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mike_brez's avatar
mike_brez
Explorer
Sep 14, 2017

Running a 50amp line to plug into

I recently got rid of a hot tub on my deck that saw no use.
I have a 50 amp breaker for it in my panel. I checked the two hot legs at disconnect were hot tub was and have 240v,120v from each hot to ground and 0v from neutral to ground. Picked up some wire and a rv outdoor power outlet a 50 amp 14-50R.
Pluged in my progressive industries surge protector and it said all was good. Pluged into rv and blows breaker at panel.
I'm going to call my electrician buddy but looking for suggestions.
Here is a pic of the breaker that blows in the panel. It has a test button on it could that be the cause? To dark outside for any others.

Class A

59 Replies

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  • DownTheAvenue's avatar
    DownTheAvenue
    Explorer
    Sep 14, 2017
    azdryheat wrote:
    Your house 50 amp is different than an RV 50 amp. Your house runs two hot leads and a ground while the RV runs two hots, a neutral, and a ground. What an RV circuit actually is is two 120 volt separate circuits. Nothing in your RV requires the 240 volts your house delivers. You RV only needs 120 volts. Your RV fuse box will be divided into two separate 110 circuits.


    This is not totally correct. Without getting into a details that will make anyone's eyes bleed, armchair electricians should be very careful dispensing advice.
  • enblethen's avatar
    enblethen
    Nomad
    Sep 14, 2017
    GFI breaker.
    Disconnect the neutral from breaker and connect it to the neutral buss. Disconnect smaller neutral from breaker that goes to neutral buss.
  • Tom_N's avatar
    Tom_N
    Explorer
    Sep 14, 2017
    50 AMP RV WIRING



    50 AMP HOT TUB/RANGE/WELDER WIRING



    NOTE: THEY ARE IDENTICAL


    Tom, W3TLN
  • rhagfo's avatar
    rhagfo
    Explorer III
    Sep 14, 2017
    azdryheat wrote:
    Your house 50 amp is different than an RV 50 amp. Your house runs two hot leads and a ground while the RV runs two hots, a neutral, and a ground. What an RV circuit actually is is two 120 volt separate circuits. Nothing in your RV requires the 240 volts your house delivers. You RV only needs 120 volts. Your RV fuse box will be divided into two separate 110 circuits.

    ?????
    Interesting last 50 amp house circuit I ran for an electric range had two hot legs, a neutral and a ground. An RV circuit is no different.as stated by the OP he has 240 across the two hots. I would be checking the RV to see what would cause the GFIC to trip.
    As to an RV only having 120 available also not 100% true, my Cheap Heat uses 240 volts on a 30 amp sub panel that is tapped into the inbound 50 amp feed.
  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    Sep 14, 2017
    azdryheat wrote:
    Your house 50 amp is different than an RV 50 amp. Your house runs two hot leads and a ground while the RV runs two hots, a neutral, and a ground. What an RV circuit actually is is two 120 volt separate circuits. Nothing in your RV requires the 240 volts your house delivers. You RV only needs 120 volts. Your RV fuse box will be divided into two separate 110 circuits.


    Not at all true. 50 amp RV service is identical to house service save for the size of the circuit breaker. Mains in a house are often 150-250 amps. not 50. but all the same wires

    Hot/Neutral/Hot and Safety ground are all present in exactly the same configuration.. NO DIFFERENCE at all. Not one bit.

    The only difference worth mentioning is that the breaker panel in the RV is wired as a SUB panel.. Not a "Main" panel.. but this too can be done in a house. I had a "Sub" panel in my garage for example.
  • Hank_MI's avatar
    Hank_MI
    Explorer
    Sep 14, 2017
    Yes it is a GFI breaker, code requires one for a hot tub. I installed one for our hot tub. I'd replace the breaker with a regular 50 amp double pole breaker. It should already be a 3 wire feed. I see 2 hots and neutral and there is almost certainly a ground.
  • byronlj's avatar
    byronlj
    Explorer
    Sep 14, 2017
    That is a 50amp gfi breaker for a 3wire sauna application. Your hot tub was actually 240v not two 120's. If you look at the tub, you are only hooking up two hots and a ground. By hooking that curly pigtail white wire(a dead giveaway for gfi), you are not providing a true neutral to the panel, only completing the circuit for the gfi portion of the breaker. Ditch the gfi breaker and run a true 4 wire connection(2 hots, neutral, and ground to a double 50a breaker.
    Dave
  • time2roll's avatar
    time2roll
    Nomad
    Sep 14, 2017
    Looks like a GFCI breaker or similar so I assume you have some type of ground fault in the RV. Could replace the breaker but I would still try to locate the issue. Start with turning off all breakers in the RV and plug in again. Turn on one breaker at a time and see what trips. Start with the main and then each branch circuit.
  • azdryheat's avatar
    azdryheat
    Explorer
    Sep 14, 2017
    Your house 50 amp is different than an RV 50 amp. Your house runs two hot leads and a ground while the RV runs two hots, a neutral, and a ground. What an RV circuit actually is is two 120 volt separate circuits. Nothing in your RV requires the 240 volts your house delivers. You RV only needs 120 volts. Your RV fuse box will be divided into two separate 110 circuits.

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