If you have a decent battery/inverter set up, you can put in a 50 amp RV panel and connect shore power to one side of it and the inverter to the other side of it. You would have to isolate the neutrals. The shore power side could feed the AC unit and the converter/ battery charger while the inverter side feeds all other ac stuff (water heater, refer, microwave). The charger would recharge the batteries as needed. You could have 50-60 amps total, depending on the inverter size.
So, how does this explanation of how a transformer works apply to the Hughes Autoformer? Isn't that basically a transformer. I know you've been testing an Autoformer in the past year or so, & I have used both a 50 amp & 30 amp Autoformer in my rvs over the years.
A Hughes Autoformer can’t make wattage. It’s essentially a transformer with a 10% boost in voltage when the pedestal voltage drops below 115 volts (IIRC). But that also means a 10% drop in available amperage at the RV. So instead of 3,600 watts, you have 3,600 - 360 = 3,240 watts available at the RV inlet since the pedestal is supplying less voltage, and consequently less wattage.
But it’s a bit more complicated than that since some appliances, like the air conditioner, do draw more current at lower voltages. So there’s a balancing act going on.
So, did you ever come to a conclusion about the effectiveness or safety of the Hughes Autoformer from your testing? I used a 50 amp Autoformer for several years, but had 4 failures in 2 years. They repaired or replaced it each time at no cost. Now I have a 30 amp Autoformer for my new, triple slide truck camper, but it failed after 2 months. They replaced it, but it makes me question even more, the viability of an autoformer.
I never stopped to think that the overall amp capacity was being reduced by the autoformer. Hughes never mentions that in their ads or phone explanations. They simply say the autoformer converts amps to voltage, & lower amps & higher voltage are better for most appliances anyway.
You might want to do a full article on the results of your testing & what the pros & cons are, as well as what you gain & what you lose by using an autoformer, & how those gains & losses affect typical appliances.
I'm eagerly awaiting that report, as I'm sure others are. I had high hopes for my autoformers over the last 5 years, but my experience has left me a little disappointed.
If you have a decent battery/inverter set up, you can put in a 50 amp RV panel and connect shore power to one side of it and the inverter to the other side of it. You would have to isolate the neutrals. The shore power side could feed the AC unit and the converter/ battery charger while the inverter side feeds all other ac stuff (water heater, refer, microwave). The charger would recharge the batteries as needed. You could have 50-60 amps total, depending on the inverter size.
So, how does this explanation of how a transformer works apply to the Hughes Autoformer? Isn't that basically a transformer. I know you've been testing an Autoformer in the past year or so, & I have used both a 50 amp & 30 amp Autoformer in my rvs over the years.
A Hughes Autoformer can’t make wattage. It’s essentially a transformer with a 10% boost in voltage when the pedestal voltage drops below 115 volts (IIRC). But that also means a 10% drop in available amperage at the RV. So instead of 3,600 watts, you have 3,600 - 360 = 3,240 watts available at the RV inlet since the pedestal is supplying less voltage, and consequently less wattage.
But it’s a bit more complicated than that since some appliances, like the air conditioner, do draw more current at lower voltages. So there’s a balancing act going on.
So, did you ever come to a conclusion about the effectiveness or safety of the Hughes Autoformer from your testing? I used a 50 amp Autoformer for several years, but had 4 failures in 2 years. They repaired or replaced it each time at no cost. Now I have a 30 amp Autoformer for my new, triple slide truck camper, but it failed after 2 months. They replaced it, but it makes me question even more, the viability of an autoformer.
I never stopped to think that the overall amp capacity was being reduced by the autoformer. Hughes never mentions that in their ads or phone explanations. They simply say the autoformer converts amps to voltage, & lower amps & higher voltage are better for most appliances anyway.
You might want to do a full article on the results of your testing & what the pros & cons are, as well as what you gain & what you lose by using an autoformer, & how those gains & losses affect typical appliances.
I’ll be publishing a full report on my Autoformer study here soon. I’m out from under my NDA as of 2023.
I'm eagerly awaiting that report, as I'm sure others are. I had high hopes for my autoformers over the last 5 years, but my experience has left me a little disappointed.
One read of this and you know for sure that Mike really IS an Expert👍