Installing air conditioning.

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willjm3931

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Oct 3, 2006
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I am installing an air conditioner in my 1997 Camplite pop up.  I am now to the wiring stage.  I pulled the cover off the box that says pre wired for air conditioner.  That only has the 12 volt circuit for the fan.  No other wires.  I am wondering if the never pre wired?  Also, how can I find out how to wire into the converter with the breaker?  Anyone else run into this?
 
Sounds like it was not pre-wired for the a/c, only a fan. Do you have a circuit breaker in the load center designated for an a/c?  It would have to be a dedicated circuit to support an a/c, which typically draws 11-13 amps all by itself. That's almost the entire capacity of a 15A circuit.

And does your camper have a 15A or a 30A shore power cord/plug?  Without 30A shore power, you cannot run much of anything else if an a/c is operating. If you don't have a 30A supply, you may want to add a separate 15A shore power cord for the a/c rather than running it through the camper's system.
 
It has a 30 amp shore line.  There is a 20 and 15 amp breaker in the inverter.  I figure the 20 amp is for the A/C.  Due to time contraints, i think I am going to wire in a heavy 12 guage extension cord and run it over to the inverter and wire it into the 20 amp breaker.  What do you think?
 
If it's an inverter with 20 and 30 amps I'm guessing the 30 amp is inlet and 20 is outlet power (A good way to wire it)

Try this... Run a dedicated wire (I kind of like the 12 gage extension cords from SEARS here, the ones with the locking outlet) either over the roof, if it's easy to get up there and unhook it, or inside if better to a compartment near your power inlet cord.

Continue this cord (Again stick with 12 GA cord) to the 20 amp outlet in the park power box if any,  Else feed it back in to a 230 amp outlet in the rig.

Some parks may complain about both a 30 and a 20 amp cord plugged in,  Some won't, but it will work well.
 
Here is an update.  I happened to see a covered box on the side of the sink cabinet with the same label as the one in the roof.  I opened it and it contains the  pre wire for the a/c and is hooked to the 20 amp breaker.  For now, I installed a 20 amp receptacle and wired the a/c with a 12 gauge extension cord.  After vacation I will look closer into wiring direct.  Anyone have any suggestions on what to use for wiring going up to the roof?
 
It may be a long shot. but check inside the box on the side of the cabinet and look for an opening that may be the end of a conduit. If it is there then all you have to do is "fish" you wires through the conduit.
 
It has a 30 amp shore line.  There is a 20 and 15 amp breaker in the inverter.  I figure the 20 amp is for the A/C.  Due to time contraints, i think I am going to wire in a heavy 12 guage extension cord and run it over to the inverter and wire it into the 20 amp breaker.  What do you think?
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I think we have a mix-up in terminology. An inverter changes 12VDC into 120VAC, and requires one or more batteries to power it. If you're talking about the breaker (distribution) box that gets its' power from the 30A power cord, and the 20A breaker is unused, that would be the one you would use. You should have a 30A (main) breaker and a few smaller ones for the individual loads and outlets, etc.
Else feed it back in to a 230 amp outlet in the rig.
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Never seen one of those - might be handy for welding ;D
 
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