electric heat

[jetjarv]

i got a couple of 1500w/1000w portable heaters.  I can run 1 at full blast, but with 2 it tripps the CB.  I was thinking of putting another wire from the electrical cable and install another outlet in the rear and let the other run off the wiring in the rig. 

another thought was using an extension cord from the electrical box to 1 outlet in the rig.  curious about hooking up my 30amp cord and an extension cord to the power box at the campsite.

anyone have any advice on this idea.

 

[Molaker]

i got a couple of 1500w/1000w portable heaters.  I can run 1 at full blast, but with 2 it tripps the CB.  I was thinking of putting another wire from the electrical cable and install another outlet in the rear and let the other run off the wiring in the rig.

This would be doable, but you would need a circuit breaker installed between the new outlet and the input cable.  You may already have an empty CB slot.  Check your CB box in the RV.

another thought was using an extension cord from the electrical box to 1 outlet in the rig.

What is the circuit amperage at the shore power box?  If it is at least 30 amps, then this might be a feasible option - if you use a short as possible 14-12 ga. extension cord.

 

[John From Detroit]

On my rig, which is 50 amps.. I installed not one but two dedicated 20 amp outlets, each outlet (one in the bedroom one in the living room) is a true 20 amp outlet (Has a "T" shaped neutral slot) and is hooked to a single breaker with 12GA wire.. one on L1, one on L2.

When on a 30 amp site, I can run a 2nd power cord to the park box.  or in a very few sites. 2 such cords.

The same port that passes the 1st cord also passes a cat-5 to outside the coach so I can hang my wi-fi adapter out where it gets a much much stronger signal.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

A 30A shore cord and box gives you 3600 watts to play with (and sometimes a bit less if the voltage is low, maybe as little as 3200 watts.  You probably have other stuff sucking the watts (fridge, water heater, battery charger, etc.), so two electric heaters are going to be pushing the limits on a 30A rig.

One 15A branch circuit can handle a max of 1800 watts, so one 1500 watt heater is going to max it out. And it is quite common to have most of the outlets in the rig be on just one 15A circuit. Check your outlets and the breaker box and see if you can find two separate circuits for the heaters. You might be able to use the one for the microwave for after dinner heating.

If you choose to run an extension cord to the power pole, don't be surprised if you trip a breaker somewhere in the park's power supply lines. It is fairly common to deliver just 30 amps total to the power pole, so using both the 15 and 30A outlets at the same time can overload it if both run near max amperage.

 

[jetjarv]

interesting thoughts and good advice!  Thanks! 

i was thinking just for night time.  the fridge is suckin power and that's it besides lights.  during the day i will turn one off to use microwave.

i will have to use some common sense on campgrounds.  i assumed all the cb's are on the power box on the site.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

i assumed all the cb's are on the power box on the site.

Often the case in newer campgrounds, but not always and actually not very common in older ones. You run into all kinds of wiring schemes, and differing levels of quality of power too.

 

[dougwhite]

I installed a separate circuit in my TT that has an outlet in the bathroom, one for the microwave, and one in the kitchen.  This is connected to a Marinco 20 amp power port on the outside of the TT right above my 30 amp Easylock connector.  I use a 25 foot 12 gauge cord to the Camp power pedestal.  I also have a short cord with a built in circuit breaker that I can plug into the campground pedestal 1st, in case they don't have CB's on it.  The purpose of this circuit is to be able to run the microwave and the AC at the same time, OR the wife's hair dryer at the vanity or the toaster along with the AC.  The AC is on the trailer 30amp system and these outlets are on the "external" system.

 

[Jammer]

I run a 1500 watt heater and a 700 watt heater which provide together for even distribution of heat and keep the current draw well under 30 amps.

If that's not enough there's the propane furnace.