electricial 30 to 50 amp connection

[Ziphead2]

I plan on camping at a campground that only has 50 amp spots left. My mini winnie has a 30 amp power cord, Will there be problems if I use a 50 30 amp bone adapter. Do i have to stick with 30 amp? I know there have been other post on this subject but I have no experience with electric/thanks

[pianotuna]

enblethen and Sjm9911,

Thanks for the memory "refresh"!

I always preferred Square D.

[Sjm9911]

enblethen wrote:
I think that was Federal Pacific! Original paperwork said you had to cycle the breakers every six months. Not for sure it was six months, but somewhere around that. Believe it was around the time original company went out of business.

It was definitely federal pacific. And they will not insure your home if they know you have that box in your house. They are known to start fires.

What they said, but i think your site will have the 30 amp hook up also, call to find out.

[Bill_Satellite]

Here's the thing (if it has not already been clearly stated). You have a 30 amp coach and that's a fact that cannot be changed by plugging into a 50 amp plug. The good news is that plugging into a 50 amp plug with the proper 50/30 amp dogleg adapter is not a bad thing. It just does not change the fact that you have a 30 amp coach and you still cannot use more than a total of 30 amps total. 50 amp coaches are able to use 100 amps with 50 amps spread between 2 separate 50 amp legs.

[wa8yxm]

Most 50 amp sites also have 30 amp outlets but on the off chance the one you plan to go to does not take a dogbone with you.

In fact take a dog bone with you even if it DOES have 30 amp outlets

I've seen parks where for one reason or another (IE short blades on the RV's plug) the 30 amp outlet did not work but plugging into a dogbone and that into 50 worked fine. That's why I carry a full set of adapters from just about everything to just about everything Both 30-50 and 50-30 as well as 15 amp adapters.

[enblethen]

I think that was Federal Pacific! Original paperwork said you had to cycle the breakers every six months. Not for sure it was six months, but somewhere around that. Believe it was around the time original company went out of business.

[pianotuna]

enblethen wrote:
The NEC has complete article that pertains to RVs, Article 551.
Breakers are a UL standards and not NEC. Many breakers have tolerance of 10 percent plus or minus of their rated value. Old days, better manufacturers like Square D, were made at a 5 per cent tolerance. Those days are gone!

Things could be worse. Federal Pioneer had a 100 amp main breaker--it would melt before it would trip. Those days are gone, too!

However, I try to limit my consumption to 24 amps on a 30 amp pedestal.

[enblethen]

The NEC has complete article that pertains to RVs, Article 551.
Breakers are a UL standards and not NEC. Many breakers have tolerance of 10 percent plus or minus of their rated value. Old days, better manufacturers like Square D, were made at a 5 per cent tolerance. Those days are gone!

[wolfe10]

Lwiddis wrote:
“Do i have to stick with 30 amp?“

Absolutely don’t try to plug in without a 50 to 30 adapter.

To clarify:

You can either plug your 30 amp shore power cord directly into a 30 amp shore power outlet OR

Using a 50 amp male to 30 amp female adapter into a 50 amp outlet.

[Lwiddis]

“Do i have to stick with 30 amp?“

Absolutely don’t try to plug in without a 50 to 30 adapter.

[time2roll]

dougrainer wrote:

edatlanta wrote:
The adapter works fine as it only uses one of the 50 amp breakers. You are still limited to 30 amp by your rig however. And 30 amp really means 24 amps since all breakers are limited to 80% of their rating for continuous power.

Most of the time you are better off using the 50 amp breaker if you have the adapter since the 50 amp sockets on the power pedestals are usually in better condition than the 30 amp sockets. They are used less. I'm speaking as a camp host.

Have a great day.

NOT TRUE. Are you stating that if your continous amp draw exceeds 24/25 amps the main 30 amp breaker or the individual breakers will trip? EXPLAIN your reasoning and don't attempt to use the NEC code which does not take into account RV type systems. Doug

Usually this comes up when one of the cord connectors sustains heat damage.
I agree 30 amps is fine. Although I also agree for a virtually continuous load it is best to stay a little under the 30 amps.

[dougrainer]

edatlanta wrote:
The adapter works fine as it only uses one of the 50 amp breakers. You are still limited to 30 amp by your rig however. And 30 amp really means 24 amps since all breakers are limited to 80% of their rating for continuous power.

Most of the time you are better off using the 50 amp breaker if you have the adapter since the 50 amp sockets on the power pedestals are usually in better condition than the 30 amp sockets. They are used less. I'm speaking as a camp host.

Have a great day.

NOT TRUE. Are you stating that if your continous amp draw exceeds 24/25 amps the main 30 amp breaker or the individual breakers will trip? EXPLAIN your reasoning and don't attempt to use the NEC code which does not take into account RV type systems. Doug

[vermilye]

I carry a 50 to 30 amp adapter, and on every trip have found at least one site that only had 50 amp receptacles. Usually in commercial RV parks that cater to permanent residents.

I've also sometimes used it when the 30 amp receptacle in a campground is in bad shape or when the 30 amp receptacle is providing low voltage. The heavier wiring for the 50 amp sometimes provides higher voltage in campgrounds with overloaded systems.

[Dave_H_M]

I do like DickB and always use the 50 to 30 for my 30 amp service

[Sjm9911]

I have yet to see a spot that dosen't have both hook ups. Most power polls have a 50, 30 and a 20 amp hook up if they list 50 amp service. I do carry the adaptor just incase. There only like 20 bucks on amazon.