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View Full Version : I keep blowing the circuit breakers, help please!


whatsa5th wheel
06-15-2008, 12:01 PM
I bought a 32 ft '99 wanderer almost since the day I bought it i have been blowing breakers. I am parked in the same spot plugged into the same 30 amp power pole. it happened the first time when I had on the a/c and water heater, t.v. and cable box. yesterday I flipped the switch more than a hundred times over the course of the day. the power went out probably 5 times. an electrician told me a 30 system is just like that, deal with it. The dealer said it is a low power problem and i got one of them voltage meters that tell you what you are using. with the tv, cable and a/c on I drop down to 110

please tell me what I can do. I live in yuma az, but wear shorts in the snow, summer heat into the 120's is coming

rverdlm
06-16-2008, 09:31 AM
I'm assuming that you're blowing the 30 A breaker on the power pole. First off a perfect 30 A breaker is only good for 24 A continuous. You say you have on the A/C, TV and cable. What about the fridge? What about the water heater? If both of those are on electric you will exceed the 24 A! Another big draw is the microwave. If both of those are on gas and you're not using the M/W you can't be drawing more than 24 A. The problem then is that the 30A breaker is bad. I've seen this many times in RV park, especially older parks. Try plugging into a different box. If it proves to be the 30 A breaker it is simple and cheap to replace.

Hobo
06-17-2008, 09:10 PM
I bought a 32 ft '99 wanderer almost since the day I bought it i have been blowing breakers. I am parked in the same spot plugged into the same 30 amp power pole. it happened the first time when I had on the a/c and water heater, t.v. and cable box. yesterday I flipped the switch more than a hundred times over the course of the day. the power went out probably 5 times. an electrician told me a 30 system is just like that, deal with it. The dealer said it is a low power problem and i got one of them voltage meters that tell you what you are using. with the tv, cable and a/c on I drop down to 110

please tell me what I can do. I live in yuma az, but wear shorts in the snow, summer heat into the 120's is coming

If the breaker has popped that many times it is probably weak and should be changed.

Now you have 3 big power users, the AC, water heater, and refrigerator. Also one you forgot, the converter. Unless you have all 120V lighting it also is kicking in a few times a day.

I have solar so when on 30AM the first thing I do is turn the converter off.
After that you make the choice of what 2 of the 3 big draw items you will run.

Yuma in the summer :!: the AC is #1 for sure and the other 2 can both be run on gas. When I'm there in the heat I find the refrigerator runs best on gas and I turn the water heater on as needed, which is very little as with the hose laying in the sun the problem is more "How do I get cool water"

You have to balance out the load, turn one off when you use the other. Also you need to service the AC. The hotter it runs the higher the amp draw. Make sure the condenser is clean and you may have to run a mister on the condenser when it gets over 100 degrees to help it out.

Also if you have a 15amp outlet handy in the 30amp box run the W/Heater or refrig off that with a GOOD extension core.

You just can't run it all at once, but where there's a will there's a way.