oldjohnt

Hi Erica, good questions, there may be multiple issues here so FWIW here are my thoughts: 1) The breaker tripping when it's hot and the AC is working hardest is likely (unless breaker is faulty which can happen with age and excess trips, try a new one) due to its THERMAL portion/function of a Thermal Magnetic breaker. That can happen even if the current is somewhat less than its 20 amp rating if it flows long enough and with the compressor running 100% at high temps such is possible even if all else is okay. 2) Your statement running a fan on the "CONVERTER" allows it to keep running raises some questions and flags. a) If you were operating off battery power (IE NOT shore power) via an INVERTER with a separate CONVERTER charging the batteries, the CONVERTER would be working extra hard which an external fan could help, HOWEVER b) If plugged to shore power and the utility (NOT Battery) is powering the AC yet cooling the Converter still helps, that sounds like the batteries may be low so the Converter is drawing max shore power supplied amps possibly dropping the voltage causing the AC to draw enough current to trip the breaker. SOLUTIONS TO THAT: When plugged to shore power try turning the CONVERTER OFF and see if the AC continues to run?????? If so that tells me the house batteries may be low,,,,,, causing the Converter to run at max,,,,,,, stealing part of the available current,,,,,,,, causing a voltage drop,,,,,,,, causing the AC to draw excess current,,,,,,,,,,,,causing the breaker to trip IE you may NOT be able to run Converter and AC at same time IFFFFFFFFFFF batteries are low or bad, ARE THEY ???? Test the house batteries, if they are low or weak that causes the Converter to work hard so it draws max current leaving less power for the AC My best guess is you are NOT powering the AC via battery and Inverter but shore power, so cooling the converter allowing it to work points to a battery problem !!!!!!!!!!!!!! or even a bad converter or any of its wiring connections OTHER POSSIBLE PROBLEMS CAUSING BREAKER TO TRIP 1) Low AC voltage at the pedestal. If voltage to the RV when under heavy load gets down much below 110 that causes the AC to draw more current LOW VOLTAGE MAY WELL BE THE PROBLEM check voltage when AC is running I SUSPECT IT MAY BE LOW 2) As mentioned above, low or weak batteries can cause the Converter to draw excess current HAVE THE BATTERIES TESTED INCLUDING A LOAD TEST and insure the water is above all the plates.. 3) Loose/burned/resistive connections in the cords or plugs or receptacles or parks pedestal can cause a voltage drop under load THERE MAY BE A BAD LOOSE WORN RESISTIVE CONNECTION NO TELLING WHERE dropping voltage. 4) The AC unit itself, be it the compressor or CAPACITORS or low refrigerant can cause the problem even if all else above is fine, but thats NOT my area of expertise, more for a HVAC expert, see what they have to say. The FIRST suspect would be the capacitors but I cant test that for you, need an HVAC technician. SUMMARY OF SUSPECTS: LOW VOLTAGE,,,,,,,Batteries,,,,,,,,,Converter,,,,,,,,,,Connections,,,,,,,,,,AC capacitors or compressor,,,,,,,,,,Faulty Circuit breaker,,,,,,,,,,,Short Cycling of the AC compressor (for whatever control circuitry issues) can cause excess current draw and trip out the Thermal or even Magnetic portion of the circuit breaker,,,,,,,,,Filters and cleaning issues as covered above........... Nuff said for now, best I have to offer, ask an HVAC Technician their thoughts?? PS While a Soft Start unit helps with high initial starting current surges, tripping when running is not something they help. John T BSEE,JD Too longggggggggg retired n rusty Electrical Engineeer so NO warranty and NOT any HVAC expert.

