Forum Discussion

swp5767's avatar
swp5767
Explorer
May 24, 2013

Can I replace a 30A plug with a 50A?

I find that about once a year or so, I need to replace the plug on my shore cable. The hot leg of the plug gets hot over time and melts the plug can causes it to fail.

The big difference that I see between the 30A and 50A plugs, the blades on the plug is a lot heavier with more surface area. I'm not trying to upgrade to a 50A service, but I want to stop burning up plugs.

I also know that the 30A CG receptacles get a lot of user over the 50's and tend to me more worn out then the 50's.

I typically run a 13.5 BTU AC unit, a standard fridge and the microwave when needed.

I have no other electrical issues. No tripping/overloading breakers.

Thanks for any help!
Steve

31 Replies

  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    May 25, 2013
    The short answer is yes you can do it (replace a 30 amp plug with a 50) however if you do you will need to use a dogbone when on a site that does not have a 50 amp outlet.. I would just keep replacign the 30's.

    It helps if you look at the plug and polish it up from time to time, I see mine turning black I break out ye-old-dremel (Ok so it says Crafstman on it) and a "brush tip" and polish it up a bit.
  • MEXICOWANDERER's avatar
    MEXICOWANDERER
    Explorer
    May 25, 2013
    IMHO Ozlander offer an excellent clue.

    A gold-plated manufactured in Manhattan plug will fry if it is mated with a bad receptacle socket. To thwart this I made a pin tester for 30 and 50 amp sockets, where I could test the retention strength of each socket. Loose sockets were disassembled and if they had overheated to the point of annealing the brass (permanent loss of springiness) the receptacle was changed. The receptacle in this case is worse. It needs to be disassembled and examined. Right down to the color of the conductors of the wire. If I did not find bright copper strands I fixed it. Eight gauge is IMHO the correct size to run to a 30-amp RV socket.
  • GMT830's avatar
    GMT830
    Explorer
    May 25, 2013
    swp5767 wrote:
    GMT830 wrote:
    swp5767 wrote:


    Someone mentioned about the neutral and grounded being bonded together. How can I test to see if that is true?

    Thanks again everyone for your help!


    Do you do your own electrical work? Do you have a multimeter? Or even better a clamp on ammeter?


    Yes I do, but I do not have a ammeter clamp. I do have a multimeter.


    PM Sent!
  • swp5767's avatar
    swp5767
    Explorer
    May 25, 2013
    I keep my RV plugged in at home, but I do not run any heavy appliance. Where I see this issue is with long stays of 5 days or more. Most weekends are not an issue.
  • Ozlander's avatar
    Ozlander
    Explorer
    May 25, 2013
    Me thinks the problem is in the receptacle at home since you have had the problem with several plugs.
    I'm thinking that you are pluged in at home most of the time and that is were the damage occurs.
    Using a 50 to 30 adapter in CGs bypasses loose 30 amp receptacles.

    Of course, at some point in time we are going to have loose 50 amps too.
  • swp5767's avatar
    swp5767
    Explorer
    May 25, 2013
    hershey, no offence taken. That's why im here asking the questions.
  • hershey's avatar
    hershey
    Explorer
    May 25, 2013
    If you have to ask the question, then your not qualified to make the conversion with safety. Not being a jerk, just my evaluation.
    Doing what you described takes a real knowledge of what you want to end up with and avoid the pitfalls. One hiccup and you have toasted a lot of expensive equipment. My suggestion is to just replace the plug with a high quality 30 amp plug. Just doing that isn't without risk....you have to get the polarity correct.
  • swp5767's avatar
    swp5767
    Explorer
    May 25, 2013
    MiPa.Jackson wrote:
    Reread Doug's post he is our Guru on here!
    Trust what he says as facts.


    I did, but I don't see where I am overloading anything.. This coach has the equipment it came with.. The AC is only about 5 years old, so it should be more efficient.
  • swp5767's avatar
    swp5767
    Explorer
    May 25, 2013
    GMT830 wrote:
    swp5767 wrote:


    Someone mentioned about the neutral and grounded being bonded together. How can I test to see if that is true?

    Thanks again everyone for your help!


    Do you do your own electrical work? Do you have a multimeter? Or even better a clamp on ammeter?


    Yes I do, but I do not have a ammeter clamp. I do have a multimeter.
  • swp5767's avatar
    swp5767
    Explorer
    May 25, 2013
    2112 wrote:
    Just to clarify; you ARE NOT using a 30A to 20A adapter, are you?
    Something like this?
    This will suffer a meltdown when used with the A/C.


    NO!

About Technical Issues

Having RV issues? Connect with others who have been in your shoes.24,351 PostsLatest Activity: Jan 20, 2026