by Gotcranes View Post
Our 2012 Jayco Pinnacle 35LKTS seems to be using a large amount of power, even at night when we are sleeping with only a small fan running. Our fridge and water heater are on propane, both ACs off. Anyone have any suggestions?
Tell us more, why do you feel the trailer is drawing excessive current? How old and how many batteries do you have?
What you really need is a clamp on DC amp meter like https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O1Q2HOQ..._J72Czb9NYZJZP . Most trailers I have seen draw about 0.5 amps when everything is turned off.
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Old 07-23-2017, 09:36 AM   #4
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Update

Thank you for responding. We are plugged into shore power in an RV park in So. California so have a digital smart meter and can see our usage. We just bought this trailer and received our first monthly power bill of $500, $200 above any others in the park. With only the fan running at night the meter showed that we used 16 KWh of power which is far too much. Yesterday, through a process of elimination, turning breakers on/off and unplugging things, we have tracked the draw to a breaker designated as Utility 1. We have found this circuit controls four outlets in the bedroom and one inside the main door. After unplugging everything from these outlets and shutting off everything else in the trailer we still had a draw of 1.95 Kw per hour. We shut off this breaker and currently with only small appliances plugged in, our meter is reading .10 Kw per hour. What else is on this breaker/circuit that could possibly be drawing so much power? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks again.
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Old 07-23-2017, 09:48 AM   #5
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Thank you for responding. We are plugged into shore power in an RV park in So. California so have a digital smart meter and can see our usage. We just bought this trailer and received our first monthly power bill of $500, $200 above any others in the park. With only the fan running at night the meter showed that we used 16 KWh of power which is far too much. Yesterday, through a process of elimination, turning breakers on/off and unplugging things, we have tracked the draw to a breaker designated as Utility 1. We have found this circuit controls four outlets in the bedroom and one inside the main door. After unplugging everything from these outlets and shutting off everything else in the trailer we still had a draw of 1.95 Kw per hour. We shut off this breaker and currently with only small appliances plugged in, our meter is reading .10 Kw per hour. What else is on this breaker/circuit that could possibly be drawing so much power? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks again.
Try turning off your power convertor. Perhaps your batteries are shot and the power convertor is continuously trying to charge them. You are talking about 10amps of current continuously, that is a bunch.
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Old 07-23-2017, 11:02 AM   #6
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Tell us more, why do you feel the trailer is drawing excessive current? How old and how many batteries do you have?
What you really need is a clamp on DC amp meter like https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O1Q2HOQ..._J72Czb9NYZJZP . Most trailers I have seen draw about 0.5 amps when everything is turned off.
Just curious Why would the OP need a DC Clamp on Amp Meter when his complaint is about the amount of AC Power he is using Wouldn't he be better off with a AC Clamp on Amp meter in order to find out what is drawing excessive power causing him to have a more than $200.00 higher electric bill than others in that RV park.


However I do like the link you posted for a AC/DC clamp on meter. Thanks for that link I just may get one
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Old 07-23-2017, 11:34 AM   #7
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Just curious Why would the OP need a DC Clamp on Amp Meter when his complaint is about the amount of AC Power he is using Wouldn't he be better off with a AC Clamp on Amp meter in order to find out what is drawing excessive power causing him to have a more than $200.00 higher electric bill than others in that RV park.


However I do like the link you posted for a AC/DC clamp on meter. Thanks for that link I just may get one
I carry that same meter in my RV travel toolkit. I usually use Fluke meters but don't want to risk losing or damaging an expensive meter. You can't beat this one for emergency troubleshooting and repairs.
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Old 07-23-2017, 11:37 AM   #8
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Just curious Why would the OP need a DC Clamp on Amp Meter when his complaint is about the amount of AC Power he is using Wouldn't he be better off with a AC Clamp on Amp meter in order to find out what is drawing excessive power causing him to have a more than $200.00 higher electric bill than others in that RV park.


However I do like the link you posted for a AC/DC clamp on meter. Thanks for that link I just may get one
In the original post the OP did not specify that they had issues with AC power usage. Issues with DC power usage (because of batteries) are common, thus my recommendation to get a DC clamp on meter (which IMO, everyone should have). Later the OP clarified their issue was related to AC. Almost all DC clamp meters can measure AC current. However, not all AC clamp meters can measure DC current. The one I linked to can do both.
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Old 07-23-2017, 11:51 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by Gotcranes View Post
Thank you for responding. We are plugged into shore power in an RV park in So. California so have a digital smart meter and can see our usage. We just bought this trailer and received our first monthly power bill of $500, $200 above any others in the park. With only the fan running at night the meter showed that we used 16 KWh of power which is far too much. Yesterday, through a process of elimination, turning breakers on/off and unplugging things, we have tracked the draw to a breaker designated as Utility 1. We have found this circuit controls four outlets in the bedroom and one inside the main door. After unplugging everything from these outlets and shutting off everything else in the trailer we still had a draw of 1.95 Kw per hour. We shut off this breaker and currently with only small appliances plugged in, our meter is reading .10 Kw per hour. What else is on this breaker/circuit that could possibly be drawing so much power? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks again.
On my 2017 Eagle 293RKDS the utility breaker also feeds the living room TV and bedroom TV. A bad breaker or outlet can draw higher then normal wattage. On my unit that breaker is just outlets. I have replaced breakers several times for this reason. Did you measure voltage on this circuit while it's on high draw? Low voltage will cause higher amps/wattage draw.


