50 vs 30

[Neelie55]

Just curious as we are new to this. Do we need 50 amp service in the Fall? Obviously we won't be using the ac's and the heat is via propane. Would we be ok getting a 30 amp site in our 310? Thank you in advance to all you experts.

[Txfivver]

[QUOTE=Neelie55;313614]Just curious as we are new to this. Do we need 50 amp service in the Fall? Obviously we won't be using the ac's and the heat is via propane. Would we be ok getting a 30 amp site in our 310? Thank you in advance to all you experts.[/QUOTE
You should be fine in a 30 amp site in cool weather. Furnace and microwave at same time should be good, even 1 A/C if needed. Usually the 50 amp comes into play in summer and running 2 A/C's at once.

[jkwilson]

You will be fine with 30A. Just watch the microwave. It is a surprisingly big consumer of power. Use the fireplace as much as possible for heat unless you are paying for electricity. A small electric heater in the bedroom at night if it is cold out.

[GeoffnCheri]

Just curious as we are new to this. Do we need 50 amp service in the Fall? Obviously we won't be using the ac's and the heat is via propane. Would we be ok getting a 30 amp site in our 310? Thank you in advance to all you experts.

We use both 30A and 50A year round. It depends what is available on our trips. 30A is easy to manage even in warm weather

[Keebler]

Key word is "need" 50 amps. I like using "prefer". I definitely always "prefer" 50amps, but can get by with 30amps as the situation dictates. The preference is strongest in the summer, but as mentioned above, even then, it can be managed with 30amps.

[boyscout]

Just curious as we are new to this. Do we need 50 amp service in the Fall? Obviously we won't be using the ac's and the heat is via propane. Would we be ok getting a 30 amp site in our 310? Thank you in advance to all you experts.

You will find that the furnace uses propane quickly and compared to "free" electricity it's pretty expensive.

When we're not paying (more) for electricity consumption we use the furnace only when the temp drops a few degrees below freezing, and sometimes not even then. We use the fireplace first, add in up to four small ceramic heaters as required, and (because it's noisy and only works down to the mid-40s) only occasionally use the heat pump feature of our main air conditioner.

I've never tried running all of those, or even just the first two, on 30 amps but simply adding up the current ratings of those devices says that 30 amps would not cut it. However your wife may not consider 65 degrees to be a very cold temperature as mine does, so you may not have to use as many little ceramic heaters as I do.

Of course The Answer to your question depends how cold it gets in the fall and how much you're using the trailer then. However if you weigh the extra cost of a 50-amp site and some small ceramic heaters (I paid $20 each for ours) against the time-and-money cost of filling propane bottles you *might* find that the 50-amp site is worth it to you.

[Second Chance]

@boyscout is giving some good advice. We do the same thing with furnace/fireplace/portable heaters until the temp gets below 30 for more than a couple of hours. I would add that not all park electrical systems are created equal. If a park is old enough that it only has 30 amps, it may be a very old electrical system, too. We have stayed several places which only had 30 amps and we couldn't draw a full 30 amps before the voltage dropped too low for our EMS and appliance safety. In those cases you have to practice tight resource management. For example, we would turn off the fireplace before turning on the coffee pot or using the microwave (without the ACs on, of course). At these times, we ran the fridge and water heater on propane (when we had an absorption fridge). You just have to adapt to the situation.

Rob

[Neelie55]

Thanks everyone!