15 and 30 AMP "Y" Adapter to 50 AMP

[ecguyer]

How to make it work on a GFI outlet?

[Bill_Satellite]

2 - 30amp plugs work great. Most anything else will not.

[Retired_JSO]

I have a Y adapter which I bought just to use in Georgia State Parks that are not equipped with 50 amp service. Most pedestals in GSP system not 50 amp have an additional 30 amp plug which allows me to get 30 amps on 2 legs, enough to power both heat pumps.

[Bill_Satellite]

ecguyer wrote:
so then the y Adapter is no good because all of the parks have a GFCI on the 20 amp side. is their no way around this?

Current electrical code requires the GFCI in the circuit even if you don't see it in the box. If the campground has old wiring and does not update any part of it I believe they don't have to come up to code until they do.
If there is a GFCI anywhere in any circuit used the Y connectors will trip it immediately and there is no way around that. The last time I was able to use mine was when we were in a park where the 50 was not working properly and I used the 30 amp in my box and ran an extension from the 30 amp in the site next door. I still didn't have 50 amp service but as long as I limited each leg to 20-25 amps I was OK.

[Dusty_R]

If the 50 amp is not on a GFCI then it will work.

[ecguyer]

so then the y Adapter is no good because all of the parks have a GFCI on the 20 amp side. is their no way around this?

[Roger10378]

mkirsch wrote:
Why does a Y adapter trip the park's GFCI circuit?

Later this year I am going to an event where the site is VERY crowded, and all the 30 and 20 amp sockets are certain to be in use. The 50 Amp sockets go largely unused.

I have purchased a 50 Amp to 2x30 Amp Y adapter in anticipation of this, so that I and a neighbor can share a single 50 Amp outlet.

If this isn't going to work I am not going to be happy, as the adapter was not cheap and it's too late to return it.

This direction works great. It is the one that hooks a 50amp trailer to a 30 amp plus a 20 amp GFI that does not work.

A GFI measures the current on the hot and neutral and compares them. If there is the slightest difference it trips. With an adaptor there are two neutrals so there will be a difference and it trips.

[mkirsch]

Why does a Y adapter trip the park's GFCI circuit?

Later this year I am going to an event where the site is VERY crowded, and all the 30 and 20 amp sockets are certain to be in use. The 50 Amp sockets go largely unused.

I have purchased a 50 Amp to 2x30 Amp Y adapter in anticipation of this, so that I and a neighbor can share a single 50 Amp outlet.

If this isn't going to work I am not going to be happy, as the adapter was not cheap and it's too late to return it.

[wa8yxm]

Fishinghat wrote:
The GFI (ground fault interrupter) outlet in your RV is not dependent on the 120 volt power plug adapter's, unless you have disconnected the ground or crossed the wires somehow.

True but not applicable

The question is how to get it to work with the GFCI in the park's outlet box..

These cords will trip the parks GFCI, not yours, if the park's GFCI fails to trip, it is defective.

HOWEVER,,, there are some older parks that do not have GFCIs. works there.

[1492]

Moved from Forum Technical Support

[AllegroD]

Won't work. Will effect the CG GFCI CB, not the RV.

[Dennis_M_M]

Probably only needed on old systems anyway. Only time we have used ours was on in an older campground where the 30 amp was dropping voltage during the day.

[tvman44]

Will not work. 🙂

[Bill_Satellite]

ecguyer wrote:
How to make it work on a GFI outlet?

Sorry, they will not work on a GFI circuit. You are going to need 2 30's or some really old wiring connections where a GFI is not part of the circuit anywhere on that line. We are not talking about the GFI in the coach but rather the circuit you are trying to plug the Y into.

[Fishinghat]

The GFI (ground fault interrupter) outlet in your RV is not dependent on the 120 volt power plug adapter's, unless you have disconnected the ground or crossed the wires somehow.

The adapter should allow 1/2 of your RV to be powered by the 15 amp source and the other half by the 30 amp source. Fifty amp power means the RV has two circuits that can draw 50 amps each, but they are not "combined" since that would give you 240 volts, and that would destroy your RV's electrical system. (That is, unless you have a VERY high end coach with a 240 volt system.)