Trailer electricity

I'm not an electrician, but I do know that the current wiring into your non 30 amp panel is not adequate for 30amp. So you would need to change that wiring and and a 30A panel.

I do not cook in a lot of comps, but the ones I do usually provide basic 15A service only. I believe only those that accommodate motor homes will offer 30A service. Others may have a better view.

That warming plate and your heat and a/c are likely doing you in. Add up the wattage on those items. You want to stay at or under 80% of 15 amps if that is what you're provided which is 1440 watts assuming 120 volts. Make sure you're using a 12 gauge cord for this and try to keep it under 100'.

Are you tripping breakers in the trailer or the power distribution breakers at the site?

Id have to agree your hot plate and a/c are the cause, I run small fridge in my trailer and inside outside lighting. one of these will heat your sauce in 1/2 the time of an Electric element.http://www.target.com/p/coleman-1-b...pid=14900808&gclid=CMbwxY2Wi8QCFVFp7AodNTcAFg I believe you've seen my setup
somewhere last year just cant remember where.:biggrin1:

here is a link to my trailer build thread it shows how we wired it breaker 1 is outside GFI protected and breaker 2 is inside lights and outlets independent GFI's http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=157907

I'm currently building out my trailer right now. I too have just a 120v plug that runs the lights and 3 outlets.

I've purchased a 4000w Inverter, that will be run off of 4 Deep Cycle 6v Batteries rigged in Series (24V)

This will effectively run,

Point of use hot water tank (2.5 Gal) 12.5 Amps for 1500 W and the water pump.

Fridge, 120v 4.6 amps for 552 W


I'm planning on installing a 24V on board battery charger that will charge the batteries at comps with the 15 amp service while running the lights.

Consider a propane heater like Mr. Heater. Most electric space heaters are going to use all of your 15 amps by themselves. Adding more power is going to take an electrician or someone familiar with electrical work and willing to rewire your trailer.

Find the ratings of all the stuff you are running and add it up. You can convert appliances with watt ratings to amps with a simple formula.
Amps are watts / voltage. 200 watts / 120 volts = 1.67 amps for example.

Add up all your stuff, including the fridge, to see how much power you need. Anything that creates heat from electricity is going to be a power hog: electric heater, coffee maker, hair dryer, and that warming plate. Right behind that are compressor motors that use a lot of power to start. This includes refrigerators and air conditioners. I'm not at all surprised you are blowing breakers with a heater/ac unit and a warming plate.

Once you know your total power consumption, you know how big your panel needs to be. Common sizes for trailers will be 20 amps, 30 amps, and 50 amps. You have a main breaker that limits the total power coming into the trailer, and one or more breakers for power distribution to the outlets. Changing out the panel alone won't help, as the wiring to the outlets and the outlets themselves aren't designed for more than 15 amps.

So to add more power, you need more power coming in via a 30 or 50 amp panel AND more circuits to distribute that power. You are going to have to do some rewiring here. Even with a 30 amp panel, you would need to rewire the outlets so that no more than 15 amps travels over a given set of wires. If you have, say, 6 outlets you might want to rewire them so no more than 3 are wired together.

Propane heater might be easier. :becky: Yes, this is a job for an electrician if you aren't comfortable doing that sort of work.