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Old 07-23-2017, 12:26 PM   #10
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Another idea is to put a finger on the front of each AC breaker and see if any feel warm. Also turn off all power and check for loose connections on the terminals of the breaker panel.

Or hook up and move south where power is cheaper!
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Old 07-23-2017, 01:09 PM   #11
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Electrical Usage

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Another idea is to put a finger on the front of each AC breaker and see if any feel warm. Also turn off all power and check for loose connections on the terminals of the breaker panel.



Or hook up and move south where power is cheaper
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Old 07-23-2017, 01:46 PM   #12
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Touch the batteries and see if they are WARM, like hotter than the air around them. Disconnect your shore power, pull your main fuse by the battery and let the batteries rest for 4 hours. Take a voltage measurement when you isolate the batteries and after 4 hours. The battery voltage should still be around 12.9 - 13 VDC. Check the battery water levels also.

This will let you know if the batteries are the culprit.

Charge controllers can put out 40 - 60 amps and could be the cause of the problem.

One other thing you may want the CG to contact the electric company if they maintain the meters and have them check your meter out.

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Old 07-23-2017, 02:00 PM   #13
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Touch the batteries and see if they are WARM, like hotter than the air around them. Disconnect your shore power, pull your main fuse by the battery and let the batteries rest for 4 hours. Take a voltage measurement when you isolate the batteries and after 4 hours. The battery voltage should still be around 12.9 - 13 VDC. Check the battery water levels also.

This will let you know if the batteries are the culprit.

Charge controllers can put out 40 - 60 amps and could be the cause of the problem.

One other thing you may want the CG to contact the electric company if they maintain the meters and have them check your meter out.

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The convertor shouldn't be on the utility breaker. It should be on its own breaker.

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Old 07-23-2017, 02:09 PM   #14
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Our 2012 Jayco Pinnacle 35LKTS seems to be using a large amount of power, even at night when we are sleeping with only a small fan running. Our fridge and water heater are on propane, both ACs off. Anyoone have any suggestions?
Sounds like either a bad meter or someone else is also on your metered line. We have a 2015 with ressie fridge, run both a/c's, water heater on elec, 110v lights(that I added) washer/dryer of course we're in FL and our bill was $180.
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Old 07-23-2017, 03:03 PM   #15
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The convertor shouldn't be on the utility breaker. It should be on its own breaker.

Earl
Correct, I was referring to the main 12VDC fuse by the battery(s).

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Old 07-23-2017, 05:03 PM   #16
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Sounds like either a bad meter or someone else is also on your metered line. We have a 2015 with ressie fridge, run both a/c's, water heater on elec, 110v lights(that I added) washer/dryer of course we're in FL and our bill was $180.
I don't think the problem could be the meter because when the OP flips off the breaker the current draw goes down to a reasonable level.

Are you sure the refrigerator is running on propane and not A/C? If it was running on propane and set to "Auto" then it would switch itself to A/C without asking your permission! Though, I don't know why they would put the refrigerator on the same circuit as the outlets. Keep in mind, the refrigerator heating element and the control board may be on different circuits--I don't know. This might cause your refrigerator to switch back to propane when you turn the breaker off.

Is it possible your water heater is doing the same thing I described in the above paragraph? Mine has no A/C option so I'm not sure how it would behave or if it has an "Auto" option.

It's hard to believe a bad breaker or some other short circuit could draw that much current without smoking or starting a fire.
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Old 07-23-2017, 05:38 PM   #17
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Sounds like someone is tapping your 'lectricity!

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Old 07-24-2017, 07:53 AM   #18
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Keep in mind, the refrigerator heating element and the control board may be on different circuits--I don't know. This might cause your refrigerator to switch back to propane when you turn the breaker off.
Thinking about this...of course they are on different circuits. The board runs on 12V DC and the heating element runs on 120v AC.

My refrigerator is plugged into a dedicated outlet which is mounted right next to it. I wouldn't be surprised if they put other outlets on the same circuit--anything to save a buck!
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Old 07-29-2017, 11:17 AM   #19
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Problem Solved

Thank you for all your great suggestions. After trying many things to track the problem, we figured out with a voltage meter, that the power from one leg of the main breaker was feeding back through the ground to the ground bar. This was causing all the outlets to be 240 volt. We traced it to a plug in the bedroom behind the TV - the ground wire was touching the hot wire. I don't know how this didn't trip the breaker or catch on fire, or short out other appliances. I know that's a direct short, I didn't believe it myself. After trimming ground wire on the receptacle all is well. Thanks again for the help.
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Old 07-29-2017, 11:30 AM   #20
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It wasn't shorting enough to trip the breaker. But yet enough to cause a significant load and kwh usage. Great troubleshooting! All the more it costs, it replace that breaker to be safe. Could be a chance it's defective and that's why it didn't trip.


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