AC problems on 5 er

[wally12]

While going through the current heatwave on the West coast while running my AC the breaker ( 15 amp ) and the main breaker ( 15 amp ) kept popping. The trailer is rated at 30 amp. Why is the main house breaker 15 amps, same as the AC ?

 

[snapper388]

when you say main house breaker do you mean the breaker in your house? or the main in your trailer? you should be plugged into a 30 amp circuit and have a 30 amp main in your travel trailer.  if you have a popup it may not have a main. what type of camper do you have? and what type of a/c?

 

[Rene T]

If you do indeed have a 30 amp power cord and you are plugged into a 30 amp outlet at the power pedestal and your main breaker says 15 amps, it sounds like someone may have changed the breaker and installed a smaller one. Did you purchase this RV new or used?

 

[Elkhounds]

Wally are you plugging your trailer into your home outlet with a 15 amp breaker?  I do that when getting our trailer ready to travel.  Run the fridge the night before to get it cold.  If I am running the AC I know I can't run the fridge or anything else in the trailer without popping the house 15 amp breaker.  My guess would be that when your AC kicks on it might draw just over the 15 amp house breaker and pop that.

 

[Tinmania]

While going through the current heatwave on the West coast while running my AC the breaker ( 15 amp ) and the main breaker ( 15 amp ) kept popping. The trailer is rated at 30 amp. Why is the main house breaker 15 amps, same as the AC ?

It seems as if you are saying the RV is plugged into a 15A breaker, either in a home, campsite, or RV park. If at an RV park are you sure there isn't also a 30A receptacle?

On the other hand it seems like you are saying the RV's main breaker, which should be 30A, is only 15A. Is that what you mean? If that is the case the house breaker would trip when you are trying to run something else in addition to the AC, such as the fridge, or even just a few 12v lights. As already noted, that should be a 30A breaker--but more info would be needed before simply swapping it out. Perhaps it was just swapped out due to the prior 30A breaker going bad an a 15A breaker was all that was on hand as a spare.

In either case you are trying to run the AC on 15A in hot weather. In hot weather the compressor has to work harder, drawing more amps. In addition, the actual voltage may be lower due to high demand in the area, also contributing to higher amps--tripping the AC breaker.




Mike

 

[John From Detroit]

Are you saying there is no 30 amp Breaker in the box?  If so sounds like someone did a breaker swap.

I'd have to have eyes on to tell you more.