CONGRATULATIONS Chad and thanks for the report. For those of us who boondock often DONT YOU JUST LOVE THE FREEDOM SOLAR AFFORDS. Sure it costs some bucks especially up front, but the benefits are worth it IN MY OPINION based on MY lifestyle and energy needs, even if it's NOT for everybody. To each their own RV lifestyle. Best wishes Chad take care, as always nice sparky chatting with you John T One Happy often Dry Camper

Typically a stand alone 30 Amp plug in surge protector has the 3 pin 30 amp Male and Female TT-30 plugs and receptacles, while of course, a 50 Amp has NEMA 14-50R 4 pin plugs and receptacles, so I agree with Kirk use a 30 Amp surge protector plugged into the parks 30 Amp receptacle ASSUMING THATS WHAT THE PARK HAS AND WHAT YOIU USE ?? When you say your park model is rated for 50 Amps, does it have a 50 Amp 4 Pin 14 50P plug (two legs of 120) ?? If so and iffffffffff the pedestal is only 30 Amp 3 pin TT-30R single leg of 120 receptacle, you need a 30 to 50 adapter (or is it hard wired to the park as I have seen ??) If your park model is wired and configured for 50 Amp 120/240 with two legs of 120 but you plug into a 30 amp receptacle using an adapter, you have no 240 and are limited to ONLY the 30 amps. If you ever moved to a park that has the 50 amp and your park model is 50 amp then a 50 amp surge protector would be in order. John T

Good question Bob, thanks for asking.. The reasons I chose to embrace the issue even though there are no leaks NOW, are: 1) Its been my experience (50 year RV owner) once an exhaust manifold nut/stud breaks off the chances are improved that EVENTUALLY there will be a leak which can damage the manifold. (It may need machined/planed down smooth and even to cure the burned out portion or possibly develop a crack ??? HUGE EXPENSE ) 2) ITS JUST ME I don't like taking off across the country and develop an exhaust leak far from home where it may be impossible or expensive to repair PLUS ruin my trip grrrrrrrrrrrrr Sure it may be fine for a while with a single broken manifold stud/nut but I love and maintain my RV and prefer to make repairs AT HOME Again, good question and those are the reasons I CHOSE to address this particular issue while still at home versus on the road even if there's a chance it might never leak ??? I just don't like to take the risk BUT to each their own, some may choose not to worry about it WHICH MAY BE FINE IT MAY NEVER LEAK ?????????? Heck I don't like to leave home even if a screw or cabinet latch is loose I (an old engineer) am just wired that way and cursed I guess lol Best wishes, take care Bob. Late PS. a professional mechanic just told me and I also recall this long before, with Aluminum heads and Cast Iron Manifolds having different rates of expansion, when they get real hot then cool down rapidly that can contribute to breaking the studs grrrrrrrrrrrrr Wish there was a better design !!!!!!!!!! Oh well its nothing work and money cant fix grrrrrrrrrrrr LATER PS Geeeeeee now I read it was a common problem on Ford V10 and there was even a recall !!! Also read the new and improved studs are a different material and that helps cure the problem WHAT TO BELIEVE LOL ??? John T Am I the ONLY one who would have chosen the same ??? would others not worry about a single broken stud/nut if its not leaking NOW ?? I'm still okay regardless lol

Aw come on, that can help lol John T

Mines an 06 (big husky manifold but not headers) not sure when any changes were made?? I hadn't noticed it before but after reading about other V10 owners who had broken studs and exh manifold gasket leaks I took a closer look at mine and only then discovered the two breaks, although again no leaks or noises or evidence of such. I will post an update later As always nice chatting with you John T

Kirk, did that include new Banks manifold/headers as well as other improvements or did it use the stock manifold ???? I'm of the opinion in a motorhome versus say a truck (different air flow patterns) when you pull a mountain and the manifold heats up and then it cools down rapidly (IE sudden temp change) as you quickly descend, that may contribute to broken manifold studs ????????? Last fall we left Death Valley and encountered a long hot hard pull towing our Honda as we headed West to Lone Pine then we descended rapidly, maybe that's when those bottom rear studs broke ?? I dont know ?? Keep cool I hear its hot down your way John T

