Home Electrical Hook Up

Cummins12V98 wrote:

Bobbo wrote:
I agree. If you are going to run 4 wires, install the outlet and breaker that takes all 4 wires. Done once and finished.

That is what I did. I have a 30 amp RV. For now. When I ran my power, I pulled three 6g wires (black, red, white) and one 10g wire (green), put in a 50 amp breaker, and a box with 50amp/30amp/20ampGFCI outlets and breakers. I will never have to touch that wiring again, no matter what I may buy in the future. It did not cost THAT much more to do than a straight 30 amp setup would have been.

(While doing this, I also ran a second conduit and installed a separate box with telephone line and satellite/cable coax. Like I said, done once and finished.)

I am curious, you say "I pulled three 6g wires (black, red, white) and one 10g wire (green), put in a 50 amp breaker, and a box with 50amp/30amp/20ampGFCI outlets and breakers" is that code compliant? Potentially you could have 100A drawing on that one 50A breaker in the panel if you had all three receptacles being used at the same time. I know that is unlikely, but is it code?

As long as the breaker in the main box is sized to the wires, yes, it is code compliant. Anything over 50 amps, total, on either leg will trip both legs and kill the power.

Think about all of the 15 amp outlets in your home on a single 15 amp or 20 amp breaker. Add them all up and they grossly exceed the rating of the breaker.

And, actually, if I was pulling 50 amps on both legs of the 50 amp outlet, 30 amps on the 30 amp outlet, and 20 amps on the 20 amp outlet, I would be pulling 150 amps! It would be 80 amps on one leg and 70 amps on the other.

Bucky Badger wrote:

john&bet wrote:

I would suggest cummins12v98 that you add up the c/b's in house panel that is suppose to be code compliant and see if they don't add up to more than your main breaker.

I can 99.9% tell you that the ones in your house are going to add up more than your main breakerI know mine do,because I installed all of it myself in '89.

DrewE wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:

Bobbo wrote:
I agree. If you are going to run 4 wires, install the outlet and breaker that takes all 4 wires. Done once and finished.

That is what I did. I have a 30 amp RV. For now. When I ran my power, I pulled three 6g wires (black, red, white) and one 10g wire (green), put in a 50 amp breaker, and a box with 50amp/30amp/20ampGFCI outlets and breakers. I will never have to touch that wiring again, no matter what I may buy in the future. It did not cost THAT much more to do than a straight 30 amp setup would have been.

(While doing this, I also ran a second conduit and installed a separate box with telephone line and satellite/cable coax. Like I said, done once and finished.)

I am curious, you say "I pulled three 6g wires (black, red, white) and one 10g wire (green), put in a 50 amp breaker, and a box with 50amp/30amp/20ampGFCI outlets and breakers" is that code compliant? Potentially you could have 100A drawing on that one 50A breaker in the panel if you had all three receptacles being used at the same time. I know that is unlikely, but is it code?

Obviously if you try to have 100A flowing through the 50A breaker for more than brief instant, it will trip. That's what it is there for—to prevent overloading the circuit that can only safely (at least in the "what the code deems as safe" sense) carry 50A. (Household circuit breakers are designed to allow a momentary overcurrent without tripping to account for startup surges.)

Typically these camper multiple outlet panels are wired with the 30A on one leg and the 20A on the other leg and, of course, the 50a on both legs, so you wouldn't get 100A on one of the 50A breakers, just 70A...but that's not really pertinent to your question.

This is a code compliant installation, to the best of my knowledge, assuming the rest of the work is also up to code standards.

Thanks for answering my question. "I know that is unlikely, but is it code?"

Completely understand the potential for overload "YOU" answered my question.

Cummins12V98 wrote:

Bobbo wrote:
I agree. If you are going to run 4 wires, install the outlet and breaker that takes all 4 wires. Done once and finished.

That is what I did. I have a 30 amp RV. For now. When I ran my power, I pulled three 6g wires (black, red, white) and one 10g wire (green), put in a 50 amp breaker, and a box with 50amp/30amp/20ampGFCI outlets and breakers. I will never have to touch that wiring again, no matter what I may buy in the future. It did not cost THAT much more to do than a straight 30 amp setup would have been.

(While doing this, I also ran a second conduit and installed a separate box with telephone line and satellite/cable coax. Like I said, done once and finished.)

I am curious, you say "I pulled three 6g wires (black, red, white) and one 10g wire (green), put in a 50 amp breaker, and a box with 50amp/30amp/20ampGFCI outlets and breakers" is that code compliant? Potentially you could have 100A drawing on that one 50A breaker in the panel if you had all three receptacles being used at the same time. I know that is unlikely, but is it code?

