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Old 01-29-2016, 02:11 PM   #21
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I've never thought about it, but I would have to say that using the 50A with adapter would likely be a good idea. The 50A plug will have beefier contacts to begin with- add in the fact that it is used less, and you're much less likely to have a contact issue or voltage drop at the receptacle. I've seen MANY 30A plugs that were fried- almost looked to have been on fire numerous times. I think this has a lot to do with heavy use, voltage drops resulting in continuous near max amperage loads, and possibly the fact that older rigs with more worn plugs have used them.
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Old 01-29-2016, 02:14 PM   #22
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I had a bad experience with a CG 30A breaker giving me unwanted trips well under the 30A breaker rating, so I plugged into the 50A with adapter and ceased having trips. I plugged my spare 30A extension into the 30A receptacle and plugged my BBQ grill and it tripped the 30A breaker so it was a bad CG breaker that wouldn't hold 15A.
In my opinion, use the 50A with 30A adapter whenever you can. It beats having to relocate to another site if the 30A is not working properly.
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Old 01-29-2016, 02:17 PM   #23
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Very interesting. Thanks for the tip! I'll have to make sure I have the adapter on board.

Of course this won't matter at any Provincial Parks up here since they don't have 50A service, just 30A and 15A on the post.
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Old 01-29-2016, 02:29 PM   #24
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Originally Posted by Strigflag View Post
I may be missing something here but using 50 amp service means the breaker is a 50amp breaker. A breaker is a safety device to prevent excess current. If there is a short or wiring fault it will draw up to and including 50 amps before the breaker will trip. That means, among other things, your 30 amp cord may burn up and any electrical items that are in trouble may also catch fire..
Why would you risk your safety?
This is factually correct. Your power cord between the campground breaker and your RV breaker is not going to be protected by a 30 amp breaker.

As others have stated, you hope that your RV's 30 amp breaker will trip due to an overload inside the RV. However, if it doesn't (I hate to place blind faith in circuit breakers), then it's possible that your second line of defense (the campground circuit breaker) isn't going to trip till it's overloaded too (which is 50 amp when connected that way).

The chances of this happening are extremely low, but nonetheless are possible. It's a risk you assume whenever you use the adapter.
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Old 01-29-2016, 02:31 PM   #25
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The key word there is GOOD!

True, a 50 amp outlet (through an adapter) won't allow your 30 amp rig to utilize any additional power that a correctly balanced, properly wired 30 amp outlet will... but in the real world, those pristine 30 amp'ers seem to be fewer and farther between.

I'll always take the 50 amp outlet if available.
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Old 01-29-2016, 02:37 PM   #26
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This is factually correct. Your power cord between the campground breaker and your RV breaker is not going to be protected by a 30 amp breaker.

As others have stated, you hope that your RV's 30 amp breaker will trip due to an overload inside the RV. However, if it doesn't (I hate to place blind faith in circuit breakers), then it's possible that your second line of defense (the campground circuit breaker) isn't going to trip till it's overloaded too (which is 50 amp when connected that way).

The chances of this happening are extremely low, but nonetheless are possible. It's a risk you assume whenever you use the adapter.
Keep in mind that the VAST majority of the wiring in your camper is protected by individual breakers. Those SHOULD trip if there is an issue. The 30A breaker on the converter is technically only protecting the wiring between the pedestal and the converter. The bulk of that run is on the outside of the camper. And I THINK that the 50A breaker should trip if there is an overload on either leg. And I THINK that the 10 gauge power cord would probably still trip a 50A breaker, though it would probably heat up considerably before doing so. Maybe an actual electrician could inform us if this is true.
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Old 01-29-2016, 02:37 PM   #27
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Your 30 amp breaker in your camper will trip before all of what you say happens.


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Only if the fault is beyond the in house breaker. If there is a fault between the pedestal and that breaker (that includes the cord, exterior receptacle (if there is one) and the wiring from the receptacle to the in house breaker.
Surge protector may or may not help depending on the design.They are mainly used to protect against spikes in voltage not current although some may trip with overdraw.
In my opinion you are taking an unacceptable risk.
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Old 01-29-2016, 02:41 PM   #28
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Bogus info

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Originally Posted by wmtire View Post
This is correct, that a split phase 120/240 campground service is capable of providing 50 amps PER leg or a 100 amps total.

This is often misunderstood by many. These links may help out:


Electrical Tutorial - Chapter 3 - 30 Amp versus 50 Amp


Click the 50 amp tab on left for this one:
RV Electric

AC Electricity

Here is a good visual:

Clicking the URL for your information...it shows a 30 amp to 50 amp adapter not a 50-30 . You need to read more books lol.
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Old 01-29-2016, 02:58 PM   #29
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Clicking the URL for your information...it shows a 30 amp to 50 amp adapter not a 50-30 . You need to read more books lol.
He posted a link to someones web page which happened to have a photo which because of the way it is labeled is misleading. The info on that page is correct just a misleading caption. No need to get accusatory on your part. Jeez.
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Old 01-29-2016, 03:03 PM   #30
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Clicking the URL for your information...it shows a 30 amp to 50 amp adapter not a 50-30 . You need to read more books lol.
Not really understanding your "bogus" comment. All the links I posted concerned the understanding of 50 amps per leg on a 120/240 volt split phase service. It had nothing to do with any adapter you spoke of.

