50/30 amp surge protectors

[jstaffon]

I have two questions that are somewhat related.

1. I seem to recall that the 30 amp circuit wiring is basically 1/2 of the 50 amp circuit. However, I had weird things happen in my camper when 1/2 of the 50 amp service at the pole failed. Results I hadn't anticipated. It very well could have been the internal wiring of the camper. I never really understood the issue. Thus my question...If I buy a 50 amp surge protector and use a 50 to 30 amp pigtail, will the surge protector work properly?

2. A friend has a Class A with a built in 50 amp surge protector. If he uses a 50/30 amp pigtail and hooks to a 30 amp pole, will his built in protector work properly?

Thanks in advance!

Jeff.

[ScottG]

When your plugged into 50A and one leg fails, you are losing half of the circuits in your RV - all the stuff on that leg.
When you plug that same RV into 30A with an adapter, the adapter gangs those two legs in your RV together. So you have power on both legs.

ALso, 30A is not half of a 50A circuit because there's 50A available on both legs for a total of 100A.

[Jim]

Yes, it'll work properly as a 50 amp surge protector monitors both legs, and the good ones also monitor the neutral. So if you've got a 50 amp protector, and you plug into a 30 amp source, you've still got full protection.