Thank you ❤ Question: when I’m plugged into shore power, what do I need to know about my batteries? I assumed, the batteries would not be used at all and just the power from the park. What battery maintenance do I do when plugged in? 😊
Hello! The answer to this question somewhat depends on how your RV’s electrical system is setup. In general, whether you have a converter or inverter, when hooked up to shore power your batteries will be charging or kept topped off. Certain things in your RV will always run from your batteries, like your lights for example (12 volt). But, when hooked up to shore power, the use of 12 volt electrical devices such as lights will either pull from your batteries or from your converter. Either way, the shore power will normally replenish the power pulled from the batteries and/or just convert the shore power to 12 volt to run these devices. As far as maintenance goes, this also depends on what type of batteries you have. If you have lithium batteries, they are pretty much maintenance free, outside of checking the connections from time to time to make sure they are clean and tight on the batteries. If you have more traditional lead acid batteries, you’ll also need to top off the distilled water in the batteries from time to time.
Hello! I would say that is more likely to be a 30 AMP RV than a 50 AMP RV, just due to the size. A really easy way to tell, or at least get a general idea is how many air conditioners are on the roof. If more than one, almost guaranteed to be a 50 AMP RV.
Trying to understand if I need an inverter or converter in my trailer. It will be hooked up to a generator 90% of the time. At night I’ll turn the generator off and still need some interior lights, outlet for a phone charger etc. The trailer will need AC and DC power but I would like to charge the batteries while the generator is running and when driving down the road through the trailer/truck plug if that’s possible. Does this require an inverter or converter? Thank you 👍
Sorry for the late reply! You likely already figured out the answer, but in case not....If you want to run anything AC and you're not connected to your generator or shore power, you will need an inverter.
Hey. This really depends on how your RV is built. The batteries often run your low voltage (12V) devices such as lights, control panels, etc. Some RVs have a convertor that converts shore power into 12V while plugged in, while also charging the battery. Normally, the battery(s) are left connected all the time while using the RV in most RVs.
Hello thanks for the video. Question, I have a new 50amp rv plugged in shore with an adapter to a 30 amp plug. Just running the ac and fridge right now and batteries are draining slow(not charging). Do you think im just not getting enough power from the plug or could it be something else? Thanks for your time!
Hello! Congrats on the new rig! When you step down from a 50 AMP cord to a 30 amp outlet, you will have significantly less power available to use. In a normal 50 AMP connection, you have 2 hot legs in the wire, each with their own 50 AMP breaker (effectively you have access to 100 amps of power). When using a 30 AMP adapter and 30 AMP outlet you have 1 hot leg and a total of 30 amps of power available. That being said, a 30 AMP connection should be plenty of power to run a single AC and fridge, while keeping the batteries topped off.. What exactly is happening could depend on a lot of variables. Are you sure your batteries are going down/draining? Or are they going through a charge/discharge cycle? With our first RV, our battery charger had a range where it would run a charge cycle and fully charge the battery, then it would stop charging and allow the 12V devices (lights, water pump, etc) to use some of the charge in the battery. Once the battery got down to a preset voltage, the charger would kick back in and fully top off the batteries, and start the cycle over again. Charge, drain to preset, charge, drain to preset, charge….. Could this be how yours is configured?
@@this-mobile-life Ive been on shore for about a week and I have not noticed a cycle. Ive turned the fridge off and my battery seems to be holding a charge, but its not being topped off. Battery lingers where it had drained to prior @ 25% or so. Ive got a new adapter(with surge protector thanks for that advice) arriving tomorrow and we'll see if thats the culprit. If not the only thing I can think is, charge the battery and/or have a 50amp breaker and plug installed. Thanks again for the great video and reply! Ill return if I get it figured out and let you know what was going on. Ive got alot to learn.
