Split 50 amp to two 30 amps?

Bull Rider wrote:
Th

Is it possible to get 240 volts our of two 30 amp feeds? The shore power box only has one 30 amp feed and one 50 amp feed. This is a factory setup from Tollycraft, it's not a modification. Makes my RV electric look pretty simple.....

Thank You for your input, appreciate your ideas.

Yes it is possible, but the pedestal needs to wired correctly. The only sure way to get it right every time would be to use a splitter (as described above)to divide the 50 amp, four wire circuit into two three wire, 30 amp circuits, run two power cords to the boat, the the boat would have to be wired to combine the two 30 amp circuits back to the 50 amp circuit. The advantage of doing this way is that the 30 amp cords are lighter and easier to handle, and if 50 amp is not available and the circuits were wired properly, it would be possible that one cord could run a good portion of the 120v items in the boat - but none of the 240 stuff. My guess is that one of the two 30 sockets on the boat is the "preferred one" that is to be used if only one 30 amp circuit is available. It probably has the battery charger, most the lights, and stuff on it ....

There is lots of information here on the net about how boats are wired, but it is sort of off topic ....

If the supply box has a 30 amp outlet and a 50 amp outlet the 30 amp takes care of one of your lines and a simple 50 amp male to 30 amp female dog-bone takes care of the other.

Also, my brother has been working on this from his end too. I'm just trying to assist. I'm not able to be there to help figure this out. I know this isn't a marine forum, but there aren't many problems that the members here haven't seen or solved.

Thanks.

The boat has three heat pumps for heating and air conditioning, and it has an electric stove. It has an 8KW Onan diesel generator, transfer switch, and two banks of batteries.

The two 30 amp male connectors are mounted next to each other on the back bulkhead of the boat. I've never seen a setup like this, but I'm not familiar with marine electric.

Is it possible to get 240 volts our of two 30 amp feeds? The shore power box only has one 30 amp feed and one 50 amp feed. This is a factory setup from Tollycraft, it's not a modification. Makes my RV electric look pretty simple.....

Thank You for your input, appreciate your ideas.

Bob Landry wrote:

Bill & Kate wrote:

Bull Rider wrote:
....

For some reason his boat electrical won't function properly unless both 30 amp connectors are being fed. And I thought that RV electric was complicated......

Maybe there is something on the boat that needs 220 volts??

That would require 240V/50A service. It would not be comprised of two 30A sources.

Actually it is the same thing -- it is a 120/240 50 amp circuit wired so you have two 30 amp circuits rather than one 240 50 amp circuit. See 120/240 50 amp

Bill & Kate wrote:

Bull Rider wrote:
....

For some reason his boat electrical won't function properly unless both 30 amp connectors are being fed. And I thought that RV electric was complicated......

Maybe there is something on the boat that needs 220 volts??

That would require 240V/50A service. It would not be comprised of two 30A sources.

Bull Rider wrote:
....

For some reason his boat electrical won't function properly unless both 30 amp connectors are being fed. And I thought that RV electric was complicated......

Maybe there is something on the boat that needs 220 volts??

Bull Rider wrote:
Thanks for the input, I found a couple that will work, and some of the links are spot on. Look like 150 to 200 bucks is the going price.

I noted by surfing the web that many RVer's use these adapters to split out a 50 amp. service to two 30 amps for two RV's. Or the run one 30 amp to their RV and then use a 20 amp converter on the other leg to run a free standing A/C or other HD appliance.

For some reason his boat electrical won't function properly unless both 30 amp connectors are being fed. And I thought that RV electric was complicated.

Thanks again for the input.....

I built mine for about $75. I've seen the Marinco version online for a little over $100, but you'll have to do some surfing.

Interesting that his boat has to have both legs plugged in to work properly. I've done a lot of marine electrical work and have never run across that. If he has an auto-transfer switch in the mix, it could possibly be related to that. I can't think of anything that's shared that would require both power sources, but those boats have been around for a while and I've seen some pretty creative wiring done by unknowing owners.

Thanks Bumpy, I enjoy your posts. You have an economy with words... :)

I built my own using a 50 amp male plug, two 30 amp female pigtails, an outdoor aluminum box. you can plug it in at a campground with a 30 amp RV and find out which side has the best current. someone in this forum recommended this.
if he can afford a 50 ft boat, he can spring 150-200 however.
bumpy