On Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:31:38 -0400, "Eisboch"
wrote:


"Wizard of Woodstock" wrote in message
.. .
On Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:08:32 -0400, "Eisboch"
wrote:


"Wizard of Woodstock" wrote in message
...

That's a good point - didn't think of that.

It's all about the load baby.

If you turn the AC on, you should be able to tell if the voltage drops
at another 120 Vac receptacle right?

Generally, yes but some campers are set up such that some of the 120 vac
outlets are powered by the converter and it's regulation may take care of
droop. However, the high current draw items like the AC and the
microwave
are wired directly to the "shore" power 120v source and do not run through
the converter.

Some campers get all the 120vac from the shore power source. In that
case,
yes, any outlet will do to check camper voltage under load.

So in John's case, to be absolutely sure, he'd have to place a metered
load at the source point to determine any voltage drop.

Hmmmmm....

Sort of. Usually the RV site pedestal has a standard 20 amp outlet. As
long as it's on the same side of the split phase service, he can measure it
there. Again, if his camper is not set up so the 120v outlets do not run
off the inverter, he can use any of them to measure it.

I went through this in Florida with a camper we had. I knew the AC was
straining to start due to voltage droop just by listening to it. The
section of Florida we were in was not noted for decent electrical service to
begin with. During peak hours the voltage at the distribution box in our
house would occasionally drop to 114 volts or so. I put in a 30 amp, 120v
service for the camper, located about 200 feet away. Even though I used 6
awg wires for the hot and neutral, I'd still get as low as 105 volts at
times at the camper location when the AC unit tried to kick on. The extra
current draw is not healthy for the compressor motor windings. I ended up
buying an automatic boost transformer that kicked the voltage up by 10%
whenever it sensed that the supply voltage dropped below 117 vac.

Even better. You're safe no matter what happens that way.