Owner`s manual
7 8
Load Management Basics
IV: RV Generator Operation
Determining Your Generator’s
Power Capability
To determine what your generator can power, use the chart below to estimate the
total combined watts of all the appliances, lamps, battery chargers, air conditioners
and other electrical products you typically use at the same time. (All electrical
appliances and lights are labeled with their power requirements expressed in watts
or amps). You can use any number of appliances simultaneously, as long as their
combined wattage doesn’t exceed the electrical output of your Cummins Onan
generator or your RV’s circuit breaker rating.
Common Power Requirements
Appliance Average Required Wattage Amps
Air Compressor (1hp) 900-1800 7.5-15
Air Conditioner 600-3500 5-29
Battery Charger Up to 3000 6-28
Blender 450-700 3.3-5.8
Broiler 1400-1700 11.6-14
Broom/Vacuum 1000-1440 8.3-12
CD/mp3 player & Speakers 85 0.7
Coffeepot 900-1200 7.5-10
Computer 60-270 0.5-2.25
Laptop 20-50 0.16-0.41
Converter 500-1000 4-8
Curling Iron 20-50 0.16-0.41
Dishwasher 1200-2400 10-20
Drill 250-1000 2-8
Electric Blanket 60-100 0.5-0.8
Fan 10-175 0.08-1.45
Flat Iron 40-80 0.3-0.6
Frying Pan/Wok 1000-1350 8-11.25
Game Console 19-200 0.16-1.6
Hair Dryer 1200-1875 10-15.6
Iron 1000-1800 8-15
Light bulbs 13-100 0.1-0.8
Microwave/Convection Oven 750-1100 6.25-9.2
Radio 50-200 0.4-1.6
Refrigerator 400-1000 3.3-8
Shaver 15-20 0.12-0.16
Space Heater 750-1500 6.25-12.5
Stove 900-2500 7.5-20.8
Television 43-600 0.35-5
Toaster 800-1400 6.6-11.6
VCR/DVD/Blu-ray player 6-30 0.05-0.25
Washer/Dryer 350-500/1800-5000 3-4/15-42
Water Heater 1000-1500 8-12.5
Water Pump 250-1100 2-9.16
To understand how battery chargers,
automatic generator start systems and
other baseloads affect your generator, you
need to be aware of three things:
1 Your generator’s power capability
2 How to manage electrical loads
3 Battery charging times
In order to get the most out of
you Cummins Onan generator
you need to understand how it
interacts with the electric system
of your RV. At a very high level,
your generator is connected via
the circuit breaker panel to a wide
variety of loads. Two of the most
important loads that will impact
the performance of your generator
are the air conditioner(s) and the
converter or battery charger.
Charger/
Converter
Shore
Power
Power Unit
Circuit
Breaker
Panel
Coach
Batteries
Transfer
Switch