Question Help me not start a fire, pls

[sjohn05]

I have a new to me camper that I'm trying to plug in for the first time. The surge protector I ordered didn't match up to the cord that came with the camper. Since I'm using a 30amp to 15amp adapter to plug into my garage and only intend to run the AC on low, would this be safe to plug in? I have the breakers off to everything but the AC.

Thanks!
Anxious 1st-time owner

 

[Rollin Ollen]

I have a new to me camper that I'm trying to plug in for the first time. The surge protector I ordered didn't match up to the cord that came with the camper. Since I'm using a 30amp to 15amp adapter to plug into my garage and only intend to run the AC on low, would this be safe to plug in? I have the breakers off to everything but the AC.

Thanks!
Anxious 1st-time owner

I would suggest you check the owner's manual for your particular AC unit. They usually draw at least 15 amps to run but a huge surge will take place during start up. I see you are using a fairly long extension cord. The shorter the cord the better plus......is that cord rated for 15 amps? Note the size of the cable your adapter uses. If it is underrated it will overheat and could cause a fire. Better to be safe than sorry. Can you connect to 30 amp without your surge protector? If you are using a "known" power source, you could get away without using it.

 

[Richpatty]

15amp is a bit light to run an AC on. If it is a smaller AC (13k BTU) you may be able to get away with it, but the cord needs to be heavy duty otherwise it may overheat.

You will find out if/when the breaker pops as it will only be rated for 15amp and the spike from the AC starting may pop it. Especially if anything else is running in that circuit. I don’t see the risk to the RV….but mainly to the cord.

If you plan on doing this frequently, you should have a 30amp RV outlet installed…that way you can feel confident in running what you want.

 

[sjohn05]

Thank you both! I did not try it with that extension cord. The breaker for the outlet I'm using says 20amps, I think, and there's nothing else currently running on it. My AC is a smaller 13500 BTU unit, so I'm going to try a regular adapter with no surge protector for now, and replace the other when I can. I just had an electrician check the outlet, so it should be ok. Unfortunately there aren't any stores local to me that carry 30 amp surge protectors in-store. Thanks again!

 

[Kevin D Pem]

AC run high or low will not change the draw much due to the fact the compressor draw will not change.

Use a 30 amp extension designed for RV hook up. The circuit is protected for 20 amps. Generally speaking AC units require a dedicated circuit. This is by code not "will it work?".

Will the extension cord resistance allow the breaker to work as designed? Personal opinion? No!

A surge protector only works to protect sensitive equipment, not protect circuits.

As an aside, I have seen way to many 30 amp connections fried because AC was run for extended periods. I just installed a Media inverter window AC 9000btu unit in my cargo trailer that runs on my 1800w inverter.. so there is a way to run an AC on a 15 amp circuit. But not with a standard RV AC unit.