However, if you are referring to the first link in my post, that does show the kind of adapter you are speaking of, that is just part of that article......which has many different bits of information, including an adapter that lets you plug a 50 amp RV into a 30 amp outlet (as pictured and explained in the article). The adapter pictured goes to the last paragraph of the article, which is correct in how you plug a 50 amp RV to a 30 amp outlet.
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Old 01-29-2016, 03:13 PM   #31
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I found that I cannot get 30A from most CG receptacles because of poor connections at the receptacle... Once the connection overheats it draws even more amps & trips the CG breaker... One connection was so poor my 30A plug overheated & was ruined. Fortunately I carry a spare Camco 30A plug & had it fixed in under 30 minutes...

This summer I will add a separate 30A line to power a 2nd bedroom A/C and a couple dedicated indoor & outdoor plugs for electric skillets or space heaters.
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Old 01-29-2016, 03:32 PM   #32
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I found that I cannot get 30A from most CG receptacles because of poor connections at the receptacle... Once the connection overheats it draws even more amps & trips the CG breaker... One connection was so poor my 30A plug overheated & was ruined. Fortunately I carry a spare Camco 30A plug & had it fixed in under 30 minutes...

This summer I will add a separate 30A line to power a 2nd bedroom A/C and a couple dedicated indoor & outdoor plugs for electric skillets or space heaters.

Exactly what I did to my 30 amp Sabre.



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Old 01-29-2016, 04:10 PM   #33
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There is one way a 50 would be better than a 30. Breakers usually have a duty rating of around 80 percent. So a 30 amp. Breaker typically only can deliver 24 amps sustained(maybe a bit more). Each leg of a 50 should deliver at least 40.

Using a 50 amp plug would make the breaker in the trailer the weak point. Using it the other way around, the campground breaker is usually the weak point.

Good luck!
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Old 01-29-2016, 05:02 PM   #34
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Keep in mind that the VAST majority of the wiring in your camper is protected by individual breakers. Those SHOULD trip if there is an issue. The 30A breaker on the converter is technically only protecting the wiring between the pedestal and the converter. The bulk of that run is on the outside of the camper. And I THINK that the 50A breaker should trip if there is an overload on either leg. And I THINK that the 10 gauge power cord would probably still trip a 50A breaker, though it would probably heat up considerably before doing so. Maybe an actual electrician could inform us if this is true.
There is a lot of confusion here on overcurrent protection, so I'll give you a brief dissertation. A circuit breaker or fuse is designed to open when it is passing more than the rated current. It may trip/blow if it is passing nearly the rated current for a long time or it will trip/blow quickly if it is passing a large amount of current over it's rating. So, if you are drawing around 30A on the RV panel, the main breaker(30A) will likely trip after it has been running for some time. On the other hand, the umbilical cord if short circuited, will cause the 50 A breaker/fuse to trip /blow very quickly since it will be drawing well in excess of the 50A rating of the overcurrent device. (In actuality, the fault current for a direct short is likely several hundred Amps.) This all boils down to if you are not tripping the internal 30A breaker in the TT and you do not have a short circuit in the umbilical cable, then you should not trip the 50A breaker in the panel.
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Old 01-29-2016, 05:11 PM   #35
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When we had our MH, I carried a 50-30 adapter after a hot summer day when the pole breaker kept tripping. Bought one at the campground and no more tripping.
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Old 01-29-2016, 06:44 PM   #36
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So given all this. How would a 30A EMS react if used on a 50A circuit? Would it still protect the RV?
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Old 01-29-2016, 06:47 PM   #37
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So given all this. How would a 30A EMS react if used on a 50A circuit? Would it still protect the RV?

Works just fine.



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Old 01-29-2016, 07:24 PM   #38
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How would a 30A EMS react if used on a 50A circuit?
I have the portable Progressive Industries PT30C which goes after the 50/30A adapter & works fine - even when my 30A TT is drawing around 32A... The outdoor one allows me to see right-away what the pedestal is doing without having to go back inside the TT. However, I will likely install the internal one on my main line & use this portable one when I add the 2nd A/C & electric grill/heater circuit... I like that it has a time delay to protect the A/C compressor...

A while ago I was inspired by Turbs' pics & descriptions of adding the 2nd line...
EDIT - & yes I saw your thread on how you did the mod, so thanks Turbs!
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Old 01-29-2016, 07:26 PM   #39
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I have the portable Progressive Industries PT30C which goes after the 50/30A adapter & works fine - even when my 30A TT is drawing around 32A... The portable PT30C allows me to see how the pedestal is behaving before I plug-in my TT & I have enough windows on that side of the TT that I can see what it is doing. However, I will likely install the internal one on my main line & use this portable one when I add the 2nd A/C & electric grill circuit... I like that it has a time delay to protect the A/C compressor...

Did you see my thread on adding a second a/c to a 30 amp camper.


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Old 01-29-2016, 07:46 PM   #40
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So given all this. How would a 30A EMS react if used on a 50A circuit? Would it still protect the RV?
In a nutshell, yes, you are protected unless you have a bad connection on either end that is overheating. In that case, if the load current is large enough to cause severe heating at the high resistance connection, the pedestal breaker(30A or 50A) will not see this as a short circuit and will not trip. The result could be melting of the connection which would require replacement. If the connection that fails is the power inlet to the RV, this can get expensive to replace. since it will also include a new termination of the cable connector. I suggest all current carrying connections be regularly examined for any discoloration ( copper & bronzae usually turn brown from heat damage) and a good buffing with a wire brush will help. There are some anti corrosive compounds you can coat the connectors with that will help maintain the connection. We use Versa-Seal VS-8B from Hubbel Power Systems, Inc. This stuff works very well on your battery connections, too.
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