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Non Emergent General Questions

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Forum Name: I need HELP!!!
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URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=13192
Printed Date: 30 Apr 2024 at 9:16am
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Topic: Non Emergent General Questions
Posted By: TearlessTom
Subject: Non Emergent General Questions
Date Posted: 22 Sep 2019 at 7:20am
As I get back to Pod Piddling I can't help but to think of more questions for you experienced Podders.

1. I noticed on our last outing here in the deep south it gets hot. I noticed when we ran the AC along with the Microwave and TV or Water Heater it would trip the breakers.
So...What items can you run when the AC is on? I'm sure I could figure it out but I know y'all know already so I am being lazy.

2. When in storage mode, I "assume" it is best to store with the slide out in the closed position to minimize strain on the system. But does it really matter?
If left open does it strain the supports? Should supports be placed under the slide out to take some of the weight. ?

3. Can the mattress be washed or power washed and dried without the risk of creating mold. maybe throw it over a fence or something similar.   Is it foam or fiber inside. I would think foam could be washed , fiber would be a problem.

Thanks in advance
I am sure more questions will come to me.

Tom

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Tearless Tom
2017 R-Pod 180
2014 Ford F-150 XLT 2WD 5.0



Replies:
Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 22 Sep 2019 at 8:34am
Hi Tom,

When hooked to 30A power, I can run every power appliance in my POD. Not sure where you are obtaining power and if that power is 30As. I have a 30A service on my outbuilding and have no issues running POD. What breakers are you tripping? A lot of folks use Easy Start mod, but you shouldn't need that on a 30A service.

As far as storage, I store with slide in. I don't have issue with slide support, but keep it closed for two reasons. 1 it takes up less room in my building and I use winter time to do outside maintenance. 2 - I have noticed when it is open it is not sealed as well as when closed, especially along the bottom. My storage area has rodents, critters and bugs. I like to keep them out of the interior, so I seal the Pod as well as possible.

Mattress I can't help you with, I replaced mine first week with a 10" (mistake) and it is darn near impossible to remove it from the Pod:).

-------------
Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."


Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 22 Sep 2019 at 8:58am
+1

You should be able to run everything when on a 30 amp service. The biggest draws for power are the A/C, Microwave, and the converter. Probably in that order.

If you're popping a breaker, you should check witch one(s), and possibly check the line voltage. If the line voltage is a bit low (like 100 volts maybe), the amperage draw will be higher, and "might" throw a breaker.


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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost


Posted By: CharlieM
Date Posted: 22 Sep 2019 at 9:21am
The WH electric element draws 12 Amps when it's heating. The AC takes 13-15 Amps when running, more when the compressor starts, and the microwave takes 12+ Amps when heating. You can usually run any two but not all three simultaneously. The exception is the WH that draws zero if the water is already at temperature. One solution is to turn the WH breaker off temporarily if you run the microwave. If you forget to turn the breaker back on you will either end up with cool water or it will revert to gas if you have the gas switch on. Not life threatening either way Wink

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Charlie
Northern Colorado
OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD
PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD


Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 22 Sep 2019 at 12:29pm
I forgot the electric for the water heater. We never use it, as we get all the hot water we need from propane. If you take the WH via electric out of the equation, you should be good. At least we have been.

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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost


Posted By: TearlessTom
Date Posted: 22 Sep 2019 at 1:27pm
It is the fuse panel under the seat by the door.
We were running on a 30A hook up at the state park and had a surge protector inline.


Also the carbon monoxide sensor goes off very easily when an air freshener or cleaner (Lysol) is sprayed. It seems overly sensitive. Don't know if that means anything or not.

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Tearless Tom
2017 R-Pod 180
2014 Ford F-150 XLT 2WD 5.0


Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 22 Sep 2019 at 4:25pm
I'm going to test this. I have everything to do it here at house. Will report the result. I've lived in my Pod for 3 months, water heater heating, AC running, microwave cooking and never kicked a CB on a 30 A service. Wouldn't make a lot of sense to buy a 3K generators would it? The Pod wouldn't handle the requirements.

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Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."


