Campsight electric outlets
When a sight says it has 50 Amp service, do they usually have both the 50 amp outlet, and the 30 am outlet in the same post? My first trip out last weekend had 30 amp posts, and there were also 20 amp...
Forum Discussion
The quantities of 30 and 50 amp receptacles in a CG/RV park is dictated by code (NEC) and it has changed quite a bit over the years. The latest NEC edition requires a min. of 20 percent 50 amp pedestals and min. 70 percent 30 amp pedestals. All pedestals are required to have a 20 amp receptacle regardless. Providing more 50 amp pedestals gets expensive pretty quick so unless a CG, private or public, has spent more than the min. code requirements, finding 50 amps can be tough. At one time, 50 amps wasn't required at all. Have been in a couple of with nothing but 30 amps, not even a 20 amp recept.
If a pedestal has a 50 amp receptacle, electrically speaking, it's not a problem having a 30 amp receptacle in it as well since it would be fed off one leg of the 50 amp circuit. Some CGs can have 50 amp only pedestals (plus a 20 amp recept.) as long as they met the min. quantity requirements.
If you have a choice of staying at a 50 or a 30 amp pedestal or using the 50 amp recept. in a 30/50 amp pedestal, you are often better off using a 50 amp recept. because the wiring to a run of 50 amp pedestals is heavier gauge and there's less chance of having low voltage problems. Also, 30 amp recepts. tend to be in worse shape than 50 amps and you can sometimes get a bad connection and overheating. If you find pedestals that all look pretty new, you should be fine but if they look old and tired, you may end up with problems. I have an 18" 30 to 30 amp pigtail adapter that I use if a 30 amp recept. is in really rough shape, that way if it overheats, only the $20 adapter will be lost.
It is a really good idea to check voltage at a pedestal before you start to set up. We were at an old CG last year and the 1st site we backed into had only 106 volts. Moved to another and still 106 volts. Then moved to a section with 30/50 amps and the voltage stayed close to 120 the whole time we were there.
There's a lot of 50 amp RVs being sold nowadays and the NEC is waay behind on the min. quantity of 50 amp pedestals.
If a pedestal has a 50 amp receptacle, electrically speaking, it's not a problem having a 30 amp receptacle in it as well since it would be fed off one leg of the 50 amp circuit. Some CGs can have 50 amp only pedestals (plus a 20 amp recept.) as long as they met the min. quantity requirements.
If you have a choice of staying at a 50 or a 30 amp pedestal or using the 50 amp recept. in a 30/50 amp pedestal, you are often better off using a 50 amp recept. because the wiring to a run of 50 amp pedestals is heavier gauge and there's less chance of having low voltage problems. Also, 30 amp recepts. tend to be in worse shape than 50 amps and you can sometimes get a bad connection and overheating. If you find pedestals that all look pretty new, you should be fine but if they look old and tired, you may end up with problems. I have an 18" 30 to 30 amp pigtail adapter that I use if a 30 amp recept. is in really rough shape, that way if it overheats, only the $20 adapter will be lost.
It is a really good idea to check voltage at a pedestal before you start to set up. We were at an old CG last year and the 1st site we backed into had only 106 volts. Moved to another and still 106 volts. Then moved to a section with 30/50 amps and the voltage stayed close to 120 the whole time we were there.
There's a lot of 50 amp RVs being sold nowadays and the NEC is waay behind on the min. quantity of 50 amp pedestals.
