Filling a swimming pool with a garden hose...

Our Tech's often get phone calls or emails that go something like this... "I have a PT50, LCHW50 or HW50C and I'm using my house outlet to power my coach. It keeps cutting in and out and shows an E0 error code. What's wrong?"

The main problem is you are trying to fill a swimming pool with a garden hose says, a Progressive Industries veteran Technician. Our Tech recently replied to this very question and we thought we would share his response for those of you who have the same concern or question. This can also apply to instances of 50A coaches using a 30A service.

The Tech says, this problem often occurs when customers are using 15A home service to power their coach. But first, here is a little more information regarding volts, watts and amperages for your reference. Your coach and its appliances use power (Watts) to perform work. The formula for Power is Volts (V) x Amps (A) = Watts (W).

50A Coach (NORMAL OPERATION)

120V x 100A = 12,000 watts (Since a 50A coach has two 120 v lines, that equals 12000 watts or 12 KW [Kilowatts])

30A Coach (NORMAL OPERATION) 120V x 30A = 3,600 watts (3.6 KW)

120V x 15A = 1,800 watts (1.8 KW or 15% of the coach's consumption or 1.8 KW)

So what's happening is the 15A supply tries to provide the current, but can't do so and the voltage drops and the current increases while trying to provide the power. At some point the voltage falls to the cutoff value (104V) and the EMS unit disconnects. When the load is removed the voltage bounces back and the EMS unit connects and the cycles start over.

Our Tech suggests, the only thing you can do, is to be very disciplined about your power use when connected to service less than 50A.

We hope this clears up any confusion and answers your question.

Happy Traveling!