50 AMP dual 30 AMP Adapter

Ileab · 08-10-2018, 12:34 PM

Hello everyone,

I have a question about using a 50 AMP to dual 30 AMP Adapter/Maximizer. (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1). I know I read about this in a single post some time ago but I can't find it. I've been searching for 3 hours now and finally gave up.

I have a 2016 Cedar Creek Silverback 33IK. I do not have an EMS currently. After reading a number of posts today I want one but it's not in my budget at the moment. My DW and I often stay at Fairgrounds and run into a wide variety of power. The location we are staying at next week only has 30 AMP power receptacles and the temperature is forecasted to be in the high 90's which would require we run both air conditioners.

Would one of the helpful electrically inclined members of these forums please confirm it would work for me to use that adapter to provide 30 AMP's of power separately to each leg of my RV? I seem to remember something from that post (that I can't find) that care needs to be taken to ensure the neutral doesn't have 240V of power running through it. I'm not sure if I'm remembering that correctly. From what I understand 30 AMP outlets don't use GFIC so that won't be an issue. Anything else I should watch for?

Thank you!!

myredracer · 08-10-2018, 01:02 PM

Not a good idea IMHO. Don't have the time to get into it in detail at the moment - just heading out for a weekend trip.

First thing that comes to mind tho., is it CSA/UL listed? Would be stamped on it somewhere if so. Extension cords and adapters aren't required to be CSA/UL listed. Non-listed adapters like that, likely made in Ch*na, could be substandard quality and cause issues esp. if trying to suck blood out of a stone and drawing up to 30 amps on a pair of side by side recepts. in a pedestal. And what if a fellow RV-er pulls in and wants to use the other 30 amp recept?

Ileab · 08-10-2018, 01:19 PM

Thanks for your reply, hope you have a great weekend.

That is a good point, I'll need to verify that it is CSA/UL listed. It does have CSA/UL language in the description but wording could be tricky.

As far as fellow RV-ers we are in total agreement. It would be extremely rude to deny someone an electrical hookup while I use two. I'd say approximately 75% of the time there are free outlets where we stay. My plan would be to wait until everyone arrives and then see if there is a free outlet.

MillMitch · 08-10-2018, 01:25 PM

I had a similar question - are you sure there are 2 30amp plugs in one post? The adapter i thought you were talking about before i clicked teh link has a 30a plug and a 15/20a plug on one side and the 50a on the other. i don't know if that will run 2 ac units though.

IsleDog · 08-10-2018, 01:34 PM

Im sure someone will correct me if i am wrong, but i believe that you are essentially only putting 30 amps to each leg instead of 50. so you would have to watch your power consumption per leg. your 50 amp coach is actually able to draw a total of 100 amps, it has 2 hot legs, 50 amps each.

usually the panel has a 30 and a 20 in it. some people will use another adapter to connect to the 30 and 20 to these adapters. these things always sketch me out. might be a good idea to put a meter on it and see what its really doing. good luck and

Ileab · 08-10-2018, 01:41 PM

I believe you are correct, only 30 amps on each leg instead of 50. We would definitely need to watch power consumption. That said, it would definitely be better than sharing 30 amps across both legs like we normally do.

As far as the panel... we see a lot of different setups at Fairgrounds. Both permanent and temporary. It can be anything from a standard 50/30/15 panel to a panel with four 30 amp receptacles. Sometimes it's a portable square power box with a very thick feed cable and two 30 amp receptacles per side.

Ileab · 08-10-2018, 01:50 PM

@MillMitch

It depends on the fairgrounds. If there aren't than then I would need to run an extension cord to another post/location. I think that might be where I saw a warning about the amount of voltage running across the neutral. But as I said originally, I could be misremembering. Or misinterpreting what I read.

I also have the adapter that you're talking about (the one that doesn't work on GFI circuits) but I've never had the situation where I needed to use it. Fun fact: Most fairgrounds I go to do not have 15/20 amp GFI outlets. Installed before they were required I imagine.

formerFR · 08-10-2018, 01:51 PM

I've used my 30/30 dual dog bone adapter to provide 60amp into the coach from two different 30amp outlets before with fine success.