So weird! A few questions.... Do you have a volt meter to manually check the voltage of the battery? Knowing what the voltage is at would help indicate it's true state of charge. Do you know if your RV has an inverter or a converter? Do you know if your fridge is powered by AC or DC? Do you have any solar? If you want to share the year, make, and model I could see if I could determine how it came from the factory... :-). So sorry your having to deal with this...not fun when you're trying to enjoy your new RV!
@@this-mobile-life Its a '23 Cruiser MPG. Wired for solar, but no panels. Another youtuber said this EverChill fridge runs on 12V only which is why I turned it off, and that did stop the battery from draining. Inverter and converter should be good. Btw no change with my new adapter. Just ordered a multimeter, so ill investigate further when that comes in.
Just watched your video on RV electrical systems and surge protector. I hit the like button and also subscribed to your channel. The odd thing was I noticed was I'm your 666 subscriber 👹 LOL!!
Hello! You don't have to have batteries if you're always connected to shore power, but you would need a DC converter to run the DC electronics in the RV if you have no batteries. Most RVs are going to have either at least one battery from the factory, or at least an AC to DC converter.
Sorry we didn't include that part. Most RVs have either a hardwired cord or a twisting lock that connects like a dryer power cable. It's a big round plug, that plugs into the side of the RV, then twists a little to hold it in place, followed by a screw on collar to make sure it does not come disconnected.
Hey, yes. They make a 15 amp (regular household plug) to 30 amp adapter. Here is a link: amzn.to/3vA4Ahs and a 15 to 50 amp here: amzn.to/4apoJpy Just make sure to adjust your battery charger down to work with the 15 amp outlet.
Hey, do you mean to have a battery charger plugged into shore power to charge your batteries because you don’t have an onboard charger/inverter? Or do you mean to have your battery charging through your onboard charger/inverter and to have an extra battery charger hooked up at the same time? You shouldn’t need a battery charger if your RV is plugged into shore power. What problem are you trying to solve?
@This Mobile Life thanks for your reply. So I have the inverter built in but I didn't have the 30amp to 15amp adapter at the time to plug into my house so I hooked a deep cycle charger to my battery and I can't remember if I disconnected my battery charger before I plugged my camper into shore power and I wanted to make sure I didn't damage anything in the camper or accidentally backfeed power back into my house by having it plugged into my house and a external charger on the battery.
Hey @Uncle Dave. I’m not an electrician or electrical engineer so I can’t 100% say I know the answer to your question. However, I would assume you’re not going to be back feeding power to your house. Here’s my reasoning….on our system, we have multiple items providing power/charge to our batteries (shore power, generator, solar, etc). Each of thee power inputs will turn off and stop putting power into the batteries when the batteries reach a full charge. Also, when full, our solar does not feed power back to the shore power hookup and the batteries do not put power back out to any of the devices that charge them. That being said, I have no idea how your deep cycle charger works, if it turns off once the batteries reach a full charge, or what safety measures it has in place. My guess is you’re fine, but might want to check your charger specs and details. If anyone else reading this has input for Uncle Dave, please chime in! Thanks!
@This Mobile Life Thanks sooo much for taking the time to help me out and your advice is definitely assuring and helpful! I will definitely be asking you more questions since I am new to campers.
Correct….well sort of….with a 50 amp RV hookup, you are pulling two hot legs (line 1 and line 2) connected to double pole 50 amp breaker (two 50 amp breakers switched together). These then share one common neutral and one ground. In effect, an RV setup with 50 amp hookups, has two 50 amp legs or lines. These legs are spilt in the RV’s breaker box to serve different loads in the RV, such as multiple air conditioners and appliances. In effect there is 100 amps of total electrical service available on a properly setup 50 amp RV hookup, but it up to the distribution panel and wiring configuration in the RV to properly distribute.
Informative! I could hear the funny bird that lives in the neighbor’s palm tree!
Yeah, those birds are crazy loud!