Obviously if you try to have 100A flowing through the 50A breaker for more than brief instant, it will trip. That's what it is there for—to prevent overloading the circuit that can only safely (at least in the "what the code deems as safe" sense) carry 50A. (Household circuit breakers are designed to allow a momentary overcurrent without tripping to account for startup surges.)

Typically these camper multiple outlet panels are wired with the 30A on one leg and the 20A on the other leg and, of course, the 50a on both legs, so you wouldn't get 100A on one of the 50A breakers, just 70A...but that's not really pertinent to your question.

This is a code compliant installation, to the best of my knowledge, assuming the rest of the work is also up to code standards.

John&bet wrote:
I would suggest cummins12v98 that you add up the c/b's in house panel that is suppose to be code compliant and see if they don't add up to more than your main breaker.

Or count how many 15A receptacles are on one 15A breaker in your house. The point is the upstream breaker is sized to protect the wire from the house to the RV panel. There Is a 50A 2-pole breaker in the house panel delivering power to the 50/30/20 RV box.

Cummins12V98 wrote:

Bobbo wrote:
I agree. If you are going to run 4 wires, install the outlet and breaker that takes all 4 wires. Done once and finished.

That is what I did. I have a 30 amp RV. For now. When I ran my power, I pulled three 6g wires (black, red, white) and one 10g wire (green), put in a 50 amp breaker, and a box with 50amp/30amp/20ampGFCI outlets and breakers. I will never have to touch that wiring again, no matter what I may buy in the future. It did not cost THAT much more to do than a straight 30 amp setup would have been.

(While doing this, I also ran a second conduit and installed a separate box with telephone line and satellite/cable coax. Like I said, done once and finished.)

I am curious, you say "I pulled three 6g wires (black, red, white) and one 10g wire (green), put in a 50 amp breaker, and a box with 50amp/30amp/20ampGFCI outlets and breakers" is that code compliant? Potentially you could have 100A drawing on that one 50A breaker in the panel if you had all three receptacles being used at the same time. I know that is unlikely, but is it code?

I would suggest cummins12v98 that you add up the c/b's in house panel that is suppose to be code compliant and see if they don't add up to more than your main breaker.

Bobbo wrote:
I agree. If you are going to run 4 wires, install the outlet and breaker that takes all 4 wires. Done once and finished.

That is what I did. I have a 30 amp RV. For now. When I ran my power, I pulled three 6g wires (black, red, white) and one 10g wire (green), put in a 50 amp breaker, and a box with 50amp/30amp/20ampGFCI outlets and breakers. I will never have to touch that wiring again, no matter what I may buy in the future. It did not cost THAT much more to do than a straight 30 amp setup would have been.

(While doing this, I also ran a second conduit and installed a separate box with telephone line and satellite/cable coax. Like I said, done once and finished.)

I am curious, you say "I pulled three 6g wires (black, red, white) and one 10g wire (green), put in a 50 amp breaker, and a box with 50amp/30amp/20ampGFCI outlets and breakers" is that code compliant? Potentially you could have 100A drawing on that one 50A breaker in the panel if you had all three receptacles being used at the same time. I know that is unlikely, but is it code?

rhagfo wrote:

Bobbo wrote:
I agree. If you are going to run 4 wires, install the outlet and breaker that takes all 4 wires. Done once and finished.

That is what I did. I have a 30 amp RV. For now. When I ran my power, I pulled three 6g wires (black, red, white) and one 10g wire (green), put in a 50 amp breaker, and a box with 50amp/30amp/20ampGFCI outlets and breakers. I will never have to touch that wiring again, no matter what I may buy in the future. It did not cost THAT much more to do than a straight 30 amp setup would have been.

(While doing this, I also ran a second conduit and installed a separate box with telephone line and satellite/cable coax. Like I said, done once and finished.)

This is only code compliant is you have a 20, 30 and 50 amp breaker at the box at the trailer. Otherwise you could overload the 20 amp and 30 amp between the trailer and the box.

Note the part of my original post that I have highlighted in red.

Thank you

Bobbo wrote:
I agree. If you are going to run 4 wires, install the outlet and breaker that takes all 4 wires. Done once and finished.

That is what I did. I have a 30 amp RV. For now. When I ran my power, I pulled three 6g wires (black, red, white) and one 10g wire (green), put in a 50 amp breaker, and a box with 50amp/30amp/20ampGFCI outlets and breakers. I will never have to touch that wiring again, no matter what I may buy in the future. It did not cost THAT much more to do than a straight 30 amp setup would have been.

(While doing this, I also ran a second conduit and installed a separate box with telephone line and satellite/cable coax. Like I said, done once and finished.)

This is only code compliant is you have a 20, 30 and 50 amp breaker at the box at the trailer. Otherwise you could overload the 20 amp and 30 amp between the trailer and the box.

momentum rv wrote:
If the house circuit can't handle it, it will just trip the 30 amp breaker. Then you know.

What he said