50 amp down to 30 amp plug -- still 50 amp?

[ECones]

From the stupid questions department .....

A fellow told us last weekend that when we plug our 30 amp plug into a 50 amp plug through a 50 amp to 30 amp adapter we still get 50 amps. That doesn't seem reasonable somehow, but is that true?

thx ....

[time2roll]

Not true. Not even close.
Although everything still works. Just not all at once on 30 amps.

[accsys]

I believe you are saying that you are plugging your 30 amp RV cable into the pedestal 50 amp jack via the indicated adapter. If that is correct, you will have one leg with 120V and 50 amps available at the RV end of your cord. You will not have 50 amps inside the RV since the RV 30 amp main breaker will limit the amount available inside your RV to 30 amps. That is good since you do not want to draw 50 amps through the small wires in that 30 amp cord!

[Empty_Nest__Soo]

The 50-amp outlet is capable of providing as much as 50 amps. The current is limited by the breaker to protect the wiring from service panel to power pedestal.

If you plug in a 30-amp plug using an adapter, you should be limited to 30 amps by the main breaker in your rig, which is sized to protect the RV wiring, e.g., the shore power cord.

The actual current you draw will be determined by how much stuff you are running, and what it draws in the aggregate, up to 30 amps max.

Wayne

[Old-Biscuit]

What is your MAIN Breaker.............30A
That is it......30A regardless if using a 50A/30A Adapter


Point that out to 'that guy' and please do NOT allow 'that guy' to do any electrical rewire/wiring job for you

[Trackrig]

Simple way to look at it - if you could get 50A thru a 30A plug why would they ever have installed 50A plugs? And, would a 30A plug then really be a 30A plug, or would it be a 50A plug?

Bill

[RoyB]

This is what happens when you plug a 50A (MALE) to 30A (FEMALE) adapter at the camp ground pedestal...



As you can see only one HOT leg of the 50AMP service is being used. Even if you are plugged into a higher amps leg your internal 30A circuit breaker will only allow you to use 30A of current.

Usually the connections are much cleaner on the 50AMP side as they really don't get used as much as the 30A service does...

We use the 50A(M) to 30A(F) adapter all the time in order to get better 120VAC service sometimes...

We have never had any problems using the RV50A(M) to 30A(F) adapters

Roy Ken

[2oldman]

No. Although it may be possible to draw 50a through the wire, your onboard main 30a breaker will see to it that doesn't happen.

If I may read into your question a bit, amps are not "pushed" like voltage, so if the fellow was trying to caution you that you may have too much power for some things, it's not true.

[NinerBikes]

You get 30 amps through 1 leg at 120V. With a 50 amp plug, you get two 120V 50 amp "legs" for a total of 100 amps on two different 50 amp circuits.

Edited, my mistake on understanding he is tying into a 50 amp 2 leg pedestal with a 30 amp cord. He'll have the full 30 amp capacity in his RV /TT.

2oldman below is correct.