Pulling more than 50 amps ?
Our park electrician says that some of the big rigs with 3 ACs and electric everything can sometimes draw more than 50A from a 50A pedestal. Truth or BS?
Forum Discussion
Gonna throw my hat in before thread gets closed.
It is known as 120/240 SINGLE SPLIT PHASE & MULTI WIRE BRANCH SYSTEM, 3 "pole", 4 wire.
It is AC (Alternating Current), not DC (Direct Current).
AC allows the POCO to do something that DC can't, efficient power distribution over long distances.
I would recommend folks take a look at the "White paper" from Samlex which has a pretty good explanation of how this works.
Page 1 has a good diagram which may help explain things..
HERE
In a nutshell, L1 and L2 are 180 degrees OUT OF PHASE when referenced to the NEUTRAL.
In other words, if you froze time for ONE CYCLE, L1 would have a positive going voltage and L2 would have a NEGATIVE going voltage.
When the cycle is done, L1 now goes NEGATIVE going voltage and L2 would now be POSITIVE going voltage when referenced to the NEUTRAL.
For 120V you use a SINGLE "Pole" breaker.
For 120V/240V you use a DOUBLE "POLE" breaker (which is TWO Single pole breakers TIED TOGETHER so if one is overloaded BOTH are tripped).
30A 120V RV service uses only a SINGLE POLE BREAKER.
50A 120/240 RV uses a DOUBLE POLE breaker.
In a 50A 120/240 RV each side of the breaker supplies 50A at 120V before it trips (remember though each "pole" delivers a voltage that is the OPPOSITE of the other pole).
From there, things gets much more complex than what can be explained on a Internet forum.
It is known as 120/240 SINGLE SPLIT PHASE & MULTI WIRE BRANCH SYSTEM, 3 "pole", 4 wire.
It is AC (Alternating Current), not DC (Direct Current).
AC allows the POCO to do something that DC can't, efficient power distribution over long distances.
I would recommend folks take a look at the "White paper" from Samlex which has a pretty good explanation of how this works.
Page 1 has a good diagram which may help explain things..
HERE
In a nutshell, L1 and L2 are 180 degrees OUT OF PHASE when referenced to the NEUTRAL.
In other words, if you froze time for ONE CYCLE, L1 would have a positive going voltage and L2 would have a NEGATIVE going voltage.
When the cycle is done, L1 now goes NEGATIVE going voltage and L2 would now be POSITIVE going voltage when referenced to the NEUTRAL.
For 120V you use a SINGLE "Pole" breaker.
For 120V/240V you use a DOUBLE "POLE" breaker (which is TWO Single pole breakers TIED TOGETHER so if one is overloaded BOTH are tripped).
30A 120V RV service uses only a SINGLE POLE BREAKER.
50A 120/240 RV uses a DOUBLE POLE breaker.
In a 50A 120/240 RV each side of the breaker supplies 50A at 120V before it trips (remember though each "pole" delivers a voltage that is the OPPOSITE of the other pole).
From there, things gets much more complex than what can be explained on a Internet forum.
