rv hook up at home

bsbeedub wrote:
I only have a 15 amp outlet at home. I use a 25 foot, 10 gauge extension cord to a 15 to 30 amp dog bone, then to my TT power cord. I can run JUST my a/c fine with that set up. I have my multimeter plugged in and when the a/c is running my volts are at 114.

Two problems with your post.

1) Becuase it works for YOU does not mean it will work for everyone. There's different sized of AC's, there's different lengths of wire from the panel to the 15A outlet, and there's different voltages in electrical systems (varies with location and the time of day). And who knows what the other electrical loads are on YOUR camper- that can vary too.

2) The words "just fine". It's a fact that a runnining AC commonly uses less than 15 A and you have your voltiage meter, and that you are using a great extension cord, but at the moment of start up, your AC might be a bit short on electricity and you never know when there might be some transistor thing that gets a bit frazzled.

Maybe if you said that you have a smaller air conditioner and make an effort to limit other loads- but the overly bold bragging is giving bad advice.

I just installed a dedicated 30a outlet to a 30a breaker. But I am lucky my pannel is next to my tt. Here are a few pic's for ya.

15A outlets can be used on a circuit with a 20A breaker.

If it is a single receptacle on a 20 Amp circuit, it must be a 20 Amp receptacle. If there are multiple receptacles on a 20 Amp circuit, the receptacles can be either 15 or 20 Amp, unless arc welders or HID lighting are to be used on that circuit, in which case receptacles must match the ampacity of the branch circuit conductor.

This is to allow you to have multiple devices plugged in drawing less than 15 Amps each, but the total draw on the circuit may be greater than 15 Amps.

Note that a 20A circuit uses 12 ga wire--you can't turn a standard 15A circuit, which uses 14 ga wire, into a 20A circuit just by changing the breaker.

The top receptical is a 15 amp, it should be protected by a 15 amp breaker though if you have 2 or more on the same breaker a 20 may be acceptable (I do not know the code that well)

The lower one with the "T" shaped neutral is a 15/20 combo socket it takes 12ga wire and a 20 amp breaker, I have two of them in this motor home.

In theory there should be a GFCI somewhere that feeds the garage outlets.. But if your house is old enough it may not have that.

GAU-8 - I have wondered about that too but that seems to be what I have here... My panel is a 200AMP service... All of my house room zone breakers in the power panel are 20 AMP breakers. Every receptacle I find through-out the house however is this style.


The only wiring I have really looked at is in the garage area and it is 12 gauge ROMEX (12-3).

I only have one receptacle in the garage that looks like this and it is located at an abandoned air compressor area location. This receptacle is only about five feet away from the Power Panel. This is probably my best 120VAC receptacle in the house haha...


I assume there was a master plan in the beginning but someone went ahead and installed 15AMP style receptacles everywhere...

My neighbors house which looks exactly like this one also has 12-gauge (12-3) wiring everywhere he has looked at.

Who knows what I have here hehe... I have lived here since 1975... Have no idea how old this brick house is Probably in the mid to late 60s.

I probably should refrain from mentioning all of this detail hehe... Just raises more questions for folks that know something about the issues.

I really attribute my success to using the 10-gauge (10-3) contractor type HD yellow 50-foot length extension cords which I bought cheap at a yard sale four to five years ago... I know those must cost a bunch from the electric supply places. These are almost the same diameter as the 30AMP shore power cables coming from the trailer.

Roy Ken

drsteve wrote:
You can't bury Romex, not even in a conduit--it is for indoor use only, in dry locations. UF wire is the stuff to use underground.

You are right, however to the untrained eye UF looks a lot like ROmex and I can see where someone could make the mistake.


To the O/P.. Remember that the TT-30 outlet is a 120 volt outlet, ONE single breaker, You can plug in an adapter and use a house fan or floor lamp just like it was a regular house outlet.

If the lamp makes like a flash bulb.. You wired it wrong.

If you HIRE the job done.. I recommend you have the professional put in a 50 amp outlet, even if he only uses 30 amp wires and breaker.. WHY, He is less likely to make the lamp turn into a flashbulb that way.

The problem with not having your work inspected is that if it starts a fire, your insurance may not pay. If serving something like a pool or hot tub, improper wiring could kill someone. It is to your advantage to pay the inspector to verify that everything is OK. I recently replaced my outdated main panel in the house, and ran buried wire from the house to my new garage, which is wired with 70A service and a bunch of circuits. Inspection fees for all this work totaled $135, and that included three visits from the county inspector. Well worth the money to know everything checks out.

Lynnmor wrote:

wbwood wrote:

therink wrote:
I bought an rv 30amp outlet at Lowes, installed a 4 x 4 post to put it on and ran a direct buried 30amp rated romex cable from my house. Also installed an wired it into a dedicated 30amp breaker in my panel. Works excellent and runs everything I need. I did it all myself and was not hard to do.

Isn't electrical work supposed to be inspected?

Only if you ask. Maybe a drone will catch people in the act?

Just tell that to the local code enforcement officer, the insurance fire investigator, or the state arson investigator. You want to be careful what you tell those guys when they visit, as it might come back to bite you.

wbwood wrote:

therink wrote:
I bought an rv 30amp outlet at Lowes, installed a 4 x 4 post to put it on and ran a direct buried 30amp rated romex cable from my house. Also installed an wired it into a dedicated 30amp breaker in my panel. Works excellent and runs everything I need. I did it all myself and was not hard to do.

Isn't electrical work supposed to be inspected?

Depends on jurisdiction. You run it you are ok in some places.

Royb

Why would you put a 15A outlet with a 20 A breaker? What gauge is the wire?