50A Idea

[lawnspecialties]

I am by NO means an electrical engineer. I still don't know 100% what the true difference is between amps and watts and volts. But I had a recent idea and I wonder if this would help us out with our Work & Play (30amps).

We've taken the camper out three times so far. The first was to Willow Tree. During the weekend, the breaker at Willow Tree's pole tripped twice. We were on the 30A plug and both times, the AC was running and the water heater was on.

At our recent race, we were on the generator power. My generator puts out gobs of power. 10.5KW rated with 13KW surge watts. The only issue we had was the AC tripped its own breaker one time.

When the water heater is on, the AC is running, the TV is on, and maybe Mama decides to dry her hair or make some toast, we're pulling a lot of power.

So the question. If I start plugging into a 50A outlet with a 30A adapter, would this help us out at all? In other words, would we be getting the same 110 volts but 50amps? I still have a 30A cord so that may reduce it. But does this make sense or will it not help us out at all? As I said, I'm not sure about electrical stuff but I'm hoping this could be a help.

[2oldman]

lawnspecialties wrote:
If I start plugging into a 50A outlet with a 30A adapter, would this help us out at all?

Short answer, no. Longer answer..

If the 30a shore breaker is defective, maybe. Also, if the 30a socket is corroded and rusty (as they often are) you may get a better connection. I use the 50 whenever possible as they usually are newer.

As said by others, your trailer is limited to 30a by its own breaker. Oh, and Watts= Volts x Amps. So a 30a breaker is 30a x 120v ~ 3600w.

[othertonka]

You will not get 50 amps just by hooking up with an adapter to a 50 amp outlet. You will only get 30 amps. The best thing to do is turn the water heater off from electric. That will help a lot and learn that high draw items like hair dryers and microwaves could put you over 30 amps if used at the same time. It's a numbers game, you will learn to limit your use when the AC is on or you will just constantly be resetting Breakers. Just as a side note, my Motorhome has a switch that prevents me from using the water heater and the microwave at the same time, it is one or the other but not both.

[spud1957]

If your AC is tripping it's own breaker then you have an issue with your AC compressor. It's tripping the breaker for a reason. We run our AC, water heater and fridge on 30A all the time with no issues.

If you are using a 30A cord, you should be plugging into a 30A plug at the post.

[MrWizard]

Can you use the 50 amp? Yes
But you are still limited to 30 amps
The main breaker in the tt is 30 Amps
Anything more and you will trip the breaker and/or overheat your shore cord
I suggest you put the water heater on propane and the fridge too
And learn power management

[the_bear_II]

You and she will learn how to control your power useage. She will wait to dry her hair until the toast is done....

It only takes a few trips and a few trips of the breaker until she begins to understand what can and can't be done at the sametime.