30 amp / 50 amp

CA Traveler wrote:
I have 3 15A arc fault CBs for the bedrooms and probably 14ga wire.

And one 15A CB with 14 ga wire with 8 plugs and 270' of wire. It's not hard to imagine what happened when I tried to use my saw on the last plug. No problem using the radio and other light loads. I was sure this was a code violation but there is no restriction on wire length.

For 30 amp and larger circuits there are code requirements that increase the wire size according to circuit length.

It's common to plug a 30A rig into a 50A plug with adapter. Larger plug wiring and likely less wear compared to many 30A plugs make this a reasonable option.

The chance of drawing more than 30A due to some cord or wiring issue upstream of the rigs CB panel are very very small in my opinion. More likely that a problem would result in say a much bigger short and trip the 50A breaker. Like someone ran over the cord for example.

I have 3 15A arc fault CBs for the bedrooms and probably 14ga wire.

And one 15A CB with 14 ga wire with 8 plugs and 270' of wire. It's not hard to imagine what happened when I tried to use my saw on the last plug. No problem using the radio and other light loads. I was sure this was a code violation but there is no restriction on wire length.

tomman58 wrote:

Water-Bug wrote:

avvidclif1 wrote:

Coach-man wrote:

CA Traveler wrote:
Since very few RVs have 240V appliances the simple explanation is that you have 2 50A circuits for the RV which is a lot of power. Some loads on one circuit and the rest on the other circuit. And yes they are protected by a dual ganged 50A CB for safety. If you overload one 50A circuit both will trip disabling all power in the rig.

So why is it called 50A when it has 2 50A 120V capability or 100A total? The circuit description is 120/240V, 50A, 4 wire, 3 pole, 60Z. The 50A designation refers to the higher voltage (240V) and indeed 50A is the maximum a 240V appliance could draw. The plug is also a standard household plug and circuit. And some homes use this plug for their 50A ovens which use both 240V (heating element) and 120V (light, etc).

What I said, but not as elegant! The point is with a "50 amp" you have a lot more power for things in an RV, even 30 amp wired RV's should plug into 50 amp outlets with adaptors, at peak times when using AC, TV, micro wave, and hair dryer that will give them some "fudge" factor.

Not a good idea. You have a 30A cord plugged into a 50A breaker.

It's done every day in every home in America. All your 4 or 5 amp devices, with cords to match their power consumption, are plugged into circuits with 20 amp breakers. 90% of the devices plugged in to home outlets with 20 amp breakers, have cords rated at 10 amps or less. (12ga house wiring and 14 or 16 guage device cords)

90% of breakers are 20 amp... no most are 15 amp. Appliance cords are for a specific load and their cords are for that load. period
The main breaker ie: the one in the pedestal at the CG is your main breaker which ever one you choose that one needs a cord for that amp rating period Anything else is a code violation and could be a real problem if an insurance issue arises. I use the main that I need, in a lot of cases it is a 20 amp if I am not doing A/C and a 30 for overnight stays, 50 for long stays, works for me.

For the past 40 years +, residential wiring has been 20 amp breakers and 12 guage wire for outlets and 15 amp breakers with 14 guage wire for lighting. The rediculous thing is that they allow 15 amp rated plugs on 20 amp circuits.

Plugging a 30 amp cord into a 50 amp circuit IS NOT a code violation. If it were, nearly all the items plugged into a residential 15 or 20 amp plug would be code violations. Household small appliances routinely have 14 or 16 guage cords that plug into outlets with 12 guage wire on the other side.

No brainer. Get the factory 50 amp. How heavy do you think a 50 amp cord is? Maybe you need to do a few push ups before you head out camping :):)

On a hot day with everyone in the park is using the AC, voltage will drop and amps will go up! You may find yourself triping the pedestal 30 amp breaker, and if you were away your rig will be hot when you return! Using a 50 to 30 dogbone adaptor plugged into the 50 amp plug at the pedestal will give you the extra "fudge factor" and minimize the likley hood that the pedestal breaker will pop! And as pointed out each 120 circuit in the RV has its own circuit breaker, you excide the rating for any of them and they will pop! But that would mean YOU have a problem in YOUR RV, and you are not at the mercy of the parks electrical system. Go ahead and continue to use what you feel comfortable with, but if I had. 30 amp RV I would spend all that extra money, ($10.00) on a dogbone adaptor and feel confident that when I returned to my RV the AC would be purring!

Water-Bug wrote:

avvidclif1 wrote:

Coach-man wrote:

CA Traveler wrote:
Since very few RVs have 240V appliances the simple explanation is that you have 2 50A circuits for the RV which is a lot of power. Some loads on one circuit and the rest on the other circuit. And yes they are protected by a dual ganged 50A CB for safety. If you overload one 50A circuit both will trip disabling all power in the rig.

