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Old 07-31-2014, 01:50 PM   #1
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Voltage with & without load

I have a 30amp service at my home. I checked the voltage directly at the outlet and saw that I am right at about 120.5 volts. I checked some outlets in the RV with no load (AC off, fridge off, water heater off, etc.) and was at about 120.3 volts.

I turned on the AC unit which started up fine, sounded fine. Then, checked some outlets in the RV again. The voltage dropped to about 109.0 volts and fluctuated to as high as 110.2 volts.

Does this seem about right? Should I be concerned that under load my voltage dropped to those numbers or is it unlikely that anything would come to harm running at those voltage numbers when the AC is running?

I checked other outlets in the house and found that they show between 120.0 - 120.7 volts. So, without load, the 30amp service is matching up with the rest of the house. Oddly enough, the service is about a 175 foot run coming directly off the 200amp main service with 10 gauge wire. I would have expected the voltage without load might have been lower just from reduction due to the distance of the run.

What do you all think? Nothing to be concerned about or potential problem?
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Old 07-31-2014, 02:28 PM   #2
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The voltage drop will be most evident under a load. That's an awful long run for 10 gauge wire. You should have used a higher gauge wire for such a long distance. Someone posted a handy voltage drop/wire gauge/distance chart on the forum within the last few days.
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Old 07-31-2014, 03:29 PM   #3
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You may want to reconsider running your TT's AC being that it is 175 feet from the AC breaker box and on a 10AWG circuit. Eventually you will burn out your AC's starting capacitor, and that 10AWG wire will get awfully hot after awhile.

While checking voltage on this circuit, with out a load, you will read the actual supply voltage, that will change once you add a load to this circuit.

Here is a chart for trying to calculate the proper size wire for your needs. You can search the net for other charts but they are pretty much in the same ball park.

Don
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Old 07-31-2014, 04:54 PM   #4
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With the price of copper these days I couldn't stomach buying #8 or #6. However, I had a ton of #10 on hand. So... I laid a second parallel line of #10. Now I have two carrying the load on the 30amp service. Now zero load was at 120.6 volts steady. AC on high dropped voltage down to 115.0 volts and holding steady with fluctuation only to 114.9 - 115.1.

I think now I am in good shape. Technically I believe I'm not supposed to run #10 parallel but really it's just to keep the RV charged and the one day Refrigerator and AC cool down before a trip that I am shooting for here.

Hopefully this does the trick. I'll be monitoring voltage and temps for a while just to be sure all stays this way.

Seems good???
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Old 07-31-2014, 05:58 PM   #5
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Although your solution may not be "according to Hoyle" it is no different than putting two wires under a single lug on your neutral bar.
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Old 07-31-2014, 06:15 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mcfarmall View Post
Although your solution may not be "according to Hoyle" it is no different than putting two wires under a single lug on your neutral bar.
Pretty much what I was thinking. I believe I should be good to go provided I don't have any failure of one wire without knowing it. I'll keep an eye on the voltage periodically to be sure but since this is brand new I doubt I should have any issues with the wire used.

My dad is a retired electrician in Florida. He will be visiting in October and then I'll see what he thinks of the set-up. My guess is he will say that it is fine although technically not according to current code.
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Old 07-31-2014, 08:33 PM   #7
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Did you run two 10's for HOT and also for the Netural line? Be careful about any ground connections that far from your breaker box.
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Old 07-31-2014, 08:43 PM   #8
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Did you run two 10's for HOT and also for the Netural line? Be careful about any ground connections that far from your breaker box.
Don
Yes, basically, two wires from the main panel box. Hot both connected to the 30 amp breaker. Neutral both connected to the bar. Ground both connected to the bar. Then, both wires make the run out to the service box. Both hot connected to the hot terminal, both neutral to the neutral terminal, and both grounds twisted together and connected to the ground bar in the box which has the existing wire going to the ground terminal on the receptacle.

Essentially treating the two runs as if it was one "double sized" 10/2 wire with ground.
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