extension cord length

[scarecrow56]

I'm gonna put my TT in the back yard. I have used a 50' extension cord to power the slides and fridge and a few other things including the AC for a short time. Question is, This time I'm gonna have to use a 100' cord. How will this affect the voltage/drain on the power, if at all?

[Terryallan]

Cummins12V98 wrote:

Terryallan wrote:
I use a 100' well now a 85' cord after the dog took 15' off of it. I run the AC, and fridge every spring to make sure it works for summer. don't run it long, Just long enough for the air to get cold, and I don't turn on anything else in the TT when the Ac is on.

It is the same cord I use to run the saws, drills, sanders, and lights in my work shop.

ask a "expert electrician" about doing it. He told me. If there isn't enough current to run it. It will simply trip the house breaker when the AC askes for more than it has to give. However. the cheap Walmart adapter does get hot, but the heavy duty Rv adapter does not.

Unless you list the gauge of the cord your post is just a nice story. Hopefully the dog survived.

Honestly don't know the gage. the cord is over 40 years old. Can't remember that far back. But it is pretty heavy, but still flexible. yeah the dog wasn't hurt. it was unplugged when she chewed it off.

[Cummins12V98]

Cummins Block Heater draws 13A.

[Kevinwa]

Completely unrelated, but I use 300’ of 12 gauge cord to plug in the block heater on my F350 diesel in the winter. No issues for this as the block heater is a resistive load. We park the truck in a back shed for the winter because it doesn’t get used often.

[Cummins12V98]

Terryallan wrote:
I use a 100' well now a 85' cord after the dog took 15' off of it. I run the AC, and fridge every spring to make sure it works for summer. don't run it long, Just long enough for the air to get cold, and I don't turn on anything else in the TT when the Ac is on.

It is the same cord I use to run the saws, drills, sanders, and lights in my work shop.

ask a "expert electrician" about doing it. He told me. If there isn't enough current to run it. It will simply trip the house breaker when the AC askes for more than it has to give. However. the cheap Walmart adapter does get hot, but the heavy duty Rv adapter does not.

Unless you list the gauge of the cord your post is just a nice story. Hopefully the dog survived.

[Shadow_Catcher]

Voltage drop at 100' 12 gauge is 4.76V 10 gauge is 3V. Our house voltage is 122V

[Edd505]

I went a different route with direct burial wire and a 30amp outlet. 5W is 50amp so I use an adapter and only 1 A/C.
https://www.amazon.com/Southwire-13055926-100-Foot-Approved-Direct/dp/B000BPCWTG?psc=1&SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duckduckgo-ffnt-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B000BPCWTG

[BFL13]

scarecrow56 wrote:
I'm gonna put my TT in the back yard. I have used a 50' extension cord to power the slides and fridge and a few other things including the AC for a short time. Question is, This time I'm gonna have to use a 100' cord. How will this affect the voltage/drain on the power, if at all?

Yes, voltage drop is the issue, and also popping the breaker in the house if anything big in the house on that circuit is also on.

Air conditioner can be damaged by low voltage, but other things might still run ok, but less well. Eg, microwave will run but struggle. The converter will run but at lower than rated amps. Your fridge will run on AC the day before a trip while on "cool-down" ok if you don't overload the circuit with other 120v things in the house or RV.

Your converter will be happy on Float voltage maintaining the batteries since that job is at very low DC amps so little voltage drop at the 120v level.

Comical about the dog! 🙂 An "innocent" creature could not possibly do such a thing1

[Terryallan]

I use a 100' well now a 85' cord after the dog took 15' off of it. I run the AC, and fridge every spring to make sure it works for summer. don't run it long, Just long enough for the air to get cold, and I don't turn on anything else in the TT when the Ac is on.

It is the same cord I use to run the saws, drills, sanders, and lights in my work shop.

ask a "expert electrician" about doing it. He told me. If there isn't enough current to run it. It will simply trip the house breaker when the AC askes for more than it has to give. However. the cheap Walmart adapter does get hot, but the heavy duty Rv adapter does not.

[MitchF150]

Thing to do is turn all other electric off and then check what your voltage is at any plug. Then run the AC and then check the voltage at any plug. Even at 50', I bet you drop below 108v... While the AC is running, that low of voltage isn't doing your motor any favors, so...

For running anything else in the rig, you should be fine. It's the AC that will always tax the system to it's max, so gotta decide what you need to run and go from there.

I installed a dedicated 30a RV plug because when I ran my AC, it dropped my voltage to around 108v with only a 25' cheapie extension cord. Sure, I could have gotten a better cord, but decided to just go with the 30a setup..

Good luck!

Mitch

[rockylarson]

Two 30amp RV extensions for under $120

[RJsfishin]

I always listen to the A/C,....if it has a good normal startup, it will be fine.
If it struggles to get going, get larger wire.
We lived in our MH for 5 months on a 100 ft 12ga cord. We could use the AC or the microwave but not both at the same time

[rhagfo]

Cummins12V98 wrote:
12 ga at 15+amp draw is fine at 50'. 100' I would step it to 10ga.

X2
This will fill your needs,but at a price!

Voltec 100' 10/3 extension cord

[wnjj]

It also depends upon how much wire there is in your house between the panel and the receptacle you’re using. Your best bet is to measure the voltage inside the RV with whatever appliances (e.g. A/C) running and step the cord gauge up if it’s not enough.

[Cummins12V98]

12 ga at 15+amp draw is fine at 50'. 100' I would step it to 10ga.