Thank you ❤
Question: when I’m plugged into shore power, what do I need to know about my batteries? I assumed, the batteries would not be used at all and just the power from the park. What battery maintenance do I do when plugged in? 😊
Hello! The answer to this question somewhat depends on how your RV’s electrical system is setup. In general, whether you have a converter or inverter, when hooked up to shore power your batteries will be charging or kept topped off. Certain things in your RV will always run from your batteries, like your lights for example (12 volt). But, when hooked up to shore power, the use of 12 volt electrical devices such as lights will either pull from your batteries or from your converter. Either way, the shore power will normally replenish the power pulled from the batteries and/or just convert the shore power to 12 volt to run these devices.
As far as maintenance goes, this also depends on what type of batteries you have. If you have lithium batteries, they are pretty much maintenance free, outside of checking the connections from time to time to make sure they are clean and tight on the batteries. If you have more traditional lead acid batteries, you’ll also need to top off the distilled water in the batteries from time to time.
16ft RV motorhome, would be a 30amp?
Hello! I would say that is more likely to be a 30 AMP RV than a 50 AMP RV, just due to the size. A really easy way to tell, or at least get a general idea is how many air conditioners are on the roof. If more than one, almost guaranteed to be a 50 AMP RV.
Trying to understand if I need an inverter or converter in my trailer. It will be hooked up to a generator 90% of the time. At night I’ll turn the generator off and still need some interior lights, outlet for a phone charger etc. The trailer will need AC and DC power but I would like to charge the batteries while the generator is running and when driving down the road through the trailer/truck plug if that’s possible. Does this require an inverter or converter? Thank you 👍
Sorry for the late reply! You likely already figured out the answer, but in case not....If you want to run anything AC and you're not connected to your generator or shore power, you will need an inverter.
Do you need batteries, or can I disconnect them while on shore power??
Hey. This really depends on how your RV is built. The batteries often run your low voltage (12V) devices such as lights, control panels, etc. Some RVs have a convertor that converts shore power into 12V while plugged in, while also charging the battery. Normally, the battery(s) are left connected all the time while using the RV in most RVs.
Hello thanks for the video. Question, I have a new 50amp rv plugged in shore with an adapter to a 30 amp plug. Just running the ac and fridge right now and batteries are draining slow(not charging). Do you think im just not getting enough power from the plug or could it be something else? Thanks for your time!
Hello! Congrats on the new rig! When you step down from a 50 AMP cord to a 30 amp outlet, you will have significantly less power available to use. In a normal 50 AMP connection, you have 2 hot legs in the wire, each with their own 50 AMP breaker (effectively you have access to 100 amps of power). When using a 30 AMP adapter and 30 AMP outlet you have 1 hot leg and a total of 30 amps of power available. That being said, a 30 AMP connection should be plenty of power to run a single AC and fridge, while keeping the batteries topped off..
What exactly is happening could depend on a lot of variables. Are you sure your batteries are going down/draining? Or are they going through a charge/discharge cycle?
With our first RV, our battery charger had a range where it would run a charge cycle and fully charge the battery, then it would stop charging and allow the 12V devices (lights, water pump, etc) to use some of the charge in the battery. Once the battery got down to a preset voltage, the charger would kick back in and fully top off the batteries, and start the cycle over again. Charge, drain to preset, charge, drain to preset, charge…..
Could this be how yours is configured?
@@this-mobile-life Ive been on shore for about a week and I have not noticed a cycle. Ive turned the fridge off and my battery seems to be holding a charge, but its not being topped off. Battery lingers where it had drained to prior @ 25% or so.
Ive got a new adapter(with surge protector thanks for that advice) arriving tomorrow and we'll see if thats the culprit. If not the only thing I can think is, charge the battery and/or have a 50amp breaker and plug installed.
Thanks again for the great video and reply! Ill return if I get it figured out and let you know what was going on. Ive got alot to learn.
So weird! A few questions....
Do you have a volt meter to manually check the voltage of the battery? Knowing what the voltage is at would help indicate it's true state of charge.
Do you know if your RV has an inverter or a converter?
Do you know if your fridge is powered by AC or DC?
Do you have any solar?
If you want to share the year, make, and model I could see if I could determine how it came from the factory... :-).
