Running A/C on 15 amp

[kevine1979]

I purchased a new TT and haven't had time to test the AC yet. Can I test it at home while the camper is plugged in to a 15amp residential outlet using a reducer?

[Grumpy]

It may or may not work, plug it in and see what happens. Worse case scenario is you will pop the breaker.

[RogerR]

If you do and it's a roof top air then only for a couple minutes to see if it blows cool. Running any motor and espeicially air conditioner motors with to little current can damage them.
My factory window AC side mounted on my 195RB is small enough it works fine on a 15 amp circuit if nothing else is running.

[ARoamer]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

It may or may not work, plug it in and see what happens. Worse case scenario is you will pop the breaker.

Or melt the adapter, been there, did that!

[Jagiven]

I have run mine for an hour or two on a 15amp outlet and cord. Make sure to use a heavy gauge cord, for anything mare than a quick test.

[FPM III]

Strict energy management must be exercised here. Be sure the refrigerator and HWH is not on AC along any other high amperage appliances (coffeemaker, hair dryer, toaster, etc.).

[kevine1979]

Originally Posted by Jagiven

I have run mine for an hour or two on a 15amp outlet and cord. Make sure to use a heavy gauge cord, for anything mare than a quick test.

It would be Outlet > adapter > EMS > 30 AMP cord that came with the TT.

[kevine1979]

Originally Posted by FPM III

Strict energy management must be exercised here. Be sure the refrigerator and HWH is not on AC along any other high amperage appliances (coffeemaker, hair dryer, toaster, etc.).

Nothing else would be running. It would just be a test to see if the air conditioner works.

[craigav]

If you can run the A/C without tripping the breaker, the next concern is the voltage as it is not uncommon to see a voltage drop more so on a 15a circuit (commonly due to smaller wiring). I would purchase one of these or like this one if you don't have one already and I would not run the A/C below 106v~108v even if the breaker doesn't trip. You may find that the A/C will run and have >110v which would be good. It is best to turn off everything you can that is on the same 15a circuit. Also, it would be better if you could use a 20a circuit if you can. ~CA

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MSGGRDD...=AYCXRUP942PA5

[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.

[norty1]

I have run mine several times for the same reason, just to make sure it works properly.

If it trips, I would not try again.

[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.

[Ann-Marie]

Our Greyhawk has a 15 amp option on the load shedder. You can plug into a 15 amp source, have access to everything, and not blow the breaker. It measures the current of what items are turned on and uses a priority list to turn off lower priority items.

For example, any higher priority load such as an appliance over about 3 amps will cause the air conditioner to shut off until the load is removed. The water heater is low priority, it only runs when the air conditioner stops cooling.

When set on 30 amps we can run two air conditioners on a 30 amp supply.

[RedHorse1]

I tried a 15A and it would trip the breaker at startup. A 20A would work as long as I didn’t turn anything else on.

[us71na]

Your first step should be to look at the A/C circuit breaker in your trailer. The second step is to check the circuit breaker on the house circuit to see what rating it has. If the trailer circuit breaker is 15 amp and the house circuit is 20 amp you should be good to go as long as you don't run the microwave or the water heater on electric. Any house circuit with a 20 amp breaker should support an A/C that is on a 15 amp trailer breaker, assuming the electrician that wired the house used the correct wire size.

I have operated my A/C for days connected to a 20 amp house circuit with no issues. The short 30 amp to 15 amp adapters tend to be the weak link, so check that yours doesn't get hot while the A/C is operating.

[DustyGeek]

Someone above mentioned turning off the breakers for the refrigerator, TV and other items, which is great advice for shedding load.

One thing I didn’t see mentioned was the converter. The converter in ours is a 90A DC (for charging 2p2S golf cart batteries). That means it could be pulling as much as 9-10A at 120V when in bulk charging mode. Most other smaller rigs likely have a converter in the 55A DC range, which would be in the 5-6A range at 120V AC. Add that to the 8-15A it takes just to run an A/C, not to mention start it, and it’s a recipe for a popped breaker.

Just for a test, make sure you turn off that converter breaker as well.

[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.

[Jerry713]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

It may or may not work, plug it in and see what happens. Worse case scenario is you will pop the breaker.

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

[Jerry713]

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.

Good deal. Congrats on the new TT. Not sure if this was mentioned already but you might consider adding a 30 amp receptacle outside your home. It’s nice to be able to run the fridge and AC when loading, unloading or cleaning it after a trip.

[Jaycophil]

Ran fine but melted adapter. Not good.