Benefit of 50 amp over 30 amp
The wife just ask me that question and I'm not sure I know the answer,I guess more is better ,little help please ---Thank you
Forum Discussion
Passin Thru wrote:
20 more AMPS
Nope, 70 more AMPS.- time2roll,
That's why I adore hybrid inverter/chargers. 1Longbow wrote:
The wife just ask me that question and I'm not sure I know the answer,I guess more is better ,little help please ---Thank you
My experience / knowledge of RVs is the the only reason(s) a rig has 50amp is if it has dual A/C units, or the addition of a residential fridge in place of the RV fridge, or washer / dryer capabilities.SoundGuy wrote:
Yes easy and second nature to many.time2roll wrote:
Such a hardship. :W
With 30 amp service you may have to manage power at times. That is to say if you run everything at once the breaker will probably trip.
And then there are others (DW) that have to ask ten times if the hair dryer can be used.- 20 more AMPS
- If you only have a 30 amp cord on your RV, then getting a site with 50 amp has no advantage. No reason to not accept a 30 amp site, if that is all your RV needs. I would not pay more for a 50 amp site, if you I only require 30.
It is possible to use a 50 amp RV at a 30 amp site(have to use an adapter on the power cord). Use just have to be careful what you run at the same time. myredracer wrote:
Capacity-wise, a 50 amp RV may sound great but - there is a downside to having 50 amps.
The electrical code in the US (NEC) only requires 20 percent of CGs/RV parks to have 50 amp pedestals. As of the 2005 edition of the NEC, only 5 percent had to be 50 amps. So unless you specifically go to a CG that built it above the min. code requirement like some higher-end RV parks, casinos and some gov't. CGs for example, you will find 50 amp pedestals in very short supply and will be forced to use a 50-30 amp adapter. If a CG is old enough, they won't even have any 50 amp pedestals because the code didn't require them. I see 50 amp RVs all the time in CGs using adapters. Not nice for those with large and very expensive MHs and can't run a 2nd AC or any other high demand goodies. The NEC is waaay behind in what's happening with RVs nowadays. RV manufacturers and dealers conveniently don't tell anyone about this...
Yes, there are the 20 amp GFCI repectacles in pedestals (every pedestal requires one by code). Code does not provide for the 30 and 20 amp receptacles to be operating simultaneously and using both together can result in increased voltage drop - usually will be much worse in older CGs too. Having a permanent voltmeter inside to keep an eye on the CG voltage is a very good idea, esp. if using both the 20 & 30 amp recepts. at the same time. If you have an EMS unit, that's great but it's not likely that you will have a 2nd one for the 20 amp recept. so if running an AC unit off it, you could be damaging it.
Unless a person really needs 50 amps, I would stick with 30. Load management is pretty simple. I installed an LED ammeter on the wall (along with a voltmeter) and the current is usually around 15 amps and below and rarely gets near 30 amps. Another thing to know is that a 30 amp breaker won't trip immediately when it hits 30 amps. The way breakers are designed, it will continue to run above it's rating depending on the level of "overage". Drawing 36 amps for ex. would hold for several min. or longer and not trip - long enough to blow dry your hair. To reduces the chances of low voltage in a CG, go to a newer one because the loop-fed pedestals are much less likely to have voltage problems.
30 amp pedestals are often in much worse condition due to a combination of physical abuse, the local environment and people not turning the breaker off before plugging in. To get the most out of a 30 amp pedestal without your shore power plug overheating and going up in smoke, if a pedestal looks to be in pretty tough shape don't use it, keep your plug blades clean and shiny (emery cloth) and always turn the power off before plugging in.
X2--Campground wire scheduling will make or break the use of 50 amp or even 30 amp service. Also, gauges are cheap and nearly necessary.
When I restored the Starcraft, I installed 50 amp service. The hardware wasn't much more than installing 30 amp service. 50 amp service also brings better, balanced distribution in that, typically, more branch circuits are available and loads can be distributed.