So why is it called 50A when it has 2 50A 120V capability or 100A total? The circuit description is 120/240V, 50A, 4 wire, 3 pole, 60Z. The 50A designation refers to the higher voltage (240V) and indeed 50A is the maximum a 240V appliance could draw. The plug is also a standard household plug and circuit. And some homes use this plug for their 50A ovens which use both 240V (heating element) and 120V (light, etc).

What I said, but not as elegant! The point is with a "50 amp" you have a lot more power for things in an RV, even 30 amp wired RV's should plug into 50 amp outlets with adaptors, at peak times when using AC, TV, micro wave, and hair dryer that will give them some "fudge" factor.

Not a good idea. You have a 30A cord plugged into a 50A breaker.

It's done every day in every home in America. All your 4 or 5 amp devices, with cords to match their power consumption, are plugged into circuits with 20 amp breakers. 90% of the devices plugged in to home outlets with 20 amp breakers, have cords rated at 10 amps or less. (12ga house wiring and 14 or 16 guage device cords)

90% of breakers are 20 amp... no most are 15 amp. Appliance cords are for a specific load and their cords are for that load. period
The main breaker ie: the one in the pedestal at the CG is your main breaker which ever one you choose that one needs a cord for that amp rating period Anything else is a code violation and could be a real problem if an insurance issue arises. I use the main that I need, in a lot of cases it is a 20 amp if I am not doing A/C and a 30 for overnight stays, 50 for long stays, works for me.

avvidclif1 wrote:

Coach-man wrote:

CA Traveler wrote:
Since very few RVs have 240V appliances the simple explanation is that you have 2 50A circuits for the RV which is a lot of power. Some loads on one circuit and the rest on the other circuit. And yes they are protected by a dual ganged 50A CB for safety. If you overload one 50A circuit both will trip disabling all power in the rig.

So why is it called 50A when it has 2 50A 120V capability or 100A total? The circuit description is 120/240V, 50A, 4 wire, 3 pole, 60Z. The 50A designation refers to the higher voltage (240V) and indeed 50A is the maximum a 240V appliance could draw. The plug is also a standard household plug and circuit. And some homes use this plug for their 50A ovens which use both 240V (heating element) and 120V (light, etc).

What I said, but not as elegant! The point is with a "50 amp" you have a lot more power for things in an RV, even 30 amp wired RV's should plug into 50 amp outlets with adaptors, at peak times when using AC, TV, micro wave, and hair dryer that will give them some "fudge" factor.

Not a good idea. You have a 30A cord plugged into a 50A breaker.

It's done every day in every home in America. All your 4 or 5 amp devices, with cords to match their power consumption, are plugged into circuits with 20 amp breakers. 90% of the devices plugged in to home outlets with 20 amp breakers, have cords rated at 10 amps or less. (12ga house wiring and 14 or 16 guage device cords)

avvidclif1 wrote:

Coach-man wrote:

CA Traveler wrote:
Since very few RVs have 240V appliances the simple explanation is that you have 2 50A circuits for the RV which is a lot of power. Some loads on one circuit and the rest on the other circuit. And yes they are protected by a dual ganged 50A CB for safety. If you overload one 50A circuit both will trip disabling all power in the rig.

So why is it called 50A when it has 2 50A 120V capability or 100A total? The circuit description is 120/240V, 50A, 4 wire, 3 pole, 60Z. The 50A designation refers to the higher voltage (240V) and indeed 50A is the maximum a 240V appliance could draw. The plug is also a standard household plug and circuit. And some homes use this plug for their 50A ovens which use both 240V (heating element) and 120V (light, etc).

What I said, but not as elegant! The point is with a "50 amp" you have a lot more power for things in an RV, even 30 amp wired RV's should plug into 50 amp outlets with adaptors, at peak times when using AC, TV, micro wave, and hair dryer that will give them some "fudge" factor.

Not a good idea. You have a 30A cord plugged into a 50A breaker.

Not a 'real' issue as RV 30A Main breaker will still trip when amp rating is exceeded so no more than 30A will flow thru power cord.

Coach-man wrote:

CA Traveler wrote:
Since very few RVs have 240V appliances the simple explanation is that you have 2 50A circuits for the RV which is a lot of power. Some loads on one circuit and the rest on the other circuit. And yes they are protected by a dual ganged 50A CB for safety. If you overload one 50A circuit both will trip disabling all power in the rig.

So why is it called 50A when it has 2 50A 120V capability or 100A total? The circuit description is 120/240V, 50A, 4 wire, 3 pole, 60Z. The 50A designation refers to the higher voltage (240V) and indeed 50A is the maximum a 240V appliance could draw. The plug is also a standard household plug and circuit. And some homes use this plug for their 50A ovens which use both 240V (heating element) and 120V (light, etc).

What I said, but not as elegant! The point is with a "50 amp" you have a lot more power for things in an RV, even 30 amp wired RV's should plug into 50 amp outlets with adaptors, at peak times when using AC, TV, micro wave, and hair dryer that will give them some "fudge" factor.

Not a good idea. You have a 30A cord plugged into a 50A breaker.