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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / RVs / May 2005Upgrade from 15 amp to 30 amp
Just purchased a 93 starcraft comet, it has 15amp service and I just today ordered an AC unit. How do we upgrade it from 15 to 30amp to support the AC it is a coleman 13.5 and do not want to be limited to just running the AC. We are new to pop ups and need advicse, I want to do the work but need the knowledge to do it. rickyhay...@comcast.net wrote: > Just purchased a 93 starcraft comet, it has 15amp service and I just > today ordered an AC unit. How do we upgrade it from 15 to 30amp to > support the AC it is a coleman 13.5 and do not want to be limited to > just running the AC. We are new to pop ups and need advicse, I want to > do the work but need the knowledge to do it. Do you already have basic wiring skills? This post assumes that you do. You will need to replace the service cable (the one from the coverter to the campground power post) with one rated for 30 amps (and with a 30 amp plug). Then, you will need to add a 20 amp circuit for the A/C. This usually starts at the converter, where there will be a 15 amp breaker (or fuse). You will need to add a 20 amp breaker to that and wire the new circuit from there. The 20 amp circuit will need to be wired with materials that are all rated for 20 amps - wire, outlet, etc. If the new outlet is not going to be right near the converter, then you will need to position it and route wires so that they will not be exposed to weather or road hazards, nor where wire would be walked on, tripped on, slept on, etc. Personally, I would use UF (Underground Feeder) cable for moisture protection, but UF is more expensive. Don't consider this complete instructions. Austin Hi: I was in charge of the electrical department for Home Depot (Please shop at Lowes instead) for 3 years and although not an electrician, am well versed in wiring. The 30 amp circuit feeding the whole camper will need 10 gauge wire. You can purchase from Lowes (usually less expensive than an electrical supply house) SJO 10-4 wire. This is a rubber flexible wire that is waterproof, oil proof etc...and will work just fine. It will be about 1 inch think. I would purchase about 25-30 feet. You could use 8 gauge wire which is good for 40 amps but that would be overkill. Wouldn't hurt anything although I am not sure if the connectors will accept 8 gauge. In the wire SJO 10-4 you will find 4 wires...black and red carry the current, white which returns the current and green which is ground (and I hope NEVER returns the current! If so, you have a short!) The connectors cost about $20 each and the wire is something like $1.25 per foot - can't remember exactly. I changed the wiring on my camper. I cut a 4 foot section to run from the converter to the wall of the camper where I placed a female connector permanently mounted. I placed a male connector on the remaining 25 foot of cable and now I can store it in the storage area of the camper. This freed up a 2x2x2 foot space where we keep a comforter and blanket! From the 20amp breaker in the camper you will need 12 gauge wire to connect to the A/C. Someone suggested using outdoor wire (UF) which will work just fine and is only pennies more per foot than indoor wire. The wire inside your camper (at least in mine) is NM (indoor) wire, same as in your house. Now, if you plan on keeping the wiring inside the camper then this type (NM indoor) will work fine. If the wire will be exposed to sunlight then outdoor wiring is absolutely needed. Why? Because UV light breaks down plastic - makes it brittle and the casing around the wire could come off. The casing on UF wire is resistant to the UV frequency and does not become brittle. You can purchase precut 25', 50' and 100' rolls which will save you money. We have a Coleman Rio and do not have an A/C. I installed an outside watertight outlet under the camper and wired it to the 20amp circuit on the converter. Now I have a 15amp and 20amp circuit outside the camper so I can make toast and bacon at the same time!!!!!! Disclaimer: This is not advice from a licensed electrician! Use this advice at your own risk! If you have any questions, please let me know. Bob Lally and family 1998 Coleman Rio 2001 Nissan Pathfinder > rickyhay...