Why 30a (120v) at Home?
Curious what the extra 15a is for. We only ever need 15a at home where we park the rig and leave it on shore power all the time. 15a does battery charging and any fridge time on 120v. What else...
Forum Discussion
After I had two cheap extension cords go up in smoke in our driveway after we got our 1st TT, I ended up installing a dedicated 30 amp recept. where we park the trailer. If plugging into a recept. at home, you should be turning off the power first because the converter has an inrush current that causes pitting on the contact surfaces, attracts dirt and leads to overheating. I installed a disconnect switch adjacent to the 30 amp recept. No more melted extension cord connectors and no adapter needed.
If installing a new dedicated recept. for an RV, I recommend installing a disconnect switch near it. I used a motor-rated disconnect switch. I doubt it would be legal to install a 30 amp recept. on 15 or 20 amp wire even if labelled with a max. draw. You may not normally need 30 amps, but sometimes the heavier ga. wire can help. We have a built-in vacuum that draws high current and an ordinary extension cord would result in high voltage drop.
If you have no choice but to use an extension cord, I'd get one that is UL/CSA listed (not all are) and use a min. #12 ga. commercial grade one with better plug & connector. A "heavy duty" label means nothing.
What I don't understand is why the heck the NEC requires every single pedestal in an RV park to have a 15/20 amp recept. in addition to a 30 amp and/or 50 amp one. Has been like that for decades. Maybe a holdover from 5+ decades ago or for maintenance staff? I almost never see them being used except in tent only areas or when an RV-er is trying to get more power into a 30 amp RV. The NEC only requires a min. #10 wire to 30 amp pedestals and does not require simultaneous demand in load calcs. In some cases, especially in older CGs, can result in excessive voltage drop.
Our Canadian Electrical Code doesn't have code requirements for RV parks or RVs like the US does.
If installing a new dedicated recept. for an RV, I recommend installing a disconnect switch near it. I used a motor-rated disconnect switch. I doubt it would be legal to install a 30 amp recept. on 15 or 20 amp wire even if labelled with a max. draw. You may not normally need 30 amps, but sometimes the heavier ga. wire can help. We have a built-in vacuum that draws high current and an ordinary extension cord would result in high voltage drop.
If you have no choice but to use an extension cord, I'd get one that is UL/CSA listed (not all are) and use a min. #12 ga. commercial grade one with better plug & connector. A "heavy duty" label means nothing.
What I don't understand is why the heck the NEC requires every single pedestal in an RV park to have a 15/20 amp recept. in addition to a 30 amp and/or 50 amp one. Has been like that for decades. Maybe a holdover from 5+ decades ago or for maintenance staff? I almost never see them being used except in tent only areas or when an RV-er is trying to get more power into a 30 amp RV. The NEC only requires a min. #10 wire to 30 amp pedestals and does not require simultaneous demand in load calcs. In some cases, especially in older CGs, can result in excessive voltage drop.
Our Canadian Electrical Code doesn't have code requirements for RV parks or RVs like the US does.
