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mlts22's avatar
mlts22
Explorer II
Feb 03, 2014

50 amp circuit in a short "C"?

While browsing the market, I came across a short "C" (24 feet) that had a 50 amp circuit, 5500 watt Onan genset... and one A/C unit. Apparently, the PO specced it this way from the factory so he could run his cabin from the RV with just an extension cord.

Other than having the ability to have the A/C unit on one leg, everything else on the other, so one can run the power hogs all at once, would there be an advantage for having a 50 amp circuit? All the devices will happily run off a 30A dogbone.

2 Replies

  • 2oldman wrote:
    mlts22 wrote:
    the PO specced it this way from the factory so he could run his cabin from the RV with just an extension cord.
    By run his cabin, do you mean a separate building run from the generator?

    If he's expecting "50a" service he'll be greatly disappointed. 50a service is actually 12,000 watts.


    He was running his cabin's electrical system from the generator, so I am guessing that the 5500 watts from the Onan was good enough for whatever he was using. The idea is interesting for powering a retreat in a remote area, although in the long run, it would be cheaper to have a pole dropped from the local utility or have some solar system. Definitely not a true 50 amp service (where each leg has 50 amps), but it is a cool idea (JMHO, of course) when one wants some electrical service overnight.
  • mlts22 wrote:
    the PO specced it this way from the factory so he could run his cabin from the RV with just an extension cord.
    By run his cabin, do you mean a separate building run from the generator?

    If he's expecting "50a" service he'll be greatly disappointed. 50a service is actually 12,000 watts.

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