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Our RV Keeps Popping Circuit Breakers

by Anonymous

Hello,

We are staying in an RV park for the first time with our 1984 Shasta. We are plugged into 30 amp from the RV site. we haven't run into any problems until the other day.

We were using the vacuum while our electric heater was on, and the power shut off. Both the heater and vacuum still work but the plug that they were plugged into no longer works. then, recently we had the electric heater plugged in and used the microwave, and it happened again. The heater still works but our microwave does not.

We do not know if we were just using too many things at once? and how to get our Microwave to start working again?

ANSWER: Hi thanks for submitting your question on our Ask An RV Question Page

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You do not tell me if you tripped the circuit breaker in the electric box that your RV is plugged into at the RV park. If you did trip that circuit breaker then it means that you have exceeded the total 30 Amp limit that your RV can use.

If your RV did not trip the main RV park Circuit breaker but you are only losing power to a plug (circuit) or appliances that means that you have tripped a circuit breaker in the RV itself; because your RV just like a brick and mortar house has circuit breakers that can be tripped. If you are tripping only the circuit breakers in the RV that means that you are not exceeding the 30 amp maximum but are probably exceeding the 15 amp maximum on that particular circuit in the RV.

You have to reset the circuit breaker in your RV. Since you did not tell me if your 1984 Shasta is a motorhome or a Travel Trailer (Shasta manufactured both motorhomes and Travel Trailers in 84) I cannot tell you the exact location of the circuit breakers because depending on the type and model of the Shasta you have, the circuit breakers could be in an outside compartment or most likely in a cabinet on the inside of the RV.

The most common factor in your whole story is the plug in Space Heater that you are using to heat the RV. If this is an older space heater it may be pulling close to the individual RV electric circuit maximum of 15 amps when you have it on high. Take a look at the heater and see if it shows how many watts it uses. If you find the wattage; use this formula (Watts / Volts = Amps) to find out how many amps your space heater is using.

The bottom line is that once you get the circuit breakers reset you may want to either start using your RV's built in furnace which will require you to start replenishing the propane on a regular basis or better yet purchase a more energy efficient electric space heater for the RV.

The most energy efficient space heaters available are Oil Filled Radiator Heaters. They draw less amps than the other types of portable heaters currently availalbe.

I hope that this information helps.

Do you have any suggestions or comments on this topic? You can add them to this page by clicking on the "Click Here To Post Comments" link located near the bottom of this page.

Happy RVing

RVing Al

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