Blew the breaker

[KathyJB]

All i did was try to blow dry my hair.

[wahoonc]

Main breaker or the circuit the hair dryer was on?

Typical blow dryer is 1100-1500 watts which works out to around 10-12 amps, which is between a third and half your total amps coming in on a 30 amp trailer. If you had the A/C on, fridge and possibly the electric water heater element I wouldn't be surprised.

Aaron

[franktafl]

common problem. happens all the time. Look to see what else you have plugged in. MOST of the circuits in an RV are connected together, the max allowed is 5 outlets in series on one cb by the NEC. MOST of the circuit breakers in an RV are 15 amp which "trips" at 60% of its rated value (data center cb's are rated at 90 - 100% rated value). 12v systems are on fuses. Once you learn what is connected together, you will be happier. By the way, if you tripped the breaker on the campground side, figure out what is most likely running (WahooNC is correct) at the same time. More of an issue in the wintertime since those electric heaters pull LOTS of power as well as the hot water heater and furnace (if running). IF that is an issue, possibly you could purchase a 50 amp to 30 amp pigtail and use the 50 amp outlet if available.

[wildwest450]

It seems like it was only yesterday that I had "the blow dryer" talk with the wife.

Especially since she's a hair stylist by trade and has a $350 blow dryer that puts out a staggering 1900 watts. Yes dear, it's like running 2 small microwaves at a time.

[nickthehunter]

Originally Posted by franktafl

...MOST of the circuit breakers in an RV are 15 amp which "trips" at 60% of its rated value...

Where did you get that from????????????
Unless someone changed the NEC rules recently, A circuit breaker will carry 100% of its rated load. It will carry 80% of its rated load on a continuous basis (more than 3 hours).

[franktafl]

Originally Posted by nickthehunter

Where did you get that from????????????
Unless someone changed the NEC rules recently, A circuit breaker will carry 100% of its rated load. It will carry 80% of its rated load on a continuous basis (more than 3 hours).

NEC states that they be rated between 80% and 100% but conversations with Schneider say the are reliable to 60% for sure. Plus, they have a 20% tolerance so an 80% breaker may trip at 80% - 16 or almost 60% - ish while the 100 % stuff is supposed to be 100 to 125%.

[nickthehunter]

Originally Posted by franktafl

NEC states that they be rated between 80% and 100% but conversations with Schneider say the are reliable to 60% for sure. Plus, they have a 20% tolerance so an 80% breaker may trip at 80% - 16 or almost 60% - ish while the 100 % stuff is supposed to be 100 to 125%.

I think you need to have another conversation with Schneider (whoever he is). We are not talking about 80% breakers, we are talking about full load breakers. 80% breakers are a whole different animal and last I knew, they weren't used in RV applications. And the 20% tolerance is for continuous load (more than 3 hours).

[franktafl]

Originally Posted by nickthehunter

I think you need to have another conversation with Schneider (whoever he is). We are not talking about 80% breakers, we are talking about full load breakers. 80% breakers are a whole different animal and last I knew, they weren't used in RV applications. And the 20% tolerance is for continuous load (more than 3 hours).

ummm... ok. I am sure they put 100% (precision) breakers in these rv's.

[KathyJB]

Water heater, fridge and a.c. all on. 😃

[wildwest450]

Originally Posted by KathyJB

Water heater, fridge and a.c. all on. 😃

Haha, that will do it. Of course it's impossible to tell if the hot water heater was actually on or not. If the air was running and you turned on the blow dryer as the hot water element was firing up, that could do it. I tell my wife as long as the microwave and coffee pot aren't on she's good to go. Or you could just turn off the hot water heater for 10 minutes while you melt your hair.

[KathyJB]

Lol, melt my hair

[snakebitten]

I'm continually amazed

[wildwest450]

Originally Posted by snakebitten

I'm continually amazed

You're easily amazed/amused.
How's things down in Texas? Did the 213 survive? We need answers!

[snakebitten]

Originally Posted by wildwest450

You're easily amazed/amused.
How's things down in Texas? Did the 213 survive? We need answers!

My post was completely unintentional. I was multitasking and accidently hit the submit button before I had typed my thought. What interrupted me was the delivery guys showing up early with just 1, the first, of the hurricane replacement appliances for the stick and mortar house. It was the fridge and I actually had to refuse delivery because it had a flaw in the freezer handle.

So technically, the interruption in my forum activity was a complete waste of time.
However, I can't remember what I was going to say.

OH, the 213...............
INCHES my good RV friend. INCHES.
Or to put it another way, thank goodness it didn't have smaller rims or tires!

The only thing it required was a good bath. Every square inch of the exterior was covered in a nasty film of swamp yuck. She's all bright and shiny now. Only thing left is to go home today and put a coat of wax on it cuz I scrubbed it a bit too much in places.

The one really nice thing was after 2 months in the other RV (even smaller), the mighty 213 is HUGE!!!!! And it felt like I was "home" when I stepped up and into that nice and dry fluffy (floor mats) floor.

I just looked on the Aerolite website and they have completely screwed up. How can they be so reckless? They changed the bathroom! What were they thinking? Somebody needs their design license taken from them.

Oh well, I got mine. Now I have even more reason to take care of the ONLY lightweight towable TT with a REAL bathroom.

Oh, and thanks for asking Westiebro!

The pond has returned to just being a pond! (It was recently engulfed into a 4 mile wide single body of water) The view while scrubbing the 213 roof was one I hadn't ever captured. Sure looks different from up there. The pile of appliances from the house (My kids live there now) is nothing compared to the pile of rubble in the front. Both of those cars are totaled. My teardrop is going to recover, minus the mattress. Not in the picture is my trusty 2003 Cummins Dodge workhorse. They tried to total it but when they saw a grown man weeping, they showed mercy and said "ok ok ok. We'll try to fix it. Please don't cry sir"

Almost dry inside now though. The future is starting to look bright again. Can't wait to get the kids (ok, my grandkids) back home.

