Running a Cool Cat AC on a household outlet

[escapester]

I have a 2005 RT 210 and want to know if the cool cat ac unit can be run from a 110v receptical or does it have to hooked up to 30amp shore power

 

[booster]

Ours will run from a 20 amp household outlet as long as the cord to the van is not to long as in using a 30 foot 12 extension cord. Normally we test it by using an adapter and the shore power cord to a 110v 20 amp outlet in the garage. It won't normally run on a 15 amp circuit though.

 

[Deano-ClassB]

The plug and receptacle on mine are 20 amp, so will only plug into a 20 amp circuit receptacle.

 

[TWX]

Just for a point of clarity, the typical RV 30A service is 120V, just like the 120V service on the normal 15A and 20A outlets that most people are accustomed to in their homes.

It becomes a problem for RVs that have 50A service, because those are 240V systems, not 120V. The voltage requirements do not lend to plugging such a vehicle into regular household receptacles.

Now, the reason why an RV has a 30A service is because the combined set of electrical loads within it can draw more than 20A. RVers and manufacturers of accessories for RVs tend to gloss over codes, hence all the various adapters to let RVs with "TT-30" plug connect to both 15/20A 120V receptacles and 50A 240V receptacles, for the latter you're only using one leg of the two hot legs (remember four pins on that plug, hot, hot, neutral ground, you're using one hot, the neutral, and the ground), for the former, you're at risk of overloading the 15A or 20A circuit that you plug into if your total power draw exceeds the rating of the fuse/breaker and wiring.

In my experience with both of my RVs, I can run the cooling system on 20A, and if either is parked where I can only plug into a 20A receptacle I'm not concerned about overloading anything with the adapter from the TT-30 plug type to something that fits 15/20A receptacles. But I'm not running more than the battery charger/rectifier, the refrigerator, and the air conditioner simultaneously. I'm certainly not running the microwave on the Jayco or the Microwave/Toaster Oven on the Roadtrek while plugged into a 15A or 20A service if the HVAC is on.

If you're curious, there are cheap ammeters like the "Kill-a-watt" that will measure the load being drawn and give you readings.

 

[RickNAmy]

I have a 2005 RT 210 and want to know if the cool cat ac unit can be run from a 110v receptical or does it have to hooked up to 30amp shore power

Yes, I run my 05 C210P using my 20a garage outlet through my 30a adapter. Keep the extension cord short.

 

[sbslider]

My experience is that I can run the AC on my 2006 RT 190 popular on a 15A outlet with a 50' extension cord. I'm going to plug in tomorrow to prepare for a trip, if you want I can plug in my KillAWatt meter and see what the current/power draw is on mine. Definitely would not try to use the microwave while the AC is on on either a 15A or 20A outlet.

 

[TWX]

My experience is that I can run the AC on my 2006 RT 190 popular on a 15A outlet with a 50' extension cord. I'm going to plug in tomorrow to prepare for a trip, if you want I can plug in my KillAWatt meter and see what the current/power draw is on mine. Definitely would not try to use the microwave while the AC is on on either a 15A or 20A outlet.

I would always recommend being mindful of the wire gauge of the extension cord. A lot of cords for even things like outdoor yard work are only 16AWG or even 18. Finding a good 14 or 12AWG cord may take some effort.

 

[sbslider]

Definitely agree, I am sure my cord is either 14 or 12 gauge.

 

[booster]

If will reach, best case is to use the shore power 10ga cord as it will have the least voltage drop.

Be aware that some GFCI outlets don't like some vans and will trip out on a ground fault. Many of them have been traced to Tripplite shore charger/inverters, but there are lots of other reasons also.

 

[escapester]

Wow guys, a lot of great information thank you very much extremely hepful.

 

[ChicagoTom]

I have a 2005 RT 210 and want to know if the cool cat ac unit can be run from a 110v receptical or does it have to hooked up to 30amp shore power

Ex HVAC Tech many years ago, and yes as others mentioned, it'll work on the 20 amp, BUT, I would not recommend it. Just because it's working, the stress on your compressor at start up, without a Soft Start added, may very well cause damage. It's kind of like saying, "My breaks slow me down while going down a mountain, so I don't need to down shift". Hopefully you'll understand what I'm saying, and now I may get the usual, "I've been doing it for years, and my A/C works great". If you want to chance it, you should be fine, but I would not make a habit of it. Hopefully future A/Cs will come standard with the Soft Start

 

[booster]

Ex HVAC Tech many years ago, and yes as others mentioned, it'll work on the 20 amp, BUT, I would not recommend it. Just because it's working, the stress on your compressor at start up, without a Soft Start added, may very well cause damage. It's kind of like saying, "My breaks slow me down while going down a mountain, so I don't need to down shift". Hopefully you'll understand what I'm saying, and now I may get the usual, "I've been doing it for years, and my A/C works great". If you want to chance it, you should be fine, but I would not make a habit of it. Hopefully future A/Cs will come standard with the Soft Start

That is certainly a possibility, especially if you are in an outbuilding with a long connection to the house of only 12ga wiring.

