Extension cords and adapters

[Bonnie McDowell]

I decided I should have a longer extension cord, because in some campgrounds it can be farther to the post. What I have is 25. Is this what I should get:

http://www.amazon.com/Camco-55197-Power ... nsion+cord

Can the 25 and 50 be hooked together to give 75 foot reach, or is that not advisable?

And if I want to plug into an outlet in the garage to run the fridge before a trip, is this what I need:

http://www.amazon.com/Camco-55165-Power ... ACJ3GJNF07

And finally, will I ever need to step down from a 50A post, and would be this what I need for that?

http://www.amazon.com/Camco-55173-Male- ... +50M%2F30F

[bcope01]

All 3 look good. Should be no problem using the extension cord.

Bill

[whemme]

Bonnie,

Yes to all of your questions except that I would buy only a 25' long extension cord rather than a 50' length if you can get by with a total length of 50'. The longer the cord, the more the voltage drop especially when running your air conditioner. If running the A/C thru a total power cable length of 75' drops the AC voltage below 100 vac, that could be harmful to your compressor in your air conditioner.

[Bonnie McDowell]

Bill says:

"I would buy only a 25' long extension cord rather than a 50' length if you can get by with a total length of 50'."

My thought was that if I can get by with 50', I would just use the new 50' cord, and avoid coneecting two 25' cords together. For example, 50' will reach my garage outlet, 25' doesn't quite make it. A single run of 50' means no connecter sitting outside on a rainy driveway.

On the rare occaasions when I might need 75', I would have that option with the 25' and 50' coupled.

Speaking of voltage drops, should I also have something like this installed?

http://www.amazon.com/Progressive-Indus ... s=EMS-HW30

Where do you put it, and how long would it take the RV place to install it? I am also thinking of upgrading the Parallax 7345 Charger/Converter as described in the Coach Modifications section. I have written to the previous owner to see whether they did that - how can I tell?

[whemme]

Bonnie,

The problem is that the Camco 55197 30 AMP 50' PowerGrip Extension Cord appears to not be compatible to hook directly up to the socket on the side of your Born Free but it will act as an extension when connected in series with your existing yellow 25' power cable.

[Bonnie McDowell]

The problem is that the Camco 55197 30 AMP 50' PowerGrip Extension Cord appears to not be compatible to hook directly up to the socket on the side of your Born Free but it will act as an extension when connected in series with your existing yellow 25' power cable.

____________

Ah, so an extension cord is different than my power cord. Where can I find a 50 foot cord designed to plug into the Born Free? I think I might prefer that instead of an extension cord. Or should I just go with a 25' extension cord, as you suggest?

[bcope01]

Bonnie, I think Bill H. is confusing you. What you need if you want to occasionally have a cord that when connected reaches 75 feet is an extension cord. To arrive at this, you would plug the 50-foot 30-amp extension cord into the powerbox/house end of your existing cord that is already connected connected to your born free. The other end of the extension cord would then plug into the power box/house. In my opinion, the power drop between using a 50-foot vs. a 25 foot 30-amp extension cord is insignificant, if even measurable.

Bill

[whemme]

Bill & Bonnie,

I use a 25' extension cable for a total length of 50' while staying at a sprint car race track where I need 50' to reach a 30 amp service. I use a Kill-A-Watt power monitor inside my born free and when I turn on my air conditioner, the ac voltage inside the coach drops about 5 vac which I really don't consider insignificant. If I had a 75' long power cable, the voltage drop would be even higher so my opinion is that you really don't want to use a power cable any longer than necessary.

[bcope01]

I guess it depends on what the initial voltage is at the power box to start with, and the nominal voltage requirement of the appliance.

1. According to the chart below, if you start with 120VAC, the OEM 30A 25' cord drops the voltage 1.8V or to 118.2VAC.

• If you add a 30A 25' extension cord to the OEM cord, it drops the voltage another 1.8V to 116.4VAC (120 minus 1.8 minus 1..

• If you add a 30A 50' extension cord to the OEM cord, voltage drops another 3.6V to 114.6VAC (120 minus 1.8 minus 3.6).

According to the Dometic RV AC Service Manual http://bryantrv.com/docs2/docs/acservice.pdf:

"The unit is a 115VAC, 60Hz appliance. The proper operating
range is between 103 and 126.5 volts AC. The voltage
reading should be taken at the unit power supply leads.
One test should be performed when the unit is turned OFF
and another with it running under load. If the voltage is not
within the proper operating range, it must be corrected before
operation of the unit."