My Ford V10 only has around 70K miles, NO Exhaust leaks whatsoever so far, or tell tale ticking exhaust leak sounds, or carbon or soot or burning evidencing any manifold/gasket leaks, HOWEVER, I just discovered the bottom rear stud on both manifolds is broke off grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr I've seen and read about that happening to others also. This week I'm going to repair those two broke studs n nuts and try that alone so long as I don't discover evidence of any leaks, but if that's NOT the case, I will pull the manifolds, machine/plane them flat smooth if necessary, new gaskets nuts n studs EASY PEASEY NOTTTTTTTTTT. Wish me luck, any others had broken exhaust studs/nuts on Ford V10's ??????????? John T Still a Happy Camper despite mechanical issues now n then, sorta goes with the territory over my 50 years of RV ownership ..

UPDATE AND FIX After investigation I have come to a couple conclusions IN MY OPINION: 1) I believe its natural and to be expected when the tank is full that creates more pressure against the slide dump valve so it's just a tad bit harder to pull INITIALLY ... 2) For a few years I used the old trick of drilling a small home (plugged of course after lubrication) in the side top by the handle to spray in some lube and silicone spray seemed to lubricate and ease valve operation HOWEVER some time back I didn't have any silicone and used white lithium spray grease I THINK THAT CAUSED THE SLIDE ACTION TO BECOME HARD AND DIFFICULT TO PULL OPEN WHEN THE TANK WAS FULL ????? I say that because the seal area had an accumulation of the white thicker lithium grease. Moral of the story I WILL NO LONGER USE WHITE LITHIUM SPRAY GREASE (light silicone instead) to lube the slide dump valve. That may or may not have been the cause ?? but a new valve has cured the problem for now at least. Yall have a good day now best wishes John T Happy Camper back home again in Indiana for a while. This summer I re installed my four rooftop solar panels about 1.5 inches above the roof surface (allows more air circulation under panels) as they were closer before which I think made them operate at a higher temp and less efficient ??? Time will tell but thats my belief

I've never observed any slow down or throttling whatsoever on either of my Verizon or AT&T unlimited hot spots, but I got those plans yearssssss ago. I follow Mobile Internet Resource Center and have attended their seminars where I got some tips way back that got me locked into my good rates THANKS CHRIS & CHERIE... I use auto pay never missed a payment pay early and keep my fingers crossed lol. I was told to NEVER change the plan or add or subtract or even change my payment method or ever be late cuz they would drop me like a hot potato........ John T

When I'm in my sticks n bricks I have Fiber Optic 300MHz unlimited in one end of the house and a Netgear Range Extender in the middle so my laptop or any phones or my ROKU (plugs into TV's HDMI) receive net or I can stream TV anywhere inside and most places in the yard. When on the road I have BOTH AT&T unlimited and Verizon unlimited Jetpack Hotspots with external amplified MIMO antennas, plus the same ROKU in the RV's TV. Fortunately I'm grandfathered in on ATT and Verizon older plans so its affordable. I can do cast or screen mirror but it seems cast is best at least with my equipment ?? I though BOTH phone and ROKU have to be connected to the same internet (as they are anyway) for cast or screen mirror I will have to experiment with that... John T

Those are indeed good suspects. It shouldn't be that hard to depress the brake pedal and see if voltage appears on the pin (still doesn't prove if its switch to controller or controller to pin DRATS) using either a DC voltmeter or even a test light. Are the tow vehicle brake lights working ??? I have seen some pretty simple mechanical push brake light switches as well as brake line hydraulic pressure switches and more modern sophisticated units. The inertia mechanism control may be harder to test since there has to be de acceleration for the pendulum to swing. Even if all else is working the magnets or their grounds can still be at fault. Hard to fix over the net and not much easier even if we were there lol Again so often its a ground problem grrrrrrrrrr John T