Posted By: Pod People
Date Posted: 23 Sep 2019 at 8:13am
Our 179 slide is in the out position when stored at home during camping season.  Once winter arrives we will bring the slide in and put on the pod cover until spring. I haven't noticed any problems with insects or critters getting in or any sagging of the slide. We don't have any additional support when it is in the out position.
I would also like to know more about this issue if anyone has any information.
Vann



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Vann & Laura 2015 RPod 179
https://postimg.cc/0zwKrfB9">


Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 23 Sep 2019 at 4:12pm
I did run a test today, about 2 hours worth. Another 90 degree day so temp was up. I started first test from cold start, Pod on 120/30A service from building. AC ON, Micro ON, WH ON, Reefer 120 ON, a light ON, a 12 " fan ON, TV ON, Converter ON. Initial DC Battery Voltage at 13.1 Volts DC. Approx. 30 minutes into run the 30A CB in Pod tripped. The 30A CB at power source did not. I didn't notice anything happening when it tripped, the WH had completed a heat cycle, so it ran all the way thru WH heating. One notation - when I glanced at the DC Batt voltage it was a t 14.5 volts, resetting caused Batt voltage to go to 13.6 Volts. Not convinced it is issue but it does tell me the charge circuit is working.

2nd run, basically started over with a cool down and drained HOT water, so cold water was in WH. Again, 30 mins into the run the 30A CB in trailer tripped. Basically same notes, WH was HOT, nothin noticeable happened. Did note the Batt voltage was at 13.6 VDC.

For me, in the 5 years I owned this Pod, I have never had this much stuff on for this amount of time. That's why I have never seen it happen on site. I know for a fact I have never run the Micro for 30 mins continuous ICW the AC, but the note was it runs for 30 mins. I couldn't justify the WH having an effect. Rain came in and forced me to continue another day, plan is to disable things and try to see exactly where the where issue is. I do have a clamp on ammeter, once determined where to monitor, will do.

-------------
Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."


Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 23 Sep 2019 at 4:18pm
Pod People,

No issues with sag or support here. I was under slide on inside a couple years back and could see light at the bottom. Along track at bottom, just to be safe I keep it closed in storage. My wife hates mice.

-------------
Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."


Posted By: mdballou
Date Posted: 23 Sep 2019 at 5:54pm
Just a suggestion, sounds like your troubleshooting is on par. Make sure connections to the 30a breaker are good and tight.


Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 23 Sep 2019 at 7:17pm
Interesting test but to be clear there is nothing wrong. If you turned on everything in your house at the same time you’d probably trip your main breaker there too. Electrical distribution systems aren’t designed for that. They are designed with load diversity, the underlying assumption is that no one turns everything on at once. When one 30A breaker is in series with another then one will always trip first. Breakers have different time constants, meaning that one will heat up and trip sooner. Again, nothing wrong there.

-------------
1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold


Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 23 Sep 2019 at 8:00pm
+1

You can't expect to be able to run everything at the same time on the 30 amp main service.

As an example. Your microwave is going to pull around 8 amps, the water heater probably another 8 amps, the fridge around 2 amps and the converter (depending on the battery load) anywhere from a few hundred milliamps to almost 6 amps. Those alone are a "potential" of almost 24 amps.

Now start up your air conditioning and the start current for that is probably at least 20 amps. You're now at 44 amps. That is more than can be sustained. Once the air conditioner is started, it will probably drop to 10 amps (or so), for a total of 34 amps (but still over your 30 amp limit).

The good news is that all those things should not be happening at the same time. For example, your batteries when you're on shore power are probably mostly charged, so the converter is probably only a couple hundred milliamps. The microwave does not run constantly, and so on.


-------------
bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost


Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 23 Sep 2019 at 9:16pm
I'm with you both and as I said, I have never run that much at one time, thus had never seen the issue. The 30 min issue has me a bit perplexed and I want to play with that a bit. I don't agree with the house analogy. Ask an electrician, they can tell you what you're max pull is.

-------------
Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."


