Understanding Keystone RV Electrical Systems

hello my name is Stephen Holmes a master certified technician at Keystone RV company and today we'd like to talk about the electrical system found in most Keystone RV units the electrical system is a combination of 12-volt DC direct current and 120 volt AC alternating current in simpler terms a 12 volt system is what an automobile uses 120 volt system is used in your household let's start with the 12 volt system the 12 volt system can be powered in three different ways the RV battery the converter which changes 120 volt AC to 12 volt DC or by the tow vehicle's 12 volt system the heart of the 12 volt system is the RV battery your battery is essentially a storage device for electrical energy before you select your battery define your camping needs thoroughly if you typically camp with 120 volt power source to plug your shoreline cord into a standard deep cycle batteries should suffice if you will be camping without access to 120 volts you will rely heavily on your battery to run the many features in your unit to run the many features in your unit you should consider a deep cycle battery that has a large reserve capacity available or possibly installing two batteries depending on your needs consult your local dealership for assistance so remember a well charged and maintained battery is critical for the proper operation of the appliances and other features inside your unit it takes a charged 12 volt battery to light your propane appliances a battery which is not well charged and maintained can cause an intermittent or complete failure of the operation of the 12-volt components in your unit outside by the RV battery you will find auto reset breakers for the main power wire from the battery also if equipped Auto reset breakers will be found here for the electric stabilizing jacks the hydraulic slide out pump the Electric tongue jack or landing gear is equipped with an inline fuse close to the battery if your unit is a toy hauler and is equipped with a fuel pump the fuse for the pump is located here as well whether a fifth wheel or a travel trailer these fuses will always be found close to the battery the fuses for your interior lights the furnace motor the water pump electrical slide motor are contained in the 12-volt distribution panel located inside the unit now let's talk about the 120 volt system the 120 volt system is powered by plugging the shoreline cord into an outside power source or running the generator if equipped once connected you can operate the roof air conditioner the microwave and use the 120 volt resets throughout the unit as an option some water heaters use 120 volt power in addition to propane your unit is equipped with a converter with a built in battery charger it only operates when the shoreline cord is plugged into an appropriate 120 volt power source or if your generator is running this converts 120 volt to 12 volt to operate the 12-volt features in your unit and it also sends a low amperage charge to your battery the breaker panel for the hundred 20 volt breakers is located inside the unit next to the 12-volt fuse panel bathroom kitchen and exterior receptacles are equipped with a personal protection device known as a ground fault circuit interrupter these are designed to sense electrical faults that may lead to personal injury and they work just like a circuit breaker locate the GFCI receptacle with the test button it should be tested at least once a month or prior to every trip to test the GFCI push the test button the reset button will pop out powers now off at all outlets protected by the GFCI receptacle push in the reset button to restore power the test is complete when the reset button remains pushed in if the reset button does not pop out when testing the GFCI is malfunctioning and no outlet should be used on this circuit as protection is lost call your dealer if the GFCI malfunctions the 120 volt system comes in either one of two configurations they are 30 or 50 amp 30 amp service is most commonly used in RVs and available in campgrounds 120 volt appliances such as an air conditioner microwave 120 volt element on the water heater and plug-in appliances such as a toaster or coffee maker require a substantial amount of energy for vehicles equipped with 30 amp service it is recommended to only run one major 120 volt appliance at a time to avoid tripping breakers it might help you to understand if you think of it this way if you start with 30 pennies representing the 30 amps available take away 7 on average for the converter which typically draws 5 to 13 amps depending on the battery level and 12 volt load then take away 15 for the air conditioner and 3 for the refrigerator there are five pennies left for all remaining 120 volt devices in the unit this is not enough to run the water heater the microwave or any other appliance such as a toaster coffee maker or hairdryer on electric the Keystone RV owners manual will show a layout for the amp draws on each appliance adapters are available to plug in your 30 amp cord into a standard wall receptacle which is not GFCI protected do not run any 120 volt appliance when using an adapter the adapter is only intended to run the converter to supply 12 volt power and charge the battery vehicles equipped with a 50 amp service can run two air conditioners in addition to a few other appliances at the same time when plugged into a 50 amp outlet this is because on 50 amp service there are 2 6 gauge conductors the supply power to your RV as opposed to 1 10 gauge conductor on a 30 amp service adapters are available to allow you to plug 50 amp cord into 30 amp service or a standard wall receptacle remember like the 30 amp system it is only intended to run the converter to supply 12 volt power and charge the battery if you are using a 30 amp adapter and are plugged into 30 amp service you can run one appliance at a time extension cords are not recommended because with each foot in length the amount of voltage and power that reached the RV is reduced this can not only cause operational problems with the RV but can cause an increase risk of fire property damage and personal injury if you should happen to blow a fuse or trip a breaker always identify the cause and correct it never install a fuse or a breaker with a higher rating than specified for that circuit increased risk of fire property damage and personal injury may result for further questions on fuses breakers or electrical power look into your Keystone RV owner's manual your dealer or contact us at Keystone RV this video was brought to you courtesy of Keystone RV company number one in RV sales in North America

Channel: Keystone RV Company

Views: 723,814

Keywords: travel trailer, fifth wheel, keystone rv, how to, rv electric system, rv, maintenance, Recreational Vehicle (Industry)

Id: FboDyLjn5sg

Length: 8min 3sec (483 seconds)

Published: Mon Sep 12 2011