Good question, while a more precise answer subject to what's going on with the tow vehicle braking DEPENDS on the type of controller, my basic answer to your question agrees with Kirks good advice in that: If your tow vehicles pedal isn't depressed,,,, and the tow vehicle is stationary (no braking inertia) and you're NOT operating any manual slider or brake controller function,, I WOULDNT EXPECT ANY VOLTAGE ON THE SEVEN PIN BRAKE TERMINAL. If any were there it would send current to the electric brake magnets which you don't need or want when just sitting there right?? If the pedal were depressed then I would expect some voltage, the amount being subject to the controller, its design and what if any load current was being drawn.. Now, the voltage I would expect at the seven pin when the tow vehicle is braking is of course a different thing. Some controllers may sense merely when the brake pedal is depressed via a simple switch while others may also and/or use an inertia based controller so the harder you're braking/slowing the more voltage is sent to the trailer brakes. I have (with some basic brake controllers) had a person sit in the tow vehicle and depress the brake pedal and if I listened carefully near the trailer wheels I heard a high pitch squeal I KNEW THE MAGNETS WERE GETTING POWER This is NOT accurate or precise or scientific lol ONLY something I've done. The most common problem I've encountered with elec brakes IS A POOR OR LOOSE OR RESISTIVE GROUND be it in the wiring or connections or pigtails or at the magnets. While the trailer frame can serve as a conductive ground return path I preferred hard wiring a dedicated ground wire to each and every magnet as well as an oversized Ground wire from the tow vehicle to the trailer.. Nuff said John T

Thanks gang ,,,,,,Indeed if I dump when the tank isn't so full that would reduce pressure.........However, it seems I get a more robust faster and maybe clear the tank better dump if its more on the full side, and that's usually when I do it (not to say I couldn't change if necessary) oh well such it is ...I'm a believer in plenty of water and good flushing and rinsing so I will just live with it and perhaps try a new valve see if it matters, even though mine seals well and slides smooth n easy otherwise (yes I keep it lubed as Kirk mentioned) . I mostly was just wondering if other gents had the same experience (and its causes if known) or am I the only one ? Happy camping everyone, best wishes John T

Yep Kirk, I have been dolng that several years.. I drilled a hole where I shoot in lube regularly and it seems to help EXCEPT for that first bit when the tank is full........As long as she seals well and all the rest of the push/pull is okay I guess I will just have to live with it, but wondering if other gents had the same experience?? I always keep the black tank well flushed and cleaned out .. Oh well there's always something it seems, goes with the territory Take care Kirk, thanks for the input John T

So, my black tank slide valve has a few years on it, never leaks and slides in n out fairly smooth n easy, HOWEVER, if the black tank is totally full it's hard to pull at first (maybe until pressure is reduced ?) until it gets to maybe 1/4 or so open and the rest is easy. Ima thinking and hoping ? that's due to the higher pressure against it ONLY when the tank is full and there's no other serious problem ? What say you fine gentlemen ? Its not hard or expensive to change it out but no sense in doing so if this is typical. I haven't noticed any change in this like forever.. John T Enjoys routine and preventive maintenance when back home in the shop, much better than if on the road for sure !!

Maybe a blessing in disguise if it was a MSW ?? With the sub panel in place It won't be all that expensive or hard to re configure a new small inverter and transfer if/as required EASY PEASEY You got this !!! Good luck John T

Probably why it was a cheaper MSW. They still work while my preference would be a PSW and transfer switches aren't all that expensive if needed......... John T

Glenn, In order to power the fridge on its own separate small inverter and relative to your transfer switch question above, here are a couple considerations: 1) Use a Transfer Switch to power the fridge from EITHER the Battery/Inverter when dry camped or shore power when available (NOT talking pass through Inverter here as I discussed above) 2) Simply leave it on Battery/Inverter 24/7 (subject to battery capacity and whatever means to recharge) and allow your charger (Solar or Genset or Utility) to maintain the batteries HOWEVER that's double inefficiency, the Charger and Inverter both have losses. I see it more as having adequate battery capacity (Inverter isn't the problem) so the fridge can run off Battery/Inverter when dry camped. Id prefer only one Inverter and it a PSW versus messing with two Inverters and a transfer switch etc BUT ITS YOUR CHOICE and I have no idea of your configuration so I cant really help. John T

