30A + 15A to 50A adapter

[GeneFail]

Yeah, I guess then it works like a single 30 to 50 adapter in that the two legs are combined. I'll quit worrying and get on with life, 😋.

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[fonzie]

A normal single 30 to 50 amp adapter is not wired the same as for cheater adapter. On the normal adapter the L1 of the 30 amps feeds the L1 and L2 of the 50 female receptacle (jumper together) but on a cheater box, the L1 of one of the 30 amp plug feeds the L1 on the 50 amp receptacle and the L1 on the other 30 amp plug feeds the L2 on the 50 amp receptacle giving you more amps available to the trailer electrical panel.

[campingwilliamsons]

Originally Posted by ironj

Im still not sure how it works. ..because with just one leg plugged in my trailer will attempt to run BOTH ac if you accidentally turn em on. (Obviously breaker trips) so what is wired to what and how does that work?...I have a progressive panel....still not convinced there IS a benefit to putting 30 to one leg over the other?

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Which breaker trips? I assume it is the main service breaker at the pedestal?

Most of the panels these days will "jump" a single 120 volt leg to run the other leg of the panel when it detects only a single leg of power. Back in the old days people used to do this manually by wiring a breaker that would accomplish the same thing. Of course the downside to auto switching is you will pop the pedestal breaker if you try to "cheat" and pull over 30 amps. The adapters give you power down both legs of the 50 amp plug, with the obvious current/amperage limits.

The other way people used to do this was to wire the second AC with it's own service cable @ 20 amps. They would plug the 30 amp coach service cable into the 30 amp and the second AC into the 20 amp.

Finally, there is one other issue with these adapters. In many parks (especially older ones), the pedestal is only serviced by 30 amp 115 volt service. They put both a 30 amp plug and a 15/20 amp plug in the pedestal as a convenience to the patrons. The problem is the service cable running the pedestal is not rated to have a 50 amp draw. Pulling 45-50 amp through these pedestals has the potential to overheat the pedestal service and cause a fire. I have not seen such a thing reported, but it is certainly possible. I would check with park personnel before you use these adapters just to make sure.

[ironj]

Originally Posted by campingwilliamsons

Which breaker trips? I assume it is the main service breaker at the pedestal?

Most of the panels these days will "jump" a single 120 volt leg to run the other leg of the panel when it detects only a single leg of power. Back in the old days people used to do this manually by wiring a breaker that would accomplish the same thing. Of course the downside to auto switching is you will pop the pedestal breaker if you try to "cheat" and pull over 30 amps. The adapters give you power down both legs of the 50 amp plug, with the obvious current/amperage limits.

The other way people used to do this was to wire the second AC with it's own service cable @ 20 amps. They would plug the 30 amp coach service cable into the 30 amp and the second AC into the 20 amp.

Finally, there is one other issue with these adapters. In many parks (especially older ones), the pedestal is only serviced by 30 amp 115 volt service. They put both a 30 amp plug and a 15/20 amp plug in the pedestal as a convenience to the patrons. The problem is the service cable running the pedestal is not rated to have a 50 amp draw. Pulling 45-50 amp through these pedestals has the potential to overheat the pedestal service and cause a fire. I have not seen such a thing reported, but it is certainly possible. I would check with park personnel before you use these adapters just to make sure.

yes the breaker on my house i mean ....makes sense if the single 30 is jumping both legs why that would happen....i really need to be less lazy and look at the manual and get more intimate with the setup..

i kinda figured it was something along those lines as i could either run the front OR rear ac...initially i thought that since 50amp was split leg, one leg ran some stuff and the other ran other stuff.....but it quickly became apparent that even on 30 i could ATTEMPT to run anything i wanted.....although the main pedestal breaker might disagree...lol

[campingwilliamsons]

Originally Posted by ironj

i kinda figured it was something along those lines as i could either run the front OR rear ac...initially i thought that since 50amp was split leg, one leg ran some stuff and the other ran other stuff.....but it quickly became apparent that even on 30 i could ATTEMPT to run anything i wanted.....although the main pedestal breaker might disagree...lol

I assumed the same thing until I checked out by BIL's trailer. Technology is finally leaking down to the RVs!

[GeneFail]

Great information, guys. Thanks.

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