Can I hook up to a house from a 30A plug to a 15A circuit

[86CoachmanR]

I have an 1986 30A class A and am a full time RV'er and have been on campgrounds regularly but recently have been "Driveway mooching" with family.

My question is this, with the 30A male dogtail connected to a 30A female to 15A male adapter, can I safely plug into a 15A outlet with this setup?

I'm only looking to run a small LED LCD Monitor, a 120v Electric space heater PlayStation 4, Desktop computer, and the interior lights. Not all at the SE time of course. At most the monitor will be operating with either the computer on or the game system and maybe one lightbulb on.

I've had the motorhome plugged into aunt's house on a 15A garage circuit with the space heater, monitor, game system, and 1 light on at the same time for about 3 weeks. She is moving so I'm hopping over to another family members driveway. However they are concerned with running the 30A to 15A adapter plug through their circuit saying that it will cause a fire.

If I've done this at one house already, with no issues, no trips or anything, is it safe to say that I will not run into any issues here? By the way this scenario is running off of a split circuit board not the main one.

Thanks in advance, sorry for the lengthy post!

[DrewE]

86CoachmanR wrote:
****** UPDATE TO SITUATION *****
I was just informed that the circuit breaker is an outdated out of code Federal Pacific Energy board, which, the landlord refuses to update. The concern is that, with these breakers known to be 1 out of 4 faulty, that the breaker wouldn't trip causing a fire...However they've been in this house for 13 years, and have used the 30A dryer on a 20A circuit...Proving my point that the RV would barely use any energy compared to that dryer...It's difficult using facts and logic to prove a point to the paranoid.

Given that it's that kind of panel--an FPE Stab-Lok panel--I think their concern is not entirely unwarranted. These breakers are known to have a very unacceptably high rate of failure, most commonly a failure to actually shut off power. There have been a good many fires associated with these panels that most any other breaker or fuse would have prevented. The proper solution, of course, is to replace the panel with equipment that is known to work reliably.

I would suggest that they talk to the landlord's insurance agent (if they can find out who they are) and make sure that they understand what panel is there. Many insurance companies will require that the panel be changed/replaced. (And yes, it does stink if you're a landlord or homeowner stuck with the bill. I did read an analysis that concluded that, on average, it's actually a savings of money to replace the panel vs. the increased risk of losing the building in a fire, just taking into account property damage.)

[86CoachmanR]

coolmom42 wrote:

86CoachmanR wrote:

Terryallan wrote:
Yes you can with no problems. Should your MH call for more amp than the circuit is rated for. It will trip the breaker. No harm, no foul. Folks. It really is that easy.

Exactly my point, however the person in question is a paranoid type and is thinking fire is inevitable.

Sounds to me he is not a person I would want to live in close proximity with for very long. In your shoes I would be looking hard for somewhere else to park.

Oh, I agree, he's my step father and I'm really here for my mother to help out and what not, so I'm putting up with the bull strictly for her. I'm.looking in the area for a campground but they are expensive out here in New Jersey.

[86CoachmanR]

coolmom42 wrote:

86CoachmanR wrote:

coolmom42 wrote:

86CoachmanR wrote:

rgatijnet1 wrote:
I have a 50 amp coach and when visiting some friends I have to plug in to their 15/20 amp circuit. This allows us to run one AC unit/or electric heater and our lights and TV. If we need to run the microwave, I turn off the AC for a few minutes. I also put the water heater on propane as well as the refrigerator and make sure that my inverter/charger is set to low charge.
Since you are just using an adapter the draw of a heater will not cause your 30 amp power cord to overheat, as you found out with three weeks at your other location.

Thanks, this is what i figured, owning an RV necessitates that one understands basic and intermediate electrical theory and math, and the relative at hand is an Electrician, and I am sure that his professional knowledge is making him paranoid to the worst case scenario.

NEVER let this person do any wiring for you. He clearly doesn't understand how current works.

who? rgatijnet1? or the family member in question? Im guessing the latter?

The latter. Who is supposed to be an electrician.

Ahhh, yes, don't get me wrong, he is a decent electrician, but self taught, and doesn't really know the science/physics behind it all, and only has knowledge from what he was taught from job experience and famlily trade. So he's a self taught pro. Pro being used very loosely based on his work experience.

[coolmom42]

86CoachmanR wrote:

Terryallan wrote:
Yes you can with no problems. Should your MH call for more amp than the circuit is rated for. It will trip the breaker. No harm, no foul. Folks. It really is that easy.

Exactly my point, however the person in question is a paranoid type and is thinking fire is inevitable.

Sounds to me he is not a person I would want to live in close proximity with for very long. In your shoes I would be looking hard for somewhere else to park.

[coolmom42]

86CoachmanR wrote:

coolmom42 wrote:

86CoachmanR wrote:

rgatijnet1 wrote:
I have a 50 amp coach and when visiting some friends I have to plug in to their 15/20 amp circuit. This allows us to run one AC unit/or electric heater and our lights and TV. If we need to run the microwave, I turn off the AC for a few minutes. I also put the water heater on propane as well as the refrigerator and make sure that my inverter/charger is set to low charge.
Since you are just using an adapter the draw of a heater will not cause your 30 amp power cord to overheat, as you found out with three weeks at your other location.