Glenn, do as you wish and even if it can "still "work" my advice would be to use a PSW Inverter to power those appliances instead of that MSW. Unless there's a specific reason why ?? I wouldn't use yet another (NON efficient) separate inverter to power the fridge, but use the PSW you already have assuming it has the capacity which it appears. It depends on how you are configured, but If your Inverter is a pass through and has adequate capacity and can power your fridge you wouldn't need to mess with any other transfer to shore power as you asked. I view an inverter with sub panel for specific loads and transfer switch for small set ups but I thought you had more like a whole house system ???? (NO sub panels no transfer) in which case no need to use a sub panel and transfer BUT IM NOT SURE OF WHAT YOU HAVE SO TAKE THIS WITH A GRAIN OF SALT John T

Zulu, I'm NOT an expert but FWIW I pretty much agree with the other fine gents and here's my response: Good question, like others I have used BOTH and you ask why ?? 1) When I started several years ago using PWM charge controllers that were ONLY appropriate for 12 or 24 Volt panels, I had to use parallel connection for 24 volt panels so as NOT to exceed the max PV input controller voltage. 2) When I used a couple 12 Volt Panels I wired in series to increase voltage thereby reducing current in the conductors from the panels down to my PWM charge controller 3) Nowadays or then when using an MPPT charge controller they are rated for the maximum PV Input Voltage and current and can accept higher PV Input (NOT limited to 12 or 24) WHICH ALLOWS/FAVORS SERIES PANEL CONNECTIONS to reduce current (less line voltage drop and wasted I Squared R heat energy losses) from panels down to controller. IN ESSENCE the answer depends on: The max PV input voltage your controller will accept (50 Volts, 100 volts ?),,,,,,,,,,,,How many panels you have and their voltage and current rating,,,,,,,,,,,,What size wire you have from panels down to controller,,,,,,,,,As I'm sure you already know, panels in series adds voltage while in parallel current adds and its good to reduce line voltage drop which means less current (caused by higher series voltaqe) 4) Now I use Series/Parallel and in general when using multiple panels in series (say 2, 4 or more etc) that works to raise the voltage up to the controllers max. Example: When using a controller that accepts 100 Volts PV input and having four matched 24 volt panels, wire two panels in PARALLEL and connect that in SERIES with the two other 24 volt panels in parallel. I have used such a series/parallel connection with four 24 volt panels and subject to sunlight my controller might see 70+ volts The answer depends on how many panels,,,,,,,,,their ratings,,,,,,,,,,,,your controller specs...Im sure you will figure it out Best wishes, listen to the experts not me John T

Here's even more NEC Ampacity data: NECAmpacityWorkflow.pdf (nfpa.org) Back in the day I spent hours wading through all that stuff lol The NEC was our Bible John T

As I discussed above, a single conductor IN FREE AIR has a higher ampacity versus if enclosed. Again it has to do with the ability to dissipate heat without degrading the insulation.... John T

Thers a ton of them out there, when I practiced I just used the NEC but had plenty of other shorter basic references such as Uglys. HOWEVER what most non electricians or non engineers may not realize THE AMPACITY DEPENDS ON MANY FACTORS OTHER THEN THE WIRE SIZE ALONE. It has to do with how much current can be carried WITHOUT DEGRADING OR HARMING OR MELTING THE INSULATION IE how well heat can be dissipated from the conductors to the surroundings For example a conductor in free air has a much higher ampacity then one enclosed or jacketed and if enclosed how many conductors in what size raceway plus the type and class of Insulation etc etc etc on and on lol its worse then reading a law book. Regardless, when it comes to sizing low voltage DC conductors in high current applications such as for inverters or chargers, bigger is better to reduce line voltage drop which is a function of Current,,,,,,,Wire Size,,,,,,,,Distance Best wishes yall John T

Correct, when using Lead Acid (6 Volt or 12 Volt) its best NOT to discharge over 50% Congratulations on upgrading to Lithium and a shunt based battery monitor.. John T