[wildwest450]

Originally Posted by snakebitten

The only thing it required was a good bath. Every square inch of the exterior was covered in a nasty film of swamp yuck. She's all bright and shiny now. Only thing left is to go home today and put a coat of wax on it cuz I scrubbed it a bit too much in places.

I just looked on the Aerolite website and they have completely screwed up. How can they be so reckless? They changed the bathroom! What were they thinking? Somebody needs their design license taken from them.

Sorry to hear about the cars and appliances, good to know the mighty 213 survived! I did see the new ones, aside from the new colors there's not much I like over mine. I'll take my huge shower over some closet space, and I like my outdoor TV. I do like how they squared off the inside tv area and left a space for a satellite box. Be safe and don't be a stranger.

[snakebitten]

Thanks for the well wishes.

But don't feel too bad for me. I have all the appropriate insurance. If they do what they are supposed to do, we'll come out of it ok. I built the house 12 years ago. It took a couple of feet of water without any damage other than surface stuff.



Drying out nicely.

[PamW]

Originally Posted by nickthehunter

I think you need to have another conversation with Schneider (whoever he is). We are not talking about 80% breakers, we are talking about full load breakers. 80% breakers are a whole different animal and last I knew, they weren't used in RV applications. And the 20% tolerance is for continuous load (more than 3 hours).

Originally Posted by franktafl

NEC states that they be rated between 80% and 100% but conversations with Schneider say the are reliable to 60% for sure. Plus, they have a 20% tolerance so an 80% breaker may trip at 80% - 16 or almost 60% - ish while the 100 % stuff is supposed to be 100 to 125%.

Ooookay boys ...

Five recepts on one breaker limitation?? Would that be a residential requirement, what section? I work commercial and that totally not a limitation in my line of work (and residential is annoyingly different). I know I tend not to put more than four or five on a breaker ... but if it's a situation where I know they are likely to be lightly or not used I'll put upwards of nine on a circuit. NEC requires convenience receptacles to be listed at a minimum of 180 watts each therefore 180*9=1620 watts ... which gives ample room, even at 80%.

There's a thing as a standard use breaker and a thing as a 100% rated breaker. The 100% rated breakers are outrageously priced. No, you don't want to load a breaker more than 80% of its listed load for a couple of reasons. Continuous loads will build up heat and cause breakers to trip (which is preferable to a fire in the wiring). Motor loads will have spikes when kicking on causing nuisance tripping. And we could go on to harmonics in fluorescent and electronic loads, but that bores the crap out of me.

Breakers used in RVs won't be 100% rated, but they will hold at close to 100% for short periods as designed (that "short period" may very well be shorter than the time it takes to dry a head of hair).

Schneider electric (pka SquareD) is in the business of selling breakers and equipment. The more (and larger) equipment they sell, the more money they make. If you have a sensitive load, you can peruse the breaker trip charts (another yawn situation).

Sorry, Kathy, as others have stated, hair dryers take more juice than many realize. Coincident loads will likely cause a breaker to trip. It might take some experimentation to learn what you need to do in order to run the hair dryer. My solution is to drip dry (even at home with all the power I desire!)

[franktafl]

Originally Posted by PamW

Ooookay boys ...

Five recepts on one breaker limitation?? Would that be a residential requirement, what section? I work commercial and that totally not a limitation in my line of work (and residential is annoyingly different). I know I tend not to put more than four or five on a breaker ... but if it's a situation where I know they are likely to be lightly or not used I'll put upwards of nine on a circuit. NEC requires convenience receptacles to be listed at a minimum of 180 watts each therefore 180*9=1620 watts ... which gives ample room, even at 80%.

There's a thing as a standard use breaker and a thing as a 100% rated breaker. The 100% rated breakers are outrageously priced. No, you don't want to load a breaker more than 80% of its listed load for a couple of reasons. Continuous loads will build up heat and cause breakers to trip (which is preferable to a fire in the wiring). Motor loads will have spikes when kicking on causing nuisance tripping. And we could go on to harmonics in fluorescent and electronic loads, but that bores the crap out of me.

Breakers used in RVs won't be 100% rated, but they will hold at close to 100% for short periods as designed (that "short period" may very well be shorter than the time it takes to dry a head of hair).

Schneider electric (pka SquareD) is in the business of selling breakers and equipment. The more (and larger) equipment they sell, the more money they make. If you have a sensitive load, you can peruse the breaker trip charts (another yawn situation).

Sorry, Kathy, as others have stated, hair dryers take more juice than many realize. Coincident loads will likely cause a breaker to trip. It might take some experimentation to learn what you need to do in order to run the hair dryer. My solution is to drip dry (even at home with all the power I desire!)

unfortunately, You are correct at 10 standard duplex
receptacles on a 20 amp branch circuit.
But it is not good design
practice when planning a new circuit.
I try to use 7 plus or minus 2 depending
on the layout, typically no more than 5.

[gjwinner850]

Originally Posted by snakebitten

OH, the 213...............
INCHES my good RV friend. INCHES.
Or to put it another way, thank goodness it didn't have smaller rims or tires!

Holy Moly there Snakebitten,
Sorry to hear about the water damage to the house, vehicles, and such and we are glad to hear you and your family are OK. Yep they sure screwed up the new 213. Nothing like that bathroom on the market (anymore) in a small to medium size TT. Shame on them! Keep in touch!