50amp to 2-30amp adapter

[bob213]

Are these two items the same thing?

Are they safe to use?

We (14 of us) set up a group kitchen and the 20 amp plug on the pedestal between two of the trailers is not enough to run all the electric griddles, frypans etc.
We thought this may give us some extra outlets.

As an alternate can I plug into the 50 amp with a 50 to 30 amp adapter(for the trailer) and then use the 30 amp outlet on the pedestal with a 30 to 15 amp adapter and still use the 20 amp on the pedestal

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[bob213]

Just picked up a Blackstone propane 17" table top griddle at Walmart for $74. About $50 cheaper than Amazon and $25 less than Blackstone site(which is out of stock). That should help some.

[theoldwizard1]

DrewE wrote:
I would not suggest using one of these and then putting on a 30A to 15A adapter and plugging an extension cord into that to operate your various kitchen things. In terms of voltage and so forth it's a fine setup; the concern is that the overcurrent protection would be 50A for your 15A circuit, and it would be pretty easy to overload the 15A extension cord dangerously, ...

Reasonable concern, but the simple solution is to ALWAYS use a power strip with a builtin 15A breaker at each campsite ! Less than $10 each on Amazon.

[bob213]

Thanks everyone. Sounds like adding propane to the mix and reducing some electrical requirements would be my cheapest and safest way to go. I'm sure between all of us we can come up with the propane items to replace some of the electric draw. 14 of us for 10 to 12 days results in a lot of cooking but it adds to the fun.

[wa8yxm]

time2roll wrote:
Safe as long as you have 30 amp RV (x2). If you plug in a 50 amp RV.... the adapter becomes the fuse.

He is talking about plugging in a 30 amp RV and a bunch of ELectric Kitchen Stuff (Fry pan, Burner. Oven, etc).

As I said.. I'd go with a shore 30 amp cord to a distro box (Breaker box) same as inside the 30 amp rig

REASON. More outlets. safer

OR adapt the 30 down to 15, then split the 15 into two branches and put a outlet strip with 15 amp breakers on each branch Use a heavy duty (12ga) But seriously I'd use the breaker box system. Much safer.

[myredracer]

Another option would be to go propane for more cooking capability. We have a single burner similar to the photo. We use it a LOT. Heats things up quickly and does big pots (like for corn for ex.). There are two burner ones as well and many styles and brands. We plug ours into the quick-connect under the TT. I made a dual quick-connect setup so I can run the Weber Q and cooktop at the same time. No need to ever worry about voltage drop and under-performing appliances either. Depending on where you go, 50 amp pedestals can be hard to find.

Technically, the #10 shore power cord itself is not protected downstream from the adapter. You'd definitely not be permitted to do this in building construction. But people use a single 50-30 amp adapter on 30 amp RVs all the time. You simply can't draw more than 30 amps due to the 30 amp breaker in the panel inside an RV. Not sure I'd trust something called a Mighty cord esp. if it happens to be made in Ch*na and doesn't have UL/CSA

[time2roll]

Safe as long as you have 30 amp RV (x2). If you plug in a 50 amp RV.... the adapter becomes the fuse.

[kmb1966]

I use that exact adapter(yellow one) when we are at a park that only has 50 amp service on the pedestal. Since I have 2 shore cords, (one for my 2nd a/c, and one for my standard 30 amp shore cord) I plug my 30 amp shore cord into one of the 30 amp plugs of the adapter (which is protected by the main breaker 30 amp circuit) and I plug the 2nd shore cord(for my 2nd a/c) into the 2nd 30 amp plug on the adapter (using the 30-20 amp adapter). My 2nd shore cord is protected by its own 20 amp circuit breaker. Works GREAT

[wa8yxm]

In general I would say "YEs they are safe to use" because when you plug in a 30 amp RV or two the wires and cords and such are protected by the 30 amp MAIN breaker inside. Oh there is a very very very slight chance of an issue in the cord itself but even a 30 amp cord can haul 100 amps for a short time (way longer than a 50 amp breaker takes to trip) so it's safe

But plugging a 20 amp device into it.. I'd not recommend.

Rather I'd buld a distro box.. Basically a 30 amp short cord. a "Sub" panel breaker box such as in a 30 amp trailer. a 30 amp main and 3 15 amp GFCI breakers and 3 Outlets one on each breaker OR go 20 amp breakers and 15/20 GFCI outlets.

[DrewE]

They are the same basic product, though obviously different brands with various unimportant (for the general operation) differences in appearance and construction. Basically they just split out the two legs of the 50A plug to the two separate sockets, and are generally safe (ideally, in my opinion, there should be a 30A circuit breaker for each of the sockets).

I would not suggest using one of these and then putting on a 30A to 15A adapter and plugging an extension cord into that to operate your various kitchen things. In terms of voltage and so forth it's a fine setup; the concern is that the overcurrent protection would be 50A for your 15A circuit, and it would be pretty easy to overload the 15A extension cord dangerously, particularly with a few cooking appliances operating at once with multi-tap outlets or cords.

Your alternate proposal is a bit better in that regard (though I'd still be careful with the extension cord plugged into the 30 to 15A adapter--a 12 or preferably 10 gauge cord would be best) and should work out okay. Some pedestals are wired such that the 50A breaker acts as a main for the entire pedestal, and the 30A and 20A are slaved off of it, but with a 30A RV you should have no problems with overloading it even if the other outlets are also in use.

Another viable option might be to use the outside outlet(s) on the RVs for some of the cooking equipment.