I've also used just a single 30amp outlet and ran BOTH ac units at the same time, along with our residential fridge, TV and receiver, and several fans, with no issues.

IsleDog · 08-10-2018, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ileab

You are correct, only 30 amps on each leg instead of 50. We would definitely need to watch power consumption. That aid, it would definitely be better than sharing 30 amps across both legs like we normally do.

As far as the panel... we see a lot of different setups at Fairgrounds. Both permanent and temporary. It can be anything from a standard 50/30/15 panel to a panel with four 30 amp receptacles. Sometimes it's a portable square power box with a very thick feed cable and two 30 amp receptacles per side.

Just thinking of how that is wired gives the the shivers!

I would think that if i did a lot of camping like that, and EMS would be the first thing on my list to budget for and buy!

We have all read about someone having an issue plugging into something thinking it was correct and its not. I work in a Data Center and with electricians all day long. we take power (clean power) very seriously. the stories they tell are incredible. seeing a 120v circuit suddenly jump to 480 for a split second and then back to 120. or the guy at the county fair with one of these one a trailer, charging people to hook up. give him attitude? suddenly you get 240V instead of 120v. or in this case, 800 amps of 480 3 phase

llr · 08-10-2018, 02:51 PM

the only issue I see is if both outlets are on the same side of the power feed you could overload the neutral as it is designed for 50 Amps and could have 60 on it, since you would need to be drawing 30Amps on both legs and it is only 10 over worst case I would not worry about it as I doubt you could hit 30Amps on both without really trying.

If you have a 50AMP ems like the progressive it may not like this as you could have 0 volts between the 2 hot leads even though both are 120v to neutral. this is not an issue for most if any campers as they don't have any 220v loads

racer4 · 08-10-2018, 03:10 PM

1st thought: I wonder if the two 30A outlets must have hots on opposite phases and a shared neutral? If so, how do you verify?

2nd thought: Two air conditioners on 30A per leg would probably need to have one A/C only on each 30A leg. For example my FW has both A/Cs on the same 50A (left) side of the circuit breaker box (one 50A breaker). If I used this gizmo, two A/Cs would be sharing 30A.

llr · 08-10-2018, 03:26 PM

I would have thought with 2 ACs they would put them on opposite sides. i guess that is not always the case but it should be and easy change in the panel if not.

since nothing needs 220V in the camper the only issue with them being the same phase is possible common overload as I mentioned above and possible EMS issues.

If you are comfortable with live power you can measure the 50Amp outlet. 220V between the 2 hots seperate phases, 0V between the hots same phase. in bothc ases each hot will be 120V to the common

NealM · 08-10-2018, 03:59 PM

Is there a "Y" connector with 1 female 30 amp end and 2 30 amp male ends, went all over Amazon without success. Thanks.

Ileab · 08-10-2018, 04:03 PM

@racer4 - Fortunately in my rig they put the AC on opposite legs.

--

I do feel comfortable measuring the voltage between the two phases. Here is where my electrical knowledge fails me however. If they are the same phases (measures at 220v hot to hot) on separate legs is that bad/dangerous? Is 0V between them bad/dangerous? Or is it just a case where I'd need to be careful to not go above 50 AMP on the neutral as llr pointed out.

By the way llr, I agree with you, I think I would have to try to use that much power. When I'm in a situation where I need to use the adapter I think we'd turn off an AC unit before using a microwave, hairdryer, etc.

**Bama Rambler** · 08-10-2018, 04:05 PM

Normally in a fairground they'll have a pole set with a bunch of 30 amp rv receptacles on it and a large cable ran from there to a service panel, so the chance of getting a pair of receptacles in thew same phase is pretty good, but that isn't really a problem, because it would be the same as plugging two different RV's in.

