50A rigs and wire sizing
A post yesterday about a burnt neutral wire got me to wondering... If; A 50A rig has all 120v appliances and loads, A 120v 10A load will measure the same amperage draw on both the hot side and the ...
Forum Discussion
SolidAxleDurango wrote:RVnRobin wrote:
I hadn't thought of the effect of phase. Thanks for the info.
So, is it my imagination or do we really see more burnt neutral wires than hot wires? And, why?
It's not phase... Generally all power you are exposed to (at home, and in the RV) is single phase - 3 wire.
L1 and L2 are simply 180 degrees apart on the waveform.
And many people here just can't wrap around that. It's voltage that's 180 degrees out and that doesn't constitute two phase anything.. In a split phase system, voltage and current ar what is shifted out of phase and it's used in large commercial applications to run large motors under a heavy load.
Also, the reason we see so many burned neutral wires, aside from loose connections, is the wire is undersized at installation. Folks, neutral is a current carrying wire. That is why when you go to a breaker panel for a 50A systen, there are three breakers. All current carrying legs have to be protected. If you disagree, tell me where the current flows from to get to the hot wire when a device runs, it's not through ground. In a 50A circuit, the 120V is referenced to neutral. That means that at any given point in the cycle, the neutral has to carry the same amount of current as the hot leg so it has to be the same size wire. Why do you think that when you buy romex or marine wire for AC, the wires for hot(s) and neutral are the same size? It's not because it's easier to manufacture that way, it's because it's required to handle the current load.
