[CaptainGizmo]

I’m not certain I’ve posted about this topic before, but I have some experience that may help others, so I posted this onto the VIP group on Facebook and want to do the same here.

When you know how to make lemonade…life can be cooler…with a few precautions.

Hey…may not be engraved aluminum, but for that rare occasion of Dual 30A, my little flags will work great to keep things under control!
   

So, when you have dual 30 amp outlets, and have tested them to make sure they are wired out of phase, then you can enjoy having 240v service at 30amps!
   

I made a video on this topic, and plan to do a part 2 in which explain the proper way to test the outlets. Of course, by not knowing your park and its electrical wiring, you take the risk of something not going well.

How To Get 240v Service For Your Rv Using A Dual 30 Amp To 50 Amp Adapter
https://youtu.be/XkTdkaTWw-k

[Jack Houpe]

Good info Steve. Thumbs up

[hypoxia]

As touched on on the Facebook postings, with dual 30A power you cannot use AquaHot electric, diesel only.  The battery charger can use enough amperage to limit A/C usage to one A/C unit.  I get around that by using the aux charger located in the rear right pneumatic compartment when there is a 120 VAC 15/20 Amp outlet to plug it in and then merge the batteries.  The Headhunter water pump can take around 10A, using the Aux water pump avoids that large draw but in 1482 it won't provide enough pressure for the Headhunter Royal Flush toilets.  I need to get a different Aux pump such as the Seaflo currently installed by Newell.

Where is the Dual 30A Needed?  I have used it at a variety of State/Regional/City/Private parks etc..  It is rare but I find myself using it several times a year.  If you are at a place with 30A only, frequently you can run power from the adjacent site.  I carry lots of 30A cord for that purpose.  I use a meter to find an outlet on the opposite 30A leg which when combined is 240VAC.  I believe Steve's video discusses that.  Progressive Industries ADT-230

I always keep the the Autogen switched on but frequently find it turned off, a Silverleaf gremlin I think.  I'd sure like to cure that!

I do very little video, nearly nonexistent.  My preference is reading and/or studying schematics.  Guru's are great for that.

[folivier]

I've used that cheater box successfully and recently gave it to Tom. Don't know if he has used it yet.

[CaptainGizmo]

Thanks for the extra info Jim.

Yes, the Electric AH is a beast and a definite NO-NO with this config!

At the risk of side-tracking this thread…
Agree on the anemic Aux water pump. It’s funny how Newell “suggests” that it can be useful to “save water”; it does no such thing…since we have the Puffer/Accumulator tank that still has to be charged for the toilets to flush. One suggestion that seems to have helped me, is I brought the residual pressure down to 30psi on the tank. Mine was a little high and even the HH seemed to struggle to get up to the cut-off. We’ve been running off of the Aux all week and it’s been fine. One note, is that the Aux pump is highly subject to even the slightest air cavitation which will surely guarantee it doesn’t work well.

[hypoxia]

I am including information on the auxiliary battery charger installed in many Newell coaches.  1482 has it in the rearmost curbside pneumatic compartment.  It is connected to the electrical system and ready to go EXCEPT it is not plugged in to 120VAC.  The cord is laying there, you just need an extension cord to plug it into.

I plug it in when connected to dual 30A power; when ONLY 120VAC 15/20 amp receptacle is available and when the 30A or 50A power source is unreliable or the voltage is so high (Mexico) the coach protection shuts it off.

20211028_TRUEcharge2_Datasheet_20_40_60A.pdf Size: 1.09 MB  Downloads: 4

truecharge2_remote_owners_guide.pdf Size: 252.03 KB  Downloads: 3

[CaptainGizmo]

I am including information on the auxiliary battery charger installed in many Newell coaches.  1482 has it in the rearmost curbside pneumatic compartment.  It is connected to the electrical system and ready to go EXCEPT it is not plugged in to 120VAC.  The cord is laying there, you just need an extension cord to plug it into.

I plug it in when connected to dual 30A power; when ONLY 120VAC 15/20 amp receptacle is available and when the 30A or 50A power source is unreliable or the voltage is so high (Mexico) the coach protection shuts it off.

On this topic of auxiliary charging, I’d like people to fully understand that the BULK of the Inverter’s charging load is for the HOUSE batteries; the chassis batteries really take very little amperage to keep topped off. The Xantrex, as Jim mentions will ONLY charge the chassis and, thus, not do the heavy lifting IF your House batteries need topping off.

It is for this reason, that when I know I’m headed for a Dual-30amp scenario, I will run the Generator all the way in, making sure the House is fully topped off. From that point on, the “float” charging is a very minimal load.

For example, we’ve been on Dual 30 for over 4 days and our batteries are being “Floated” with only 8 amps draw!

Keep in mind, that the Merge solenoid will sense the need to connect and send charge to the chassis batteries.

Now, if for the situation where I’ve shown for storage with only 110v, THEN I’ll connect my House to an off-board VICTRON smart charger. This, along with the Xantrex takes all the load off the Inverters. And, since those puppies never sleep, I’m now shutting them down to stop the heat generation during the summer.

[hypoxia]

On this topic of auxiliary charging, I’d like people to fully understand that the BULK of the Inverter’s charging load is for the HOUSE batteries; the chassis batteries really take very little amperage to keep topped off. The Xantrex, as Jim mentions will ONLY charge the chassis and, thus, not do the heavy lifting IF your House batteries need topping off.

Yes, when I am using the Xantrex auxiliary charger I merge the house & chassis by switching the "EMERG START" switch on to keep house and chassis battery's charging..  It is located on the right hand side of the dashboard on 1482.  The Emerg Start relay is located in the engine compartment Spyder fuse box.  I carry a couple of spare merge relays.

Another thing I do is test each 30A cord to make sure the + and neutral are wired correctly and I mark each + terminal.  I have found them wired backwards as well as finding some campground receptacles backwards.

Kilovac LEV200 Contactor Specs.pdf Size: 463.39 KB  Downloads: 3

Battery Merge Relay.pdf Size: 143.51 KB  Downloads: 6

   

[CaptainGizmo]

Darn it Jim, my script for “Dual 30A to 50A; PART 2” is getting too long…stop adding good information, would ya? ?

[hypoxia]

Darn it Jim, my script for “Dual 30A to 50A; PART 2” is getting too long…stop adding good information, would ya? ?

Yeah Steve, I'm counting on some other input, surely others have something to add.  It's nice to be able to come to the Guru's and research stuff like this that we may have known but forget when we need it.  

The first time I was in Mexico without power intermittently due to high voltage it was a real PITA for a while until I realized the Xantrex aux charger was there.  I wish this thread was there for me then.  It was hot with no A/C and the battery voltage kept going down.  I was ready the next trip but was still without A/C some of the time.  The voltage setting can be changed in Silverleaf but the risk of burning things up isn't worth it.

You help a lot of folks with your videos.