Of course the same thing can happen in a campground as they are kind of notorious for having low voltage at the post, especially in hot weather with all the AC units running.

We rarely use the AC, but when we do it would be on the sometimes questionable shore power connections and have seen it trip the breaker when voltage is low. Our couple of year old replacement for the MS2000 inverter charger that failed is a Samlex EVO3012 3000 watt inverter charger and it has AC supplement available to assist and frequency matching to help the things like compressor starts. I probably should read up on that in the very long user manual (well over 100 pages) and learn how to turn it on and use it. We have found the AC appears to start better on the inverter than on any shore power we have used.

 

[peteco]

Ex HVAC Tech many years ago, and yes as others mentioned, it'll work on the 20 amp, BUT, I would not recommend it. Just because it's working, the stress on your compressor at start up, without a Soft Start added, may very well cause damage. It's kind of like saying, "My breaks slow me down while going down a mountain, so I don't need to down shift". Hopefully you'll understand what I'm saying, and now I may get the usual, "I've been doing it for years, and my A/C works great". If you want to chance it, you should be fine, but I would not make a habit of it. Hopefully future A/Cs will come standard with the Soft Start

Have you put a soft start on your vans AC? If so, any recommendations would be helpful. Thanks.

 

[TX-Trek]

If will reach, best case is to use the shore power 10ga cord as it will have the least voltage drop.

Be aware that some GFCI outlets don't like some vans and will trip out on a ground fault. Many of them have been traced to Tripplite shore charger/inverters, but there are lots of other reasons also.

This is true in our case. However, I found that if I turn on the inverter along with the battery switch the van will charge off of a 15a GFCI. I'm also able to run the fridge, which helps to get it cooled down before a trip.
Won't run the AC, but in our case all we needed was ability to maintain batteries and run the fridge.

 

[ChicagoTom]

Have you put a soft start on your vans AC? If so, any recommendations would be helpful. Thanks.

No, because I have no need for a soft start. I only use the A/C while running the generator, or if I stay at an RV Park. I do know that they've come a long way with the install being much easier. I would check YouTube

 

[TWX]

No, because I have no need for a soft start. I only use the A/C while running the generator, or if I stay at an RV Park. I do know that they've come a long way with the install being much easier. I would check YouTube

What generator are you running? My Roadtrek has an Onan 2800 and under ideal conditions that's supplying 23.3A, realistically I expect it's below that.

 

[booster]

Both shore power and the Onan had trouble at one time or another in the past for us. Shore power still will if the power in the campground is bad. It happened a couple of years ago again at an old county campground in Mitchell, South Dakota the last time. Onan would always bog and catch up but slow startup for sure.

Our 3000 watt Samlex Evo 3012 inverter on the lithium back starts the Coolcat better than any source every has. It is very fast and hopefully it's AC boost feature works in the future so we don't trip breakers on poor shore power.

 

[ChicagoTom]

What generator are you running? My Roadtrek has an Onan 2800 and under ideal conditions that's supplying 23.3A, realistically I expect it's below that.

Was the same as you, and now I upgraded to the newer Onan, still 2.8 Never had an issue running the A/C

 

[TWX]

Was the same as you, and now I upgraded to the newer Onan, still 2.8 Never had an issue running the A/C

That's the main reason I asked, because I expect that 2800W is surge-wattage so pushing ~24A is not much different than the capability of a 20A circuit in a home to overcurrent for a very short time without tripping the normal style, fairly slow-acting 20A breaker. Given that the air conditioner in my van actually plugs in to a 5-20R receptacle up in the cabinetry, I expect that it runs just fine on normal residential electrical service. And that's even presuming that it spikes at all above 20A when it kicks on.

 

[ChicagoTom]

I'm not sure what you mean. The 2800 watt generator, 23 amps, is 3 amps greater than your 20 amp, that's 15% greater capacity. If you want to run it, then run it. Sounds like you're fine doing that, but I'm advising against it for others. They can take my advise or leave it. LOL