electrical question and mold/mildew question

[Jerrygroah]

Greetings folks, I have a two question post, not related.

1. I have been thinking of installing a 15,000 BTU A/C on my motor home instead of the 13,500 unit that I presently have. The question in my mind, is can the circuits in my motor home handle the momentery load? My motor home is set up for 30 amp service. The specs I have seen on the 15,00 BTU units are that it takes 38/40 amps on the start up phase. Would my current wiring be able to handle the extra amps?

2. The vent pipes and over flow pipes from my fresh water tank are full of mold and mildew. Other then removing the bed, (tank and pipes are underneath the bed), and taking the pipes off to clean them, does anyone have a suggestion as to how I might be able to cure this problem. I do not taste or smell the mildew in the water. We also take bottled water for drinking and cooking. We mostly use the fresh water tank for flushing the potty. We do sometimes shower with it.

Thanks, Jerry

 

[Ned]

Even if the wiring can handle the additional load, a starting current of 40A will almost certainly trip a breaker, either the main in your load center or the breaker on the campground pedestal.  That seems quite high for that size A/C.  What is the running amperage?  I don't know that the extra 1500 BTUs will be noticeable anyway.

 

[Jerrygroah]

Ned, not sure of running amps, but from what I remember it is well within the 30 amp service of my coach.

You are probably right.  The extra 1550 BTUs probably wouldn't make that much difference. I was thinking that it might since the 13,500 barely keeps up in the hot Florida sun. Guess I'll just have to find a shady spot.

Jerry

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

You can do a lot to help the a/c in hot sunny weather.

Put foam insulators in any ceiling vents - they gain a lot of heat in summer and lose a lot in cold weather - just have a thin plastic lid.

Sometimes the skylight in the shower (if you have one) can also be a major heat gain/loss point.  Adding a shade that pulls across helps, or you can add a second piece of clear acrylic below the factoiry one to make a dead air space. It helps a lot.

Try to park so that your awning shades the sidewall from the hot afternoon sun.

Close window shades or blinds, at least on the sunny side and preferably on as many windows as you can tolerate - it slows heat gain.  Draw the windshield curtains or add an external sunscreen - the windshield is another uninsulated area that gains/loses a lot of heat.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

For the mildew in the vent & overflow, try adding bleach to the tank until the solution is fairly strong and filling the tank till it overflows. That would flush the bleach mixture thru the overflow and maybe the vent as well. Might kill some of the stuff off.

 

[Jim Dick]

Jerry,

The larger air conditioner probably won't be worth the cost as it won't cool a lot better. If you don't already have one I would suggest an outside window screen for the windshield. It keeps the heat from the windshield and will help reduce the temp inside the coach. That is one of the largest areas for heat conduction. Some use the inside screens but the heat is still transferred to the windshield ultimately ending up in the coach. Along with the other suggestions I would expect you would see quite a change.

 

[Jim Godward]

If for any reason you do decide to change, I would suggest you highly consider the Heat pump version as it will both heat and cool.

As to the starting current, if the CBs are good, they should not trip as that current is for a very short time.  the smaller AC has nearly the same starting current if I remember correctly.