# Bypassing 12 volt converter



## sbiagini

Does anyone know how to bypass the 12 volt electrical converter and run the RV on a 110 volt circuit.  A family member has her 5th wheel parked on our property and is living in it.  Our electric bill has skyrocketed which we think is due to the 12 volt converter.  Would appreciate any feedback, Thanks.


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## Grandview Trailer Sa

Re: Bypassing 12 volt converter

Hello and welcome,
I would be interested in seeing what others say, but I don't think you can do what you want very easily.  You see, MOST things in your RV run off of 12 volts.  Lights, Refer, Furnace, Water Heater and most other appliances use 12 volts to operate.  The only things that run ONLY on 120 are the AC, Microwave and Wall outlets.  
The converter/charger keeps your battery charged to do these things.  NOW, if you don't have a battery or have a bad one, that would make the charger run all the time and that would run your electric usage up.  I would start your search with the battery and make sure it is good.  If you don't have one, install one.
Your converter needs to be checked also.  It should put about 13 volts to the battery at full charge and taper off as the battery charges.


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## TexasClodhopper

Re: Bypassing 12 volt converter

Sandy, as Ken said, the 12v DC is very important to the whole RV.

If you don't have an adequate supply of electricity at the RV, then the A/C will use a lot of extra electricity (and it could even go bad.)  You have to have at least a 30 amp supply right near the RV.  Any extension cords that you use will drop the voltage along the length of the cord so the actual voltage at the A/C might be really low.

However, since most of the country is in winter weather, I can't see how the A/C would be causing the extra load.

Also, I don't see how the 12v DC converter or any 12v loads could make a visible difference in your electric bill.

What you are probably seeing is an extra load from heating strips in the heating system or furnace.


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## Pancanbob

RE: Bypassing 12 volt converter

Hi, Sandy :laugh: 
Welcome to the Forum    
I donâ€™t know your systemâ€™s set up, but the should be a circuit breaker supplying 110 volts the converter/charger. If you open it everything thatâ€™s run on 12 Volts stop working.    
I have seen on E-Bay 110Volt electrical meters, for less then $20.00, that will tell you how much power they are using, have them pay for what they use.  :dead:  :dead:  :dead: 
Take care
 :clown:  :laugh:     :shy:


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## LEN

Re: Bypassing 12 volt converter

I guess the question is "What does sky rocket mean in $$$$?" I'll throw out a # and see what others have to say. In moderate weather an RV will use $100 a month in Elect or less in high heating or cooling tome that could double or more. If the relative is using Electric heaters in cold weather and the Electric water heat it could add up in a hurry.

LEN


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## Guest

Re: Bypassing 12 volt converter

I agree with Len ,,, sounds like more than just the normal everyday camping ,, as said ,,, YOU NEED the converter ,,, and also Tex ,, and Len ,,, said what i agree with ,, ,, heat strips in the a/c units ,, (for heat) ,, and possible electric water heater ,,, but as Len said ,,, and rv will suck up some kilowats for sure ,,,, well when one is using it ,,, but JMO ,, as the other's have  :approve:  :approve:


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## sbiagini

Re: Bypassing 12 volt converter

Our monthly electric bill went from $50-60 to $250-270, to us a significant jump especially since we live in southern California where the winter is mild.


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## Guest

Re: Bypassing 12 volt converter

well ,, i think IMO ,, u should see what is being used in the rv ,, and maybe cut down from there ,, but i must say ,,, my electric bill last month was 498.00 ,, and that is just for the house ,, but really ,,, ck and see what is being used ,, as said before ,, sounds like alot of full electric stuff being used ,, but one other thing ,, is the rv plugged into a full 30 amp or 50 amp circuit ,, as stated before ,, this will make or break the electric bill ,,, it depends on what is running the rv ,,, like being pluged into a 20 amp small cord and running the rv ,,, hope this is not the case ,,, but just trying to help  :approve:  
Btw ,, welcome to the forums   :approve:  :approve:


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## USMC

Re: Bypassing 12 volt converter

One can pick up a small solar battery charger for around $30-35.00 which will help keep that battery charged and save the converter from running all the time, also if you are running a 12-2 over 50-75 feet to your RV that is way to far, you might consider running a 10-8 to carry the load which would be better.
It would probably be best overall if she is going to be there long term to run a 50 AMP service to the RV on a 10-8 wire and in the long run you would save money doing this, actually with the extra bill you have had so far it would have already paid for it's self.


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## brodavid

Re: Bypassing 12 volt converter

Rod, you need to come to the beach, 82 today and Sunny

love you too,

msjackie


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## Guest

Re: Bypassing 12 volt converter

well we were 80 here today ,, and calling for 82 tomm,,, but i am heading to the beach ,, in May as usal ,, but i wish  sooner  :angry:  :angry:  :approve:  :laugh:  :laugh:


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## brodavid

Re: Bypassing 12 volt converter

730, Dave said you could wash and wax his wheelchair if you want while you are down

also agrees with the advice that was given

ms jackie


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## Guest

Re: Bypassing 12 volt converter

well i don't know about that ,, that buggy dave has will be a real challenge ,, may take me 3 weeks to wash and wax it ,,, but now if he drives it close to the beach ,, well it may never even get washed let alone waxed      :laugh:  :laugh:  :laugh: 
Take care both of u ,,,


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## golfextremely

We took our 04 3326 out for Memorial Day weekend, I had packed it the day before we run it on 110 almost all the time, I'd never noticed a problem, when we got to our campsite set up and started for supper beeper started going off before we left the campground, we went in and turned the air off and the sound was coming from that detector located next to the floor in the kitchen it showed low voltage so we checked the campground meter where we had plugged in and thought maybe that the 30 amp circuit breaker was bad, we popped it and went on to supper, the beeping didn't start again until the second night when we needed the furnace and the lights seem to be going dimmer by the minute, at that time I checked the tester at the sink and the battery was totally drained, it appeared as if we had been using the battery the entire time, we put the frig on gas and we took the T/V and charged the battery enough to get us thur the night, we still didn't know for sure if it was our converter or the campground so we headed home, now our monitor for our electric How to Measure RV Skylight? TM brakes wouldn't lightup, all of the brake lights and turn signals worked fine, but we had out Mountaineer doing all the brakeing, which seem to work okay, when we arrived home we plugged the TM back into the 110 outlet we have for it, no power to the TM and the battery is dead, my husband recharged the battery and it will charged to about 3/4 but not all the way, he added water a while ago, we'll see what happens. The power converter we have has a 3 year warranty and we've only has it since last May, our TM came with the 7300. Any ideas guys? We feel the converters went bad, but does this have anything to do with our brake system, we have the Tekonsha Voyager, I know its not the best but it as served its purpose in the past, is there a fuse somewhere that works the braking system and is there a fuse for the converter? We checked the inline fuse at the battery case in the TM and it seem to be fine , I told my husband while putting things under the bed storage the fuse panel seem to be rather hot the fan seem to be running at that time but I didn't notice when it stopped. I read about a switch that is put between the converter and battery but I don't know if ours has that or not. Any suggestions will be appreciated.


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