Running RV Air Conditioner on 20 amp Circuit

drayweb · Aug 2, 2019

Going camping this weekend. Suppose to be hot and humid. Problem is, the campground we're staying at only has 20 amp plug ins. I plugged my camper into my house outlet and it seemed to run fine. There was nothing else on in the camper or the house on that circuit. I have a surge protector that tells you how many amps an appliance is drawing and it said the air conditioner was at 14 amps. I plan on plugging my RV cord directly into the campground outlet using a adapter plug. Just don't want to end up frying my air conditioner.

Kngkong · Aug 2, 2019

Your air conditioner should be fine. If you draw to many amps it will just trip the fuse. Just remember not all fuses are created equal. I used to have a 20 amp at home that could run my camper AC, then i replaced my panel and the new 20 amp breaker wont run it without tripping

SDMF · Aug 2, 2019

Try not to run other heavy draw electrical stuff and you should be fine. Toaster, Microwave, coffee maker, hair dryer, curling irons, etc.

Wallike · Aug 2, 2019

By design, breakers (not fuses) are supposed to trip at their rating. The older a breaker is the less likely this is to be true. Breakers use a 'thermal magnetic' tripping system. Thermal means heat and heat cause everything to degrade over time. Also, running your AC on high will cause the biggest amperage draw where as low will draw less so it will be less likely to cause nuisance tripping. You might have to compromise loads to have less nuisance tripping.
Good luck.

Ericb · Aug 2, 2019

SDMF said:
Try not to run other heavy draw electrical stuff and you should be fine. Toaster, Microwave, coffee maker, hair dryer, curling irons, etc.

This^^^^

Don't forget the hot water heater. If you have the option leave it on gas and you should be fine. If you need to use the microwave just turn the ac off.

Aucker33 · Aug 2, 2019

I would not recommend it. My ice house is currently recieving an new air conditioner from running it on a 20 amp circuit for an hour at most. When I bought my first ice house I was told by the dealer that I could run the AC on 20 amp and didn't think anything of it with the new one. After talking with the RV repair shop they said it will do it but more often than not it will burn the compressor up. As for amperage draw the only thing that was running was the AC.

drayweb · Aug 2, 2019

Ericb said:
This^^^^

Don't forget the hot water heater. If you have the option leave it on gas and you should be fine. If you need to use the microwave just turn the ac off.

My hot water heater runs on gas only. The fridge however is electric. Might have to bring coolers to keep the beer cold.

wslayer · Aug 2, 2019

Should be fine, I would recommend when it is on leave it on. Don't turn on auto. The cycling is where you'll have the issues. If to much draw, campground breaker should be 1st to go from what I have experienced. Fridge if on propane, should only need the 12v to operate.

Wallike · Aug 2, 2019

drayweb said:
Might have to bring coolers to keep the beer cold.

^^^^ This is the most important thing to do when camping! ^^^^

johnr · Aug 2, 2019

Have the wife blow on it

Kickemup · Aug 2, 2019

Mine gets run on a 20 all the time. Keep the fridge on propane and never had a problem.

Retired-Guy · Aug 3, 2019

Aucker33 said:
I would not recommend it. My ice house is currently recieving an new air conditioner from running it on a 20 amp circuit for an hour at most. When I bought my first ice house I was told by the dealer that I could run the AC on 20 amp and didn't think anything of it with the new one. After talking with the RV repair shop they said it will do it but more often than not it will burn the compressor up. As for amperage draw the only thing that was running was the AC.

I thing your dealer was blowing smoke up you know where. The AC doesn't know if it is on a 20 amp or a 50 amp circuit. Inrush is the same unless the voltage is low and that's an entirely different problem. I think the dealer was just covering his ass.

To be on the safe side as others have suggested make sure that the fridge and water heater are off or on propane and that you have a heavy enough extension cord if using one.

wby257 · Aug 3, 2019

Retired-Guy said:
I thing your dealer was blowing smoke up you know where. The AC doesn't know if it is on a 20 amp or a 50 amp circuit. Inrush is the same unless the voltage is low and that's an entirely different problem. I think the dealer was just covering his ass.

To be on the safe side as others have suggested make sure that the fridge and water heater are off or on propane and that you have a heavy enough extension cord if using one.

I agree, the A/C does not know.

Running RV Air Conditioner on 20 amp Circuit

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