So sorry your having to deal with this...not fun when you're trying to enjoy your new RV!
@@this-mobile-life Its a '23 Cruiser MPG. Wired for solar, but no panels. Another youtuber said this EverChill fridge runs on 12V only which is why I turned it off, and that did stop the battery from draining. Inverter and converter should be good.
Btw no change with my new adapter.
Just ordered a multimeter, so ill investigate further when that comes in.
Just watched your video on RV electrical systems and surge protector.
I hit the like button and also subscribed to your channel.
The odd thing was I noticed was I'm your 666 subscriber 👹 LOL!!
Welcome aboard and thanks for subscribing!!
? Is do u have to have battery if u have sore line
Hello! You don't have to have batteries if you're always connected to shore power, but you would need a DC converter to run the DC electronics in the RV if you have no batteries. Most RVs are going to have either at least one battery from the factory, or at least an AC to DC converter.
You didn’t show how you plugged the van the 30 amp cord
Sorry we didn't include that part. Most RVs have either a hardwired cord or a twisting lock that connects like a dryer power cable. It's a big round plug, that plugs into the side of the RV, then twists a little to hold it in place, followed by a screw on collar to make sure it does not come disconnected.
What if I have a 15 amp, is there an adapter to a 30?
Hey, yes. They make a 15 amp (regular household plug) to 30 amp adapter. Here is a link: amzn.to/3vA4Ahs and a 15 to 50 amp here: amzn.to/4apoJpy
Just make sure to adjust your battery charger down to work with the 15 amp outlet.
@@this-mobile-life thank you so much.
You're welcome!
Is it's o k to have a battery charger hooked to your Camper battery and have it plugged into shore power?
Hey, do you mean to have a battery charger plugged into shore power to charge your batteries because you don’t have an onboard charger/inverter? Or do you mean to have your battery charging through your onboard charger/inverter and to have an extra battery charger hooked up at the same time?
You shouldn’t need a battery charger if your RV is plugged into shore power.
What problem are you trying to solve?
@This Mobile Life thanks for your reply. So I have the inverter built in but I didn't have the 30amp to 15amp adapter at the time to plug into my house so I hooked a deep cycle charger to my battery and I can't remember if I disconnected my battery charger before I plugged my camper into shore power and I wanted to make sure I didn't damage anything in the camper or accidentally backfeed power back into my house by having it plugged into my house and a external charger on the battery.
Hey @Uncle Dave. I’m not an electrician or electrical engineer so I can’t 100% say I know the answer to your question. However, I would assume you’re not going to be back feeding power to your house. Here’s my reasoning….on our system, we have multiple items providing power/charge to our batteries (shore power, generator, solar, etc). Each of thee power inputs will turn off and stop putting power into the batteries when the batteries reach a full charge. Also, when full, our solar does not feed power back to the shore power hookup and the batteries do not put power back out to any of the devices that charge them. That being said, I have no idea how your deep cycle charger works, if it turns off once the batteries reach a full charge, or what safety measures it has in place. My guess is you’re fine, but might want to check your charger specs and details. If anyone else reading this has input for Uncle Dave, please chime in! Thanks!
@This Mobile Life Thanks sooo much for taking the time to help me out and your advice is definitely assuring and helpful! I will definitely be asking you more questions since I am new to campers.
We look forward to your future questions and comments! Thanks!
You do not get 100 amps from a 50 amp breaker.
Correct….well sort of….with a 50 amp RV hookup, you are pulling two hot legs (line 1 and line 2) connected to double pole 50 amp breaker (two 50 amp breakers switched together). These then share one common neutral and one ground. In effect, an RV setup with 50 amp hookups, has two 50 amp legs or lines. These legs are spilt in the RV’s breaker box to serve different loads in the RV, such as multiple air conditioners and appliances. In effect there is 100 amps of total electrical service available on a properly setup 50 amp RV hookup, but it up to the distribution panel and wiring configuration in the RV to properly distribute.