Running A/C on 15 amp

[Randy G]

Don't use a long extension cord. Might be a good idea to "feel" the cord and the connections to see if they get hot if you run it for any length of time.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by Jerry713

Unfortunately breakers in most RV’s are pretty cheap and don’t always trip when they’re supposed to.

It would have been the house breaker not the RV breaker....

[Hollander Mutthaulers]

Originally Posted by kevine1979

Thanks all. I was able to test it,only ran it for a minute to make sure it turned on a blew cold air.

Welcome to the forum!
Glad it worked - I do that each spring at de-winterization using a 12 gauge extension cord dedicated to the camper and all other camper power turned off.

[Vicr]

Originally Posted by Jerry713

Unfortunately breakers in most RV’s are pretty cheap and don’t always trip when they’re supposed to.

This is NOT true. The breakers in RV's are residential grade UL listed and tested breakers. There is no such thing as an RV grade breaker. Breakers for electrical panels in RV's can be purchased at HD, Lowes etc and electrical wholesale houses..

[joe w]

Originally Posted by rkymntsno

I've been tempted to try my front AC since I installed the Softstart on it. I'm pretty sure it would start up fine, just antsy about trying it, lol.

I have run my soft start equipped roof unit several times over the past three years with a 15 amp circuit without a problem.

[Stever71]

I have been running the AC usually for a couple of hours while the wife cleans the trailer before its next voyage.
Also running are 2 fridges. The main one and the small cube in the outdoor station so they can be loaded up cold before we leave.
I don’t use adapters but made a custom 12g power cord.
According to my ems I am only drawing about 10amps in this scenario

[Jwhitebird]

Did you get it going? Just got an adapater today for my mico jay feather, a/c on high, microwave and exterior fridge all running plugged into my 110 on my garage 👌🏽

[kevine1979]

Originally Posted by Jwhitebird

Did you get it going? Just got an adapater today for my mico jay feather, a/c on high, microwave and exterior fridge all running plugged into my 110 on my garage [emoji1419]

Yes I did. The only things running were the lights, air and outdoor fridge. I only ran it for a couple minutes though.

[Camperchris]

Burned out my adapter today tv was on and fridge running. Wife plugged in a shop vac and power went out. Killed a camco 30a adapter. Got a new one but gona get my butt in gear and install the 30amp box in the laneway asap.

[Jwhitebird]

Originally Posted by joe w

I have run my soft start equipped roof unit several times over the past three years with a 15 amp circuit without a problem.

Did you install the soft start? I figure I don’t need it now, but wouldn’t hurt to have in case I ever did.

[joe w]

Originally Posted by Jwhitebird

Did you install the soft start? I figure I don’t need it now, but wouldn’t hurt to have in case I ever did.

Yes I installed it myself, the instructions are very easy to follow and it's a very simple install. PS, I'm 80! I can also run the AC with a 2000 watt surge 1600 watt running generator.

[norty1]

Originally Posted by Camperchris

Burned out my adapter today tv was on and fridge running. Wife plugged in a shop vac and power went out. Killed a camco 30a adapter. Got a new one but gona get my butt in gear and install the 30amp box in the laneway asap.

See the melted contact! I never use a one piece adapter. Always monitor for heat on the adapter. We all have had them melt, High current is your enemy.

[FloydsKnobbin]

Been running AC with SoftStartRv for couple years now on 20amp off my garage, using reducer on 30amp cord. Can pretty much run everything if fridge and water heater on propane.
Great for guests!!

[Camperchris]

Got my 30a box mounted and wire run today at home. Woulda finished but kids came home and turning off power to house to finish install woulda caused too much complaining lol. Tommorow will finish and be a lil safer.

[FPM III]

Originally Posted by Camperchris

Got my 30a box mounted and wire run today at home. Woulda finished but kids came home and turning off power to house to finish install woulda caused too much complaining lol. Tommorow will finish and be a lil safer.

…And I see an electrical plug hanging nearby all ready and waiting to try it out. Good luck. Hope it all works out and resolves your problem. When I had house built, I had an electrical box installed on wall outside with 20-30-50 amp service. Found out it’s useful for more than just providing electricity for the TT. Here’s some pictures of it below.

RV Electric Box and Water Outlet

RV Electric Box Open

[RPR]

We put one of these by ours. Turned at a little angle and lights up the box. Our box is out from our daughter and son in laws shop where our RV and their horse trailer are plugged in.

[JKyle]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

The issue is not running amps, but starting. If it starts without tripping there is no issue since max running amperage is 15 or less depending on which model he has. The Coleman power saver unit has a running amperage of 8.9 the standard Mach 15 is 15 amps and the Mach 8 is 13 amps.

Today I did some reading about a campsite I have booked for this Spring. It’s a state park where electric sites are hard to come by, but I managed to reserve a site for special needs with electric hook up. I assumed it’d be at least 20 amps, it’s not, it’s 15 amps. I had planned to eventually outfit my Furrion 14,500 rooftop A/C with a SoftStartRv module, but I think I may need to get it sooner.