The largest expense for retro-fitting to 50 amp service is the shore cord. I got lucky and found a Marinco cord set, on clearance at CW. Buying a molded cord set is as cheap as buying wire and installing the connectors (I priced the hardware and wire).- Capacity-wise, a 50 amp RV may sound great but - there is a downside to having 50 amps.
The electrical code in the US (NEC) only requires 20 percent of CGs/RV parks to have 50 amp pedestals. As of the 2005 edition of the NEC, only 5 percent had to be 50 amps. So unless you specifically go to a CG that built it above the min. code requirement like some higher-end RV parks, casinos and some gov't. CGs for example, you will find 50 amp pedestals in very short supply and will be forced to use a 50-30 amp adapter. If a CG is old enough, they won't even have any 50 amp pedestals because the code didn't require them. I see 50 amp RVs all the time in CGs using adapters. Not nice for those with large and very expensive MHs and can't run a 2nd AC or any other high demand goodies. The NEC is waaay behind in what's happening with RVs nowadays. RV manufacturers and dealers conveniently don't tell anyone about this...
Yes, there are the 20 amp GFCI repectacles in pedestals (every pedestal requires one by code). Code does not provide for the 30 and 20 amp receptacles to be operating simultaneously and using both together can result in increased voltage drop - usually will be much worse in older CGs too. Having a permanent voltmeter inside to keep an eye on the CG voltage is a very good idea, esp. if using both the 20 & 30 amp recepts. at the same time. If you have an EMS unit, that's great but it's not likely that you will have a 2nd one for the 20 amp recept. so if running an AC unit off it, you could be damaging it.
Unless a person really needs 50 amps, I would stick with 30. Load management is pretty simple. I installed an LED ammeter on the wall (along with a voltmeter) and the current is usually around 15 amps and below and rarely gets near 30 amps. Another thing to know is that a 30 amp breaker won't trip immediately when it hits 30 amps. The way breakers are designed, it will continue to run above it's rating depending on the level of "overage". Drawing 36 amps for ex. would hold for several min. or longer and not trip - long enough to blow dry your hair. To reduces the chances of low voltage in a CG, go to a newer one because the loop-fed pedestals are much less likely to have voltage problems.
30 amp pedestals are often in much worse condition due to a combination of physical abuse, the local environment and people not turning the breaker off before plugging in. To get the most out of a 30 amp pedestal without your shore power plug overheating and going up in smoke, if a pedestal looks to be in pretty tough shape don't use it, keep your plug blades clean and shiny (emery cloth) and always turn the power off before plugging in. pianotuna wrote:
There are ways to be able to operate the AC, water heater, and a hair drier on a 30 amp service. In fact I could run all those devices at the same time on a 15 amp shore power supply. It was not cheap to find the technology to allow me to do so.
I do have to rely that the duty cycle on the water heater is 15 minutes every 4 hours (if no water is being used) and the hair drier is not going to run all day long.2112 wrote:
As an example we can not operate our AC, electric water heater and the wife's hair drier at the same time on our 30A service without tripping the breaker.
A 50A service can handle that and more.
Could and making sense to go that route are a different matter. A large battery charger that can suck up the max the 30amp can put out and a large inverter that can run everything with a big battery bank to float the startup loads and intermittent loads but it's typically a lot easier to just turn off something.
Alternatively, many campground power pedestals have secondary 15amp plugs. We've run an extension cord to run a crock pot or electric skillet (usually outside so it doesn't fight the air/con)- With the 50 amps you can run 2 air conditioners, a TV, a microwave, keep your water heater on electric, the Splendide washing machine, have all the lights on, and let the wife run her hair dryer at the same time. It is 100 amps verses 30 amps. When we had 30 amp campers my wife was tripping the breaker all the time. Since we have had 50 amps, she has never tripped a breaker.
We could never go back to 30 amps, my wife would have a fit!!!
1st 5 campers were 30 amps and last 2 have been 50 amps.