So the splitter linked above would be fine. The individual 30 amp branches will have #10 awg wires and they will be tied to a #6 awg wire in the junction. Since the #6 awg is rated for 55 amps and the possibility of loading the neutral with more than that is minimal. There is the possibility of tripping one of the 30 amps breakers and not the other, but that's really not a problem.

formerFR · 08-10-2018, 04:41 PM

a 30/30 dual into 50amp dogbone adapter does a simple job: it allows the two 30amp outlets to provide 30amp to each 'side' of the normally 'split' 50amp Shore power cord, one going into the RED, one going into the BLACK, both coming into your 'split' panel box.

That's 30amp each side, versus the typically 15a per side if you are plugged into a simple 30amp outlet, with the 'normal' 30amp adapter.

many coaches can run two air conditioners even on a single 30amp outlet, so having two 30amp outlets within reach just means you have a LOT more 'room' to play in running all the other things you want at the same time - microwave, water heater, charger, etc. You can still trip a breaker, but it's a lot more 'unlikely'.

Compare that to 100amps of power for your 'typical' 50amp RV Outlet, and you can see how you are improving your odds of having plenty of power for your needs.

There is also a 15/30 to 50amp dogbone adapter, giving you up to 45 amps should you have access to a 30amp outlet AND a 15/20amp residential outlet as well.
We've used ours with great success many times, especially when you have a standard wall outlet available somewhere within reach of an extension cord along with your campground 30amp service, such as a building nearby.

CHICKDOE · 08-10-2018, 05:11 PM

i am not an electrician so do not take this as gospel. i don't see why this would not work. others have said it does. the issue of the phases of the two hot leads has been mentioned. if they are on different phases then just like on a normal 50 amp cable, the neutral will only carry the imbalance between the two hot leads. as this is limited to 30 amps, there is no way to overload the wires in the shore cable as they are designed for 50 amps. if the two hot leads are on the same phase then the neutral must carry the total current back to the pedestal. this could conceivably be 30 amps on each hot lead so the neutral might have to carry 60 amps. in a 50 amp shore power cable it is only designed to carry 50 amps. so there is a risk of overloading the neutral. and there is no circuit breaker, either at pedestal or in the 50 amp rv, that will trip at 50 amps on this lead. so this is a risk. admittedly a small risk as you would have to be drawing in excess of 50 amps on the two hot leads. determining whether the two hot leads that you would plug into are on the same phase or on opposite phases is beyond nearly everybody. personally i would expect all the hot leads in a common 30 amp pedestal to be on the same phase as to have them on different phases means running an extra hot lead to the pedestal, which means more cost and complexity.

formerFR · 08-10-2018, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CHICKDOE

.. personally i would expect all the hot leads in a common 30 amp pedestal to be on the same phase as to have them on different phases means running an extra hot lead to the pedestal, which means more cost and complexity.

not really, because just like the circuits in your home, they are all from one side or the other, and 30amp receptacles for RVs are basically the same, run from either 'side' of the main breaker panel. They are just 'larger' household outlets with a different style of plug.
The main panel may be a 200amp service, which is really 240v, or TWO sides of 200amps of power, thru a Double-pole 200a main breaker. The 'sides' would each have all the 30amp breakers that feed each RV outlet they run to. Maybe 6 on each side, for a total of 12 different feeds to the various 30amp RV outlets, 1/2 on one phase, 1/2 on the other.

jtesta1 · 08-11-2018, 12:50 PM

I have a 30 amp 5er . I run a conntek 14963 power adapter. Plugs into 50 amp pedestal then splits to a 30 amp rv plug and a20 amp household plug. I installed a 20 amp inlet near my 30 amp inlet and ran 4 outlet's inside the trailer. On the super hot days i can run a portable ac to help keep cool.on cold days ( yes i winter camp) i can run two heaters to keep toasty warm. Also run microwave, washer and dryer at same time.

Larry-NC · 08-11-2018, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NealM

Is there a "Y" connector with 1 female 30 amp end and 2 30 amp male ends, went all over Amazon without success. Thanks.

This would be very dangerous if the two 30-amp outlets you plugged into happened to be on opposite phases. There would be a direct 240 volt short circuit across your adapter.
Why on earth would you want to do this? What is your expectation?

Larry

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