@comcast.net wrote: > > Just purchased a 93 starcraft comet, it has 15amp service and I just [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > > Austin -- I am using the free version of SPAMfighter for private users. It has removed 3045 spam emails to date. Paying users do not have this message in their emails. Try www.SPAMfighter.com for free now! <snip OK to this point> > In the wire SJO 10-4 you will find 4 wires...black and red carry the > current, white which returns the current and green which is ground (and I > hope NEVER returns the current! If so, you have a short!) Are you sure? This sounds like 240V/50 amp setup - 30 amp service is only 120V. Unless I am making a mistake, the 30 amp plug on my camper has three connectors, which would be hot (black), neutral (white), and ground (green or bare - s/b green in this case). I doubt I am making a mistake, because I can plug my 30amp plug into a simple adapter that then plugs into a 20 amp outlet with no loss in service (except only 20 amps instead of 30 amps). If 30 amp service used both red and black, connecting it to a standard 20 amp outlet would have to leave one half of the 240V dead - half the circuits would not work. <snip OK after this point> Austin > <snip OK to this point> > [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > > <snip OK after this point> I would add that you can buy a 25 foot 30 amp extension cord from Wal-Mart and cut the female end off and wire it into the fuse/breaker box cheaper than you can buy the parts and make one. You could also put a short cable with a male plug from the box and use the extension cord without modifying. Tom J who also knows 30 amp RV is only 3 wires ;-) oups.. should have read the whole thread before answering! Mel Tom J a écrit: >><snip OK to this point> >> [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] > Tom J > who also knows 30 amp RV is only 3 wires ;-) Hi: The connector could very well be 3 wires I'll have to go out and take a look at the converter. I thought I remembered 4. Well, even if it is 3 you could still have 2 hots and a ground/neutral combination making 220/240. If only 120v then 10-3 SJO would be sufficient as you only need the 3 wires (hot, neutral and ground) Austin, I think you are right - only 120v Bob > <snip OK to this point> > [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > Austin -- I am using the free version of SPAMfighter for private users. It has removed 3058 spam emails to date. Paying users do not have this message in their emails. Try www.SPAMfighter.com for free now! you definitely don't want to put 240V into the trailer Mel Bob L. a écrit: > Hi: > [quoted text clipped - 41 lines] > Paying users do not have this message in their emails. > Try www.SPAMfighter.com for free now! Mel: Are you French? I see you using a bit of French there... Bob > you definitely don't want to put 240V into the trailer > [quoted text clipped - 46 lines] > > Paying users do not have this message in their emails. > > Try www.SPAMfighter.com for free now! -- I am using the free version of SPAMfighter for private users. It has removed 3066 spam emails to date. Paying users do not have this message in their emails. Try www.SPAMfighter.com for free now! Yes Bob, my first language is French, fortunately, when I was young, I had some English speaking friends, so now I now both! Mel Bob L. a écrit: > Mel: > [quoted text clipped - 70 lines] > Paying users do not have this message in their emails. > Try www.SPAMfighter.com for free now! As an engineer by training, I am going to go conservative and advise against adding any unnecessary plugs or extensions into this, although I like the idea of saving the storage space. It will probably be perfectly fine if you keep all the prongs and sockets clean, but it just adds one more potential place for dirt or corrosion resulting in voltage drops or worse, overheating. I would come straight out from the converter box with the minimum length cord, equipped with male plug on the end, to reach the campgrounds outlet box. Certainly 20 to 25 feet would be max in my mind. Also, I believe the 30 amp campground circuits are only 3 wire arrangments, but do use 10 gage as Bob suggested. Also, I am not registered or licensed either so use this advice at your own risk and don't attempt any of this if you aren't familiar with basic wiring and how to make the proper connections, etc. Thanks, you all are awsome I am armed with enough knowledge from this post to get the gob done. Yes I do have basic electrical experience and now understand how this works. Thanks and god speed to all. Bob, you are referring to a 240V wire (2 phases of 120V).. that's not what is needed here. It's a one phase 120V with 30 amp. An easy way to get the good wire is either to buy it at a RV shop or go at wal-mart or any other and buy an 30AMP RV 25' extension cord. Cut the end (female) that you'll need to plug into the converter.. splice your wires and voila! it's probably cheaper to do it this way vs buying the parts. Here in Quebec, it costs about 40$ for the cord. If you're lucky, you may even find an old-scrap TT (maybe one that was involved in an accident) and buy the cord from the scrap yard. Mel Bob L. a écrit: > Hi: > [quoted text clipped - 108 lines] > Paying users do not have this message in their emails. > Try www.SPAMfighter.com for free now! |
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