I am by NO means an electrical engineer. I still don't know 100% what the true difference is between amps and watts and volts. But I had a recent idea and I wonder if this would help us out with our Work & Play (30amps). We've taken the camper out three times so far. The first was to Willow Tree. During the weekend, the breaker at Willow Tree's pole tripped twice. We were on the 30A plug and both times, the AC was running and the water heater was on. At our recent race, we were on the generator power. My generator puts out gobs of power. 10.5KW rated with 13KW surge watts. The only issue we had was the AC tripped its own breaker one time. When the water heater is on, the AC is running, the TV is on, and maybe Mama decides to dry her hair or make some toast, we're pulling a lot of power. So the question. If I start plugging into a 50A outlet with a 30A adapter, would this help us out at all? In other words, would we be getting the same 110 volts but 50amps? I still have a 30A cord so that may reduce it. But does this make sense or will it not help us out at all? As I said, I'm not sure about electrical stuff but I'm hoping this could be a help.

You and she will learn how to control your power useage. She will wait to dry her hair until the toast is done.... It only takes a few trips and a few trips of the breaker until she begins to understand what can and can't be done at the sametime.

Can you use the 50 amp? YesBut you are still limited to 30 ampsThe main breaker in the tt is 30 AmpsAnything more and you will trip the breaker and/or overheat your shore cordI suggest you put the water heater on propane and the fridge tooAnd learn power management

If your AC is tripping it's own breaker then you have an issue with your AC compressor. It's tripping the breaker for a reason. We run our AC, water heater and fridge on 30A all the time with no issues.If you are using a 30A cord, you should be plugging into a 30A plug at the post.

You will not get 50 amps just by hooking up with an adapter to a 50 amp outlet. You will only get 30 amps. The best thing to do is turn the water heater off from electric. That will help a lot and learn that high draw items like hair dryers and microwaves could put you over 30 amps if used at the same time. It's a numbers game, you will learn to limit your use when the AC is on or you will just constantly be resetting Breakers. Just as a side note, my Motorhome has a switch that prevents me from using the water heater and the microwave at the same time, it is one or the other but not both.

lawnspecialties wrote: If I start plugging into a 50A outlet with a 30A adapter, would this help us out at all? Short answer, no. Longer answer..If the 30a shore breaker is defective, maybe. Also, if the 30a socket is corroded and rusty (as they often are) you may get a better connection. I use the 50 whenever possible as they usually are newer. As said by others, your trailer is limited to 30a by its own breaker. Oh, and Watts= Volts x Amps. So a 30a breaker is 30a x 120v ~ 3600w.

50A Idea | Good Sam Community

D___M
Explorer
Aug 26, 2014
Take a look at this website. It explains RV electric systems

Watts

Watts are the standard unit of measurement of electrical power. One watt is one ampere of current flowing at one volt

Volts

Voltage is the potential energy in a circuit before amperage and resistance come into play. The term volts refer to the line electricity runs through, or how fast the electric runs through that line.

Amps

Amperage is what costs you the money on your electric bill. Amperage is the actual current being pulled from the line. Amps is a measure of the wattage divided by the voltage, A=W/V.

Watts = Amps x Volts

Volt = Watts / Amps

Amps = Watts / Volts
Turtle_n_Peeps
Explorer
Aug 26, 2014
I know I'm showing my age here but some of these posts remind me of "Green Acres."

Anybody remember the electrical setup they had going on? You can plug in a 2 and a 4 or a 5 and a 1 but you can never go over a 6 total. LOL, that still makes me laugh.
DougE
Explorer
Aug 26, 2014
Lots of weird info being posted here! A modern pedestal is wired with two 120v conductors, 1 neutral conductor and 1 ground conductor. The campground source is feeding each pedestal from another distribution panel and you are not sharing your individual circuit with another pedestal. The pedestal manufacturer has pre-wired breakers for the 50 amp, 30 amp and 20 amp outlets to the 50 amp source connection. So if you use a 50 amp to 30 amp adapter, yes you will be accessing one leg of the 50 amp outlet and usage will be limited to less than 50 amps only by the breakers in the RV.
Kemahsabe
Explorer
Aug 26, 2014
lawnspecialties wrote:
I am by NO means an electrical engineer. I still don't know 100% what the true difference is between amps and watts and volts.

Here's a simple, yet accurate analogy.

Think of a water pipe. Volts are like the pressure of the water in the pipe. It's a measure of how hard the water/electricity is trying to get out of the pipe/wire.

Amps are like the flow rate of the water. Your breakers limit the flow rate to 30 amps - no matter what the capacity of what you're plugged into. Unlike water, with electricity you damage things and start fires if you find a way to exceed the rated flow/amps.
Old-Biscuit
Explorer III
Aug 26, 2014
rk911 wrote:
kennethwooster wrote:
We spend the summer in an old park in Colorado. They have 30s and 120s. We get their early and get a 30. We can use 1A/C, and have learned when to tour off A/C, to run microwave and etc. It's just something you learn. I would not fiddle with the power,just learn what to turn off.

120's???? :h

15/20A receptacle (120's....regular outlet)
rk911
Explorer
Aug 26, 2014
kennethwooster wrote:
We spend the summer in an old park in Colorado. They have 30s and 120s. We get their early and get a 30. We can use 1A/C, and have learned when to tour off A/C, to run microwave and etc. It's just something you learn. I would not fiddle with the power,just learn what to turn off.

120's???? :h
rk911
Explorer
Aug 26, 2014
wa8yxm wrote:
The biggest difference (And this may help) is that instead of having to get dressed and to out and reset the PARK breaker, You will trip your own 30 amp Main breaker inside the RV.

YOU DO NOT WANT TO DRAW more than 30 amps through your shore cord else you may get a visit from the local fire dept.. They still make house calls you know.

if his RV has 30-amp service I don't see how he could draw more than that without tripping the main RV breaker. He can only draw what he can draw.
kcmoedoe
Explorer
Aug 26, 2014
MitchF150 wrote:
When it's available, I hook to the 50a with a 30a adapter just because I can and while it usually makes no difference, but most of the loop are 30a campers and guess what plug they are plugging into? On hot days, everyone has their A/C running, so it's hitting that 30a circuit pretty good I figure..

Not as many using the 50a I figure, so the voltage drop probably is not as much as on the heavily used 30a circuit for the campground..

I don't know if that's how it really works, but I've seen the 30a voltage down to around 110v in the afternoon where it was 120v in the morning... (still within spec, but it's dropped a bit)

So far when hooked to the 50a, it's been 120v all day. And you don't get any more amps then what your trailer is wired for (30a), so that's not an advantage to plugging into the 50a.

Just my experience with it.. :)

Good luck!
Mitch
The 30 amp and 50 amp plugs are using the exact same wiring. There are no separate circuits for 50 amp or 30 amp.
kennethwooster
Explorer
Aug 26, 2014
We spend the summer in an old park in Colorado. They have 30s and 120s. We get their early and get a 30. We can use 1A/C, and have learned when to tour off A/C, to run microwave and etc. It's just something you learn. I would not fiddle with the power,just learn what to turn off.
wa8yxm
Explorer III
Aug 26, 2014
The biggest difference (And this may help) is that instead of having to get dressed and to out and reset the PARK breaker, You will trip your own 30 amp Main breaker inside the RV.

YOU DO NOT WANT TO DRAW more than 30 amps through your shore cord else you may get a visit from the local fire dept.. They still make house calls you know.

Forum Discussion

50A Idea

About RV Tips & Tricks

Related Content

50a to 30a question

heat ideas

30A and 50A electric

Potluck ideas?

Only getting 30A indicated on 50A connection