Posted By: jato
Date Posted: 23 Sep 2019 at 9:48pm
The elctrical gurus have already taken care of your first question.  We keep our slide in on our 2011 177 which is not near as tight of a seal as the newer pods, in fact I will take an old t-shirt of mine to close up a few small openings near the middle of the under part of the slide to keep the mosquitoes out, very important thing to do if in northern Michigan or other similar parts of the country.  I don't believe this would ever be a problem on the newer pods as they are superior in their seal around the slide.  As others have already noted, keep slide in to reduce the potential of any unwanted varmints taking up residence over the winter months.  For added security we always throw a couple dryer sheets on both ends of the pod before storing in our old horse barn.

Hopefully you don't have the original mattress that comes with the pod, we threw ours out, actually put it on Craigs List as a freebie and got rid of it within the day.  We would have felt guilty charging someone to take that off our hands.  Replaced it with an 8" Eurotop from Camping World back in 2011.  We use our camper a lot and that mattress is still as firm and comfy as the day we got it. 


-------------
God's pod
'11 model 177
'17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost
Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake
"...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free."


Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 23 Sep 2019 at 10:41pm
Originally posted by jato

We keep our slide in on our 2011 177 which is not near as tight of a seal as the newer pods, in fact I will take an old t-shirt of mine to close up a few small openings near the middle of the under part of the slide to keep the mosquitoes out, very important thing to do if in northern Michigan or other similar parts of the country. 
The mosquitoes in northern Minnesota are legendary. I recall when fishing in northern Minnesota we knew we were in trouble when we overheard one mosquito say to another "You want to eat them here or get them to go?" Star

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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost


Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 24 Sep 2019 at 8:29am
Originally posted by mcarter

I'm with you both and as I said, I have never run that much at one time, thus had never seen the issue. The 30 min issue has me a bit perplexed and I want to play with that a bit. I don't agree with the house analogy. Ask an electrician, they can tell you what you're max pull is.

I don't need an electrician, I know what my loads are, I've measured them. My max combined load is well in excess of my 200A service, yet I never trip my main in normal use. If I did what you're doing in your pod and turned everything on at once (stove, water heater, air handler heat strips, dryer, lights, microwave, etc etc) I would trip, and I'd be surprised if that wasn't the case for most folks. Many household loads just won't be on at the same time. The NEC Article 220 has a section for determining service size based on planned loads. it allows reductions based on load diversity (demand factors). Article 551 (the one covering RV's) allows for that too.  

If you want to learn more about circuit breaker time-current curves check this square d video out. For a typical thermal-magnetic breaker to trip after 30 minutes you ought to be running pretty close to but over the 30A rating.   There is a whole electrical engineering specialty called overcurrent protection coordination that deals with proper breaker trip sequencing on a circuit, and goes into the cb's time-current curves in detail to be sure that the breakers trip in the proper sequence. Generally the most downstream one should trip first, which is what is happening in this case. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZjqsoiG-nc - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZjqsoiG-nc


-------------
1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold


Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 24 Sep 2019 at 4:22pm
Thanks OG

-------------
Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."


Posted By: CharlieM
Date Posted: 25 Sep 2019 at 12:32pm
Originally posted by offgrid


If you want to learn more about circuit breaker time-current curves check this square d video out. For a typical thermal-magnetic breaker to trip after 30 minutes you ought to be running pretty close to but over the 30A rating.   There is a whole electrical engineering specialty called overcurrent protection coordination that deals with proper breaker trip sequencing on a circuit, and goes into the cb's time-current curves in detail to be sure that the breakers trip in the proper sequence. Generally the most downstream one should trip first, which is what is happening in this case. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZjqsoiG-nc - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZjqsoiG-nc

Great find and great post. I had never seen such a good explanation of the cb trip characteristics and I are one o' dem ingineer types Wink.


-------------
Charlie
Northern Colorado
OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD
PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD


Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 25 Sep 2019 at 8:10pm
10-4. I always wanted the vanity plate IRENGR but was too cheap to apply for one Geek

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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold


Posted By: jato
Date Posted: 06 Oct 2019 at 10:00pm
[QUOTE=GlueGuy]
 The mosquitoes in northern Minnesota are legendary. I recall when fishing in northern Minnesota we knew we were in trouble when we overheard one mosquito say to another "You want to eat them here or get them to go?" Star

Is that the same as the "catch and release"  program we have in Michigan?


-------------
God's pod
'11 model 177
'17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost
Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake
"...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free."



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