I know what the soft start does, but overall, is it advised to run the A/C off that 15 amps?

[JKyle]

Joe, what do you use for an adapter? One of the short 30amp or 50amp to 15amp?

I'm going to be dealing with this very soon as one of my camp spots is only a 15amp hook up. I already have the 50amp reduced to 15amp adapter, I use at my house to keep the camper plugged in, but I do not run the A/C regularly. I worry the adapter might not be hefty enough/get hot. I have a 14,500 Furrion rooftop A/C.

The adapter I use was a typical Amazon purchase for $20-ish

[craigav]

Originally Posted by JKyle

Today I did some reading about a campsite I have booked for this Spring. It’s a state park where electric sites are hard to come by, but I managed to reserve a site for special needs with electric hook up. I assumed it’d be at least 20 amps, it’s not, it’s 15 amps. I had planned to eventually outfit my Furrion 14,500 rooftop A/C with a SoftStartRv module, but I think I may need to get it sooner.

I know what the soft start does, but overall, is it advised to run the A/C off that 15 amps?

Just some points to be aware of. Your A/C doesn't really care what the circuit breaker is rated for as far as running. However, it is common a 15a circuit will have a smaller cable, which in turn means more line loss (voltage drop) and low voltage will damage an A/C. I highly recommend a plug-in digital voltage meter and not run the A/C if the voltage gets to or below 106~108 volts. To add though, a 15a circuit may not even allow enough current to start the A/C as you are aware with asking about a SoftStart.

A SoftStart certainly may be needed to even get the A/C started but on a 15a circuit, it likely will not be very long (if any time) before the breaker trips. Most A/C's require (not a hard set rule) about as many amps as their BTU rating / 1000 so 14,500btu divided by 1000 will bring you to 14.5 amps. So the A/C along with your converter and any other 120v usage will certainly be too much for the breaker to support. Not to go too deep, but fyi, a breaker commonly cannot support more than 80% of its rating on a continuous load (~3 hours or more).

Hopefully where you are going will not require an A/C and based on what you have shared, I wouldn't count on it running off of a 15a circuit. If it will be hot, and if the campground allows, you could use a generator (hopefully a quieter inverter style). ~CA

[JKyle]

Originally Posted by craigav

Just some points to be aware of. Your A/C doesn't really care what the circuit breaker is rated for as far as running. However, it is common a 15a circuit will have a smaller cable, which in turn means more line loss (voltage drop) and low voltage will damage an A/C. I highly recommend a plug-in digital voltage meter and not run the A/C if the voltage gets to or below 106~108 volts. To add though, a 15a circuit may not even allow enough current to start the A/C as you are aware with asking about a SoftStart.

A SoftStart certainly may be needed to even get the A/C started but on a 15a circuit, it likely will not be very long (if any time) before the breaker trips. Most A/C's require (not a hard set rule) about as many amps as their BTU rating / 1000 so 14,500btu divided by 1000 will bring you to 14.5 amps. So the A/C along with your converter and any other 120v usage will certainly be too much for the breaker to support. Not to go too deep, but fyi, a breaker commonly cannot support more than 80% of its rating on a continuous load (~3 hours or more).

Hopefully where you are going will not require an A/C and based on what you have shared, I wouldn't count on it running off of a 15a circuit. If it will be hot, and if the campground allows, you could use a generator (hopefully a quieter inverter style). ~CA

Thanks so much for your detailed reply.

I have 4 trips booked, 3 will be at the site with the 15amp electric. It's going to in CT at the beach. When it comes to CT, the weather could be a heat wave or any other variation.

I did order a SoftStart the other day. Before owning this camper, I bought a Predator 2000w inverter generator. That too will be ? as to its ability to keep the A/C going. I know the SoftStart company has tested on the older Honda 2000 and newer 2200 with a 15,000 A/C. I have sent an email asking if they've tried it out on the Predator and the results, if any.

I have an electric EcoFlow 3500w generator that will actually run my rooftop A/C for 3-4 hour in HOT sun. I imagine I could use that at night to run the A/C for several hours. The, during the day use the little gas generator to charge the EcoFlow while using it to power the camper.

No matter, I'm going on my trips but thought I'd not have to play this electricity game this year with my new camper. Although I do love the challenge of using solar and the power banks to keep things going. I have others, too; the EcoFlow 2000w and a 300w Jackery.

If by only a miracle the rooftop A/C does run w/the SoftStart I'll still have to power my fridge. Luckily, I have the 2022 Jay Feather model where there was choice of 2 way or 12v fridge, so there's an outside air vent/access panel behind the fridge. I can remove it and plug the fridge straight into one of my power banks. Actually, the Jackery (maybe even the bigger 2000 EcoFlow) will fit in the compartment behind the fridge. I can close it up and run the solar panel cord right out the louvered air panel.

Thank you again for sharing your knowledge.