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Old 07-15-2020, 09:29 AM   #1
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Plugging in at Home

How is everyone plugging in at home? Our local electrician wants over $700 to install a 30 amp plug Probably just plugging into my standard outlet with a "Dogbone"? I will have the Easy start soft starter for my A/C and I dont need to have any hot water running. I should be ok correct?
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Old 07-15-2020, 10:55 AM   #2
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Yes, that's basically it. It's one or the other. Many folks get by with a 15 amp outlet. It's just a matter of power management, sort of like when you're boondocking, decide what the priority is and don't go whole hog and run everything.

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Old 07-15-2020, 11:07 AM   #3
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How is everyone plugging in at home? Our local electrician wants over $700 to install a 30 amp plug Probably just plugging into my standard outlet with a "Dogbone"? I will have the Easy start soft starter for my A/C and I dont need to have any hot water running. I should be ok correct?
Hi Bluesky, Lots of bright electrical types here, but here’s my understanding. We have a 2019 21C and our manual for our AC unit says it needs at least a 20 amp circuit to run it. Most 110 outlets are 15 amps. You can power most everything in our trailers (except the AC) on a 110 outlet (with an adapter) and that’s what we do at home. Maybe you can ask your electrician about a dedicated 20 amp 110 outlet and then you can try running your AC and nothing else and see if that works with your soft starter? However, if you plan to use your AC at home a lot then a dedicated 30 amp outlet sounds the safest route.

Your hot water heater should have a propane mode so that won’t affect your electrical needs. -Bea
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Old 07-15-2020, 11:54 AM   #4
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How is everyone plugging in at home? Our local electrician wants over $700 to install a 30 amp plug Probably just plugging into my standard outlet with a "Dogbone"? I will have the Easy start soft starter for my A/C and I dont need to have any hot water running. I should be ok correct?
I plug mine into a 20 amp circuit and it is ok. I can run the Air Con on that just realize that if the ac is running do not run microwave or hot water or plug anything that causes heat....like hair drier, coffee maker also high draw items like a vacuum. You can run ac on a 20 amp...if you are careful.... a 15 amp is really pushing it.

You should also be aware what else is on that circuit....garage door opener, etc.

The big cost of a 30 amp outlet is that it is a dedicated circuit with nothing else on it. This means you need a breaker in your main panel, an outlet and enough wire to get from your main panel to the outlet. A minimum of10 Gauge wire is required and it ain't cheap....think cost per foot. A quick internet search shows a cost of over $2/ft and that depends on where it has to be run. If the wire needs to go underground or overhead that can add significant cost. 10 gauge wire is pretty stiff too so not as easy to run.
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Old 07-15-2020, 12:07 PM   #5
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Same as Ian, I ran a 20A circuit to where I now park the trailer. Previously I used the 20A that was for the above ground pool. 20A is plenty if you are a little careful. Worse case, you pop the breaker. I've run the A/C off a 15A, but the 20A is better.
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Old 07-15-2020, 01:26 PM   #6
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I've monitored the amp draw on our A/C with the easy start dozens of times and I've never seen it go more than 11 amps.
With the easy start it slowly ramps up to 10 or 11 in about 12 seconds.
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Old 07-17-2020, 09:59 AM   #7
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Ask around for a local handy man. Many people are licensed electricians, but don't do public work.
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Old 07-17-2020, 12:00 PM   #8
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I have a 150 Amp sub panel in a stand alone garage. It has a 50 Amp service for a welder coming out of it. When we built the adjacent building for the Escape, we put in a dedicated 30 amp travel trailer service and a single 20 amp service for the building
The 30 amp I use to keep the trailer plugged in. The 20 amp powers the lights, garage door opener and outlets. I bought the conduit and hangers. We bent it ourselves and pulled the wire, Installed our own breakers and outlets. I realize not everyone has the ability to wire out of the panel. My brother was a factory maintenance electrician at one time and was licensed till he retired. The materials were not all that much money for me, but I can see where the cost of labor might make a big difference. But. You can get by on a 15 amp service most of the time with judicious management.
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Old 07-17-2020, 01:10 PM   #9
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Ask around for a local handy man. Many people are licensed electricians, but don't do public work.
Going the 20 amp route on a dedicated circuit is probably the best compromise for cost and usage.

Rules change with jurisdictions. Here, in BC, we can take out a permit and wire our whole house. If your jurisdiction allows for homeowner permits it'd be an easy job to run the circuit yourself. The information on how to do it is readily available and most electrical inspectors are happy to supply a bit of advice.

Of course, in dealing with a lot of folks who were considering a DIY project doing projects that involved electrical was the one most people were most reluctant to try. Depends on a person's comfort level.

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Old 07-17-2020, 01:21 PM   #10
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Of course, in dealing with a lot of folks who were considering a DIY project doing projects that involved electrical was the one most people were most reluctant to try. Depends on a person's comfort level.

Ron

You need to consider your insurance company too. I got notice some time ago that to continue my home-owner insurance, I had to have the house inspected, deficiencies addressed and a re-inspection.
Cost me about $1,500 in the end.
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Old 07-17-2020, 01:56 PM   #11
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That's quite a different issue. It makes no difference to the insurance company if the wiring was done by the homeower, under permit, or an electrician.

The three major reasons that an insurance company asks for an electrical inspection before renewing insurance are:

In an old house, possible existence of knob and tube wiring.

Existence of aluminium wiring.

Existence of fuses in the main panel.

Even wiring done without a permit is unlikely to create an insurance problem if it's done to existing codes and wasn't the cause of a problem.

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Old 07-17-2020, 03:17 PM   #12
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Even though I have three battery powered smoke detectors in an 800 sq.ft. house, they demanded a hard wired smoke detector.
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Old 07-17-2020, 03:23 PM   #13
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Be happy. If it was a two storey house you'd have had to install hard wired, interconnected units on both levels. That would have cost more.

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Old 07-17-2020, 03:32 PM   #14
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Yah, but, the new smoke detector has to be within a certain distance of the bedrooms, which places it over the kitchen sink, across from the oven and toaster. When it goes off, it's dinner time.
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Old 07-17-2020, 04:46 PM   #15
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If you're doing it yourself, keep in mind that code mandates you size the circuit so the load doesn't exceed 80% of the circuit/breaker capacity - so 16A on a 20A ckt, or 12A on a 15A ckt.
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Old 07-17-2020, 06:02 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron in BC View Post
Going the 20 amp route on a dedicated circuit is probably the best compromise for cost and usage.

Rules change with jurisdictions. Here, in BC, we can take out a permit and wire our whole house. If your jurisdiction allows for homeowner permits it'd be an easy job to run the circuit yourself. The information on how to do it is readily available and most electrical inspectors are happy to supply a bit of advice.

Of course, in dealing with a lot of folks who were considering a DIY project doing projects that involved electrical was the one most people were most reluctant to try. Depends on a person's comfort level.

Ron
While it would be great to find an existing 20 amp receptacle that you could use, if you are going to install a new receptacle, the difference in cost between a 20 amp & a 30 amp is only a few bucks more for the #10 wire vs #12, and the NEMA TT30R receptacle in place of a NEMA 6-20R. In most cases, the breaker is the same $.
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