50 amp outlet

[beetleman]

Going to my son's and he has had a 50 amp plug put in for us. I am a little concerned about whether he has attached it to a 220 line or 110. The breaker has two 50 switches. Can't afford to fry my 5th wheel.

[Me_Again]

Everyone with 50 amp service should have a hard wired EMS. If you loose neutral on 50 amp service it puts 240 volts across all items in the RV that are plugged it. Having a hardwired one provide better protection than one you plug in at the power pedestal, protecting one for shore cable, is plug on each end and power reel if you have one. Loose neutral and most if not all of your electrical devices get fried. We have a PI HW in both of your RV trailers. HW EMS do not grow legs and walk away.

With the 'little guy' trailer we found that a friend's outside outlet on his garage had reverse polarity and would not power the trailer on. This spring at another friends home on the way back North his garage outlet was old and worn, and PI said no ground available and would not power up the trailer.

Chris

[sayoung]

I agree on testing but I would have more concerns if a 30amp had been installed, way too many home RV 30 amps wired as 220/240 instead of 110 by so called electricians.

[Allworth]

I know an EMS is expensive, but my Progressive is the best investment I have made yet in protection for a VERY expensive RV.

[pianotuna]

I agree with test first.

I don't agree about all electric. Other than the fridge I've been all electric. If I had a better solar panel system I would have run that, too!

Lwiddis wrote:
Test first! Never plugin anywhere without testing.

“Some motorhome designs are foregoing propane and are designed to be all electric.” And how limiting!

[CA_Traveler]

KD4UPL wrote:

A 50A RV outlet is supposed to be on a double pole breaker. It does have 240v available if wired properly. I would absolutely check to see that it is wired properly before plugging in. I always carry a volt meter with me and check every outlet I ever plug an RV into.

Good advice.

Seems doubtful that the OP has the knowledge to safely probe AC voltage as others have suggested. But there are plug in devices that can be used. Even a 50/20 adapter and 3 light household tester provides a basic test of a 50A plug. ie 3 of the 4 wires are correct.

A year after I installed the PI HW50C I stopped checking pedestal plugs as the HW50C won't connect if there is a issue and disconnects if one occurs later.

[Lwiddis]

Test first! Never plugin anywhere without testing.

“Some motorhome designs are foregoing propane and are designed to be all electric.” And how limiting!

[pianotuna]

A single 15 amp shore power allows one to use up to 1800 watts. That is enough for one "heavy duty" draw such as a toaster, coffee maker, or an electric frying pan. It is prudent to monitor voltage to make sure it is not too low for motor driven devices such as a roof air conditioner.

In those situations I set my demand to a maximum of 1440 watts (12 amps) and turn on the load support for the Magnum inverter/charger. That allows me to use all the devices, drawing the extra power from the battery bank--which then recharges when the load is reduced.

ACZL wrote:
Progressive Industry 50 amp EMS will tell you if ok or not.. Worst case, use a 50 amp reducer to 110 and don't use anything in coach above lights, fridge. Not sure about A/C or coffee maker.

Other folks thoughts?

[KD4UPL]

itsabouttime wrote:
The 50 amp connector has two 120 volt sides, each rated 50 amps. They are on opposing legs and will measure 240 volts line to line. The top and bottom pins are ground and neutral. The sides each measure 120 volts to either the neutral or ground and 240 from one side to the other. This video gives an excellent explanation of the connection, both 30 and 50 amp. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoOR2AJGjOI
Russ

This.
A 50A RV outlet is supposed to be on a double pole breaker. It does have 240v available if wired properly. I would absolutely check to see that it is wired properly before plugging in. I always carry a volt meter with me and check every outlet I ever plug an RV into.

[ACZL]

Progressive Industry 50 amp EMS will tell you if ok or not.. Worst case, use a 50 amp reducer to 110 and don't use anything in coach above lights, fridge. Not sure about A/C or coffee maker.

Other folks thoughts?

[SarahBTiu]

There are many RVs with fifty amp plugs that don't consume anywhere near fifty amps per leg from a 240-volt power source. My 35-foot Itasca motorhome is a good example. It has a propane range, hot water heater and furnace, In the summer I can run both air conditioners, the electric coil in my hot water heater, microwave/convection oven, TV sets and even a hair dryer and not exceed the capacity of a 240-volt two-pole 30-amp breaker and #10 wiring.

Some motorhome designs are foregoing propane and are designed to be all electric. They can quickly overload a 30-amp circuit. This past winter we camped in a friend's front driveway and plugged into his 15-amp outdoor outlet. It was sufficient to keep our batteries charged, run our furnace, TV and DVD player and brew pots of coffee.

We avoided using our microwave/convection oven and turned off the electric coil in our hot water heater because they would likely have tripped the outlet's breaker.

As long as your #10 wiring is protected with a 30-amp breaker and the connection is not so long as to cause a significant voltage drop to your RV, the simple answer to your question is, "NO."

[Fulltimers]

Use THIS image to check voltages.

[pianotuna]

Time to acquire an inexpensive volt meter.

[itsabouttime]

The 50 amp connector has two 120 volt sides, each rated 50 amps. They are on opposing legs and will measure 240 volts line to line. The top and bottom pins are ground and neutral. The sides each measure 120 volts to either the neutral or ground and 240 from one side to the other. This video gives an excellent explanation of the connection, both 30 and 50 amp. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoOR2AJGjOI
Russ

[time2roll]

Every standard NEMA 14-50 wired properly to code in your home and every RV park is 240/120 volt service on a two pole breaker.
Give your son some credit.