Thanks, this is what i figured, owning an RV necessitates that one understands basic and intermediate electrical theory and math, and the relative at hand is an Electrician, and I am sure that his professional knowledge is making him paranoid to the worst case scenario.

NEVER let this person do any wiring for you. He clearly doesn't understand how current works.

who? rgatijnet1? or the family member in question? Im guessing the latter?

The latter. Who is supposed to be an electrician.

[86CoachmanR]

NCWriter wrote:
If I had a relative who was giving me what I considered to be invalid reasons they did not want me to plug in, I might wonder if their preference actually is not having a relative living in a class A RV in my driveway.

That's not the issue here, it's my parents house, however since they are renting and my father is a self taught electrician and well known paranoid person throughout the family he is worried about the worse case scenarios, which is reasonable, to an extent.

[NCWriter]

If I had a relative who was giving me what I considered to be invalid reasons they did not want me to plug in, I might wonder if their preference actually is not having a relative living in a class A RV in their driveway.

[Effy]

We always kept our 30a coach plugged into a 15a plug at our house with no issues. We could run the air etc. Our friends brought their 50a DP to the house and it constantly tripped the breaker even before applying any load at all. Not sure why.

[rgatijnet1]

The 1500 Watt heater draws only 12.5 AMPS, which will not trip a 15 amp circuit breaker. If the circuit is protected by a 20 amp circuit breaker, you have a lot of extra capacity.

[86CoachmanR]

****** UPDATE TO SITUATION *****
I was just informed that the circuit breaker is an outdated out of code Federal Pacific Energy board, which, the landlord refuses to update. The concern is that, with these breakers known to be 1 out of 4 faulty, that the breaker wouldn't trip causing a fire...However they've been in this house for 13 years, and have used the 30A dryer on a 20A circuit...Proving my point that the RV would barely use any energy compared to that dryer...It's difficult using facts and logic to prove a point to the paranoid.

[86CoachmanR]

wa8yxm wrote:
The full answer is rather complex but the short answer is YES. Been there, Done that in fact. (Well mine was 20 amp...)

By CODE, any "Modern" outdoor outlet is supposed to be protected by a GFCI. some RV's do not play nice with GFCI outlets. If this is the case it won't work, It will. however, be safe

You can charge batteries, "Chill out" the fridge (run it) but may not have enough power for air conditioners or water heaters.

The interesting part is that this particular house has no outside outlets, so the dogtail and dogbone extension would plug into an interior wall outlet. I understand my relatives concerns but they are assuming I'm using a constant 30A draw on the circuit when, in actuality I'll be using maybe 2 or 3A considering that the 1500W heater is definitely way too power consuming for the circuit. He is just a worse case scenario kind of guy and I wanted to hear from more experienced RV'ers so that I can gain more practical knowledge on the matter. I am the first and only person in my family to have an RV so the idea of it is daunting to some when asking to hookup to an outlet, which is frustrating.

[tropical36]

86CoachmanR wrote:
I have an 1986 30A class A and am a full time RV'er and have been on campgrounds regularly but recently have been "Driveway mooching" with family.

My question is this, with the 30A male dogtail connected to a 30A female to 15A male adapter, can I safely plug into a 15A outlet with this setup?

I'm only looking to run a small LED LCD Monitor, a 120v Electric space heater PlayStation 4, Desktop computer, and the interior lights. Not all at the SE time of course. At most the monitor will be operating with either the computer on or the game system and maybe one lightbulb on.

I've had the motorhome plugged into aunt's house on a 15A garage circuit with the space heater, monitor, game system, and 1 light on at the same time for about 3 weeks. She is moving so I'm hopping over to another family members driveway. However they are concerned with running the 30A to 15A adapter plug through their circuit saying that it will cause a fire.

If I've done this at one house already, with no issues, no trips or anything, is it safe to say that I will not run into any issues here? By the way this scenario is running off of a split circuit board not the main one.

Thanks in advance, sorry for the lengthy post!

I'm plugged in to a 20amp circuit, as we speak, so as to keep the fridge going and batteries charged. I would sure hope to think that if the 20amps are exceeded for any reason, that the feeder breaker would trip and before having a melt down.

[wa8yxm]

The full answer is rather complex but the short answer is YES. Been there, Done that in fact. (Well mine was 20 amp...)

By CODE, any "Modern" outdoor outlet is supposed to be protected by a GFCI. some RV's do not play nice with GFCI outlets. If this is the case it won't work, It will. however, be safe

You can charge batteries, "Chill out" the fridge (run it) but may not have enough power for air conditioners or water heaters.

[86CoachmanR]

Terryallan wrote:
Yes you can with no problems. Should your MH call for more amp than the circuit is rated for. It will trip the breaker. No harm, no foul. Folks. It really is that easy.

Exactly my point, however the person in question is a paranoid type and is thinking fire is inevitable.

[Terryallan]

Yes you can with no problems. Should your MH call for more amp than the circuit is rated for. It will trip the breaker. No harm, no foul. Folks. It really is that easy.