Newbie Question about amps

[Libratarot]

Hello all,

I built my own trailer (and it looks it) with no skill level to speak of; and I am going to rebuild in 2010. My first attempt is to just see if I could

My question is this: I am going to graduate from primitive to electric sites for the first time and I have no clue to what they are talking about when they say amps. My trailer is not wired per se but I bought a little 1.7 cubic frigerator and I want to plug in a fan and they teens won't leave the DVD player at home. My thinking was to just plug in a surge protector and then I would have six outlets at my disposel. How far off am I in my thinking?

any tips tricks insite whatever is greatly appreciated.

- Love this site and all the trailer pics. I left my pics on

www.myspace.com/libratarot hope that is not breaking any guide lines.

- Elizabeth

[wlooper89]

Hi Elizabeth,

That sounds good. An extension cord and surge protector is the easiest way to go. Your post mentioned amps so at the risk of sounding a little bit technical this is the relationship: Amps=Watts/Volts
For example a 1000W microwave oven would draw about 8 amps. That is a heavy load item. Most things such as a fan and DVD use less current.
Appliances usually show the number of watts used on a label.

Normal outlets and surge protectors are good for either 15 or 20 amps. I would use a heavy duty extension cord to connect to campground power.

Bill

[G-force]

Somewhere on all the electrical items you want they will list how much electricity they use, its usualy listed in watts or amps. Add all them together and you can find out how much your going to need. Just FYI, your typical 120 volt wall plug is usualy rated for 15 amps which is 1800 watts. A few lights, a fan and a tv or DVD should work fine. Its the high draw items such as microwaves, air conditioners, hair dryers, heaters, etc that can cause a problem if you try and run too many at once.

[Miriam C.]

I am my space challenged and couldn't find pictures HOwever treat the cord like you would at home. If you plug the hairdryer in while the coffee pot and hotplate are going Well have the camera handy cause when you tell the story you will want pictures.

Enjoy

[Libratarot]

Thank you all for the peace of mind. I am still believer in camping is a place to unplug from the world. But since moving from Northern Virginia to the Shenandoah Valley; I have found myself going into the cities to go camping. Go figure.

This all came about on the last week long trip to Kings Dominion. I bought 10 pounds of Dry Ice and 10 Pounds of Wet Ice and in 90 degree+ heat the cooler stayed cool for 5 whole days. After that back to everything getting wet and having to run for more ice every 12 hours. With Yard Sale season upon us I picked up a 1.7 cubic frig for 10 bucks and it works great.

Now for the next question Dad said I should take the refrigerator out of the trailer to use it, because of the heat the back of the unit puts off. I thought in my uneducated inexperienced mind that I could just put some metal flashing and a small 5 inch fan behind the frig. What are you alls thoughts?

Again thanks for the input
- Elizabeth
PS I will try to put the pictures on this site again.

[sdtripper2]

Thank you all for the peace of mind. I am still believer in camping is a place to unplug from the world. But since moving from Northern Virginia to the Shenandoah Valley; I have found myself going into the cities to go camping. Go figure.

This all came about on the last week long trip to Kings Dominion. I bought 10 pounds of Dry Ice and 10 Pounds of Wet Ice and in 90 degree+ heat the cooler stayed cool for 5 whole days. After that back to everything getting wet and having to run for more ice every 12 hours. With Yard Sale season upon us I picked up a 1.7 cubic frig for 10 bucks and it works great.

Now for the next question ;) Dad said I should take the refrigerator out of the trailer to use it, because of the heat the back of the unit puts off. I thought in my uneducated inexperienced mind that I could just put some metal flashing and a small 5 inch fan behind the frig. What are you alls thoughts?

Again thanks for the input
- Elizabeth
PS I will try to put the pictures on this site again.

Elizabeth:
Venting is the issue in a small space:
Here are two pictures of one solution and here are two URL's for you to look through.

Frige / Freezer Type & Venting ?
http://www.rvmobile.com/Tech/Trouble/vent.htm
http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=11082

[Libratarot]

WOW what a set-up. A Tear with a slide out. I learn more and more everyday about the things I thought I had a clue about

OK, so venting is going to be an issue. Maybe I can put it in the back and point the back to the side (with the door opening to the center of the galley) and cut some venting into the side of the trailer.

I will take some pics if it is not to hot today. Again I have no patience on trying to figure out how to post pics here (I will try again later). See my myspace under the name libratarot

Again thank you all.

PS love the venting diagram they are perfect.

[Alphacarina]

Small 1.7 cubic ft dorm room fridges usually have the condensor coils mounted inside the cabinet exterior . . . . and they don't give off all that much heat - Largely because the cooling system isn't making that much cold to cool the tiny insides of the unit

What I'm saying is that the heat given off won't be of much concern so long as you don't build in the fridge where it has no airflow at all around it - But if you did, a small fan to vent it as you describe will work just fine

Worst case would be if it wasn't adequately vented, in which case the fridge would run more often . . . perhaps even continuously, but it would still cool - You won't burn it up or anything

Don

[Libratarot]

I have a Labor Day trip to a friends place in Raystown, PA. I will see how it works in the back of the trailer before I start making holes in the trailer.

- Elizabeth

Wish me luck

[BPFox]

I have no clue to what they are talking about when they say amps. - Elizabeth

The "amps" are the part of electricity that kills you. An amp is a measure of current flow through the wire. Electrocution is what they call it when the amps flow through you instead of the wire. The best thing to do is read up on some of the things posted at the top of this section. It might also be helpful to get some help from a friend who does know what an amp is. Electricity is nothing to fool with. If you don't know what an amp is, you don't know enough to do it yourself. Doesn't mean you can't learn, but some mistakes you only get to make once. Sorry for being so harsh. I just want you to be safe. Peace.

[Libratarot]

Thanks for looking out for me BPFox. I have no intention of wiring anything. Hence why the trailer itself has nothing more than the trailer lights it came with. I just wanted to make sure I could plug in the mini fridge and maybe charge a cell phone maybe a fan

Keep tips and suggestion coming in