If all of this is confusing and without measuring voltage at the unit power leads, I can tell you that I have run my BFT AC over a 75 foot cord for extended periods without damaging my AC.

Bill

[Brent]

[quote=
If running the A/C thru a total power cable length of 75' drops the AC voltage below 100 vac, that could be harmful to your compressor in your air conditioner.[/quote]



Bill would a extra protection be to use a portable surge protector - the one in Camping World says it shuts the power off if voltage drops below 102?

Brent

[Mike Astley]

In my 8 yrs/ 80,000 miles have only used the 50A to 30A adapter once, and that was to lone it to the neighbor camper whose 30A plug in the park's box wasn't working.

[stevek]

To me, the 50/30 adapter is worth carrying.
There has been cases with me that the 50 amp sites were so much nicer than the 30 amp sites.

For example, I stayed in a real dumpy, all dirt, no trees at Fremont County Fair Grounds in CA. For only $5 more a nite you could get 50 amp service on the edge of the campground, green grass, trees, and with the Class A pushers. For 5 bucks, It was worth the upgrade.

Bill.... could you please send me a copy of that electrical chart.
Also thanks for info on roof top cover.
Thanks.

Also a good place to shop for a regular extension cords is Harbor Freight.
They carry 10 gauge cords. I have the 25 foot from them and am very happy with it and quality.
Cheaper than any other place I shopped, even including the shipping.
Look for the discount coupons.

[Bonnie McDowell]

Lots of great information, as usual. Bill didn't confuse me, he actually clarified womething I was wondering, i.e., is an RV extension cord the same as my power cord. Apparently not. I've decided to go with the Camco 25', as it seems unlikely that I would ever need to run a total of 75' and also because 25' will take up half as much room! And the price on Amazon with my free 2 day prime shipping is less than Harbor Freight with its 20% coupon and shipping.

I think two of my add questions were overlooked, so I'll repeat it here:

Speaking of voltage drops, should I also have something like this installed?

http://www.amazon.com/Progressive-Indus ... s=EMS-HW30

Where do you put it, and how long would it take the RV place to install it? I am also thinking of upgrading the Parallax 7345 Charger/Converter as described in the Coach Modifications section. I have written to the previous owner to see whether they did that - how can I tell?

[Mike Astley]

Speaking of voltage drops, should I also have something like this installed?

http://www.amazon.com/Progressive-Indus ... s=EMS-HW30

Where do you put it, and how long would it take the RV place to install it?

There have been some past discussions on this. I am a strong believer in having this and always check the remote read-out right after plugging in somewhere. Have encountered numerous low voltages and some highs and some mis-wires.

Not sure of your model, but the power in mine comes in under the bathroom sink so that is where it is installed and the remote is under the lip of the cabinet next to other switches. It took a mobile tech less than an hour to install.

[oliverpsmile]

I guess it depends on what the initial voltage is at the power box to start with, and the nominal voltage requirement of the appliance.

1. According to the chart below, if you start with 120VAC, the OEM 30A 25' cord drops the voltage 1.8V or to 118.2VAC.

• If you add a 30A 25' extension cord to the OEM cord, it drops the voltage another 1.8V to 116.4VAC (120 minus 1.8 minus 1..

• If you add a 30A 50' extension cord to the OEM cord, voltage drops another 3.6V to 114.6VAC (120 minus 1.8 minus 3.6).

According to the Dometic RV AC Service Manual http://bryantrv.com/docs2/docs/acservice.pdf:

"The unit is a 115VAC, 60Hz appliance. The proper operating
range is between 103 and 126.5 volts AC. The voltage
reading should be taken at the unit power supply leads.
One test should be performed when the unit is turned OFF
and another with it running under load. If the voltage is not
within the proper operating range, it must be corrected before
operation of the unit."

If all of this is confusing and without measuring voltage at the unit power leads, I can tell you that I have run my BFT AC over a 75 foot cord for extended periods without damaging my AC.

Bill

I strongly recommend to examine this post again (attached table included) and not to be concerned about your A/C and the length of the Cord - Reasonably up to 150' 10 ga - VD ~ 11 v (which is well within the spec of the A/C, with a margin of safety of 6 V additional drop).