50 amp vs 30 amp question

[emm-dee]

Originally Posted by BandJCarm

I have a 30 amp plug on side of garage at home, from last trailer. Got home in new 5'er yesterday and promptly plugged up the 50 amp power cord to the 30 amp plug, via a dogbone. BAM! Circuit breaker to whole garage tripped. I had left 'on' the power to Zone 1 and Zone 2 a/c and they came on automatically........bam. No way 30 amps would hold it. (I promise I turned power off to thermostat, but still it came on when plugged in.....so I guess I didn't).

I am going to save nickels and get the 30 amp plug converted to 50 amp with appropriate breakers.

Thanks to advice I got from this forum I found it a very easy process to install a 50 amp service. I actually installed one of those campground type boxes which has the 50 amp, 30 amp and 20 amp outlets. If your garage is open enough to allow access to run the wires (you'll need a total of four for the 50 amp) then putting it in will be easy. If not comfortable working with the main circuit panel just run the wires then call an electrician to do the final hookup. The tech should need less than 30 minutes work time if the wires are already in place.

[Modmike]

Originally Posted by BandJCarm

I have a 30 amp plug on side of garage at home, from last trailer. Got home in new 5'er yesterday and promptly plugged up the 50 amp power cord to the 30 amp plug, via a dogbone. BAM! Circuit breaker to whole garage tripped. I had left 'on' the power to Zone 1 and Zone 2 a/c and they came on automatically........bam. No way 30 amps would hold it. (I promise I turned power off to thermostat, but still it came on when plugged in.....so I guess I didn't).

I am going to save nickels and get the 30 amp plug converted to 50 amp with appropriate breakers.

I routinely run both A/C units on 30 amp with my 364. Trick is to make sure water heater is on gas.

[ChrisAndGarren]

Originally Posted by Modmike

I routinely run both A/C units on 30 amp with my 364. Trick is to make sure water heater is on gas.

Very true - although we upgraded both our AC's to 15K (vs 13.5k) so we cannot run both on 30A.

And if you have both AC's on, don't turn on the microwave!!!!

Garren

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by Modmike

I routinely run both A/C units on 30 amp with my 364. Trick is to make sure water heater is on gas.

How many amps do you pull?

Sent from my SCH-R530U using Tapatalk

[Modmike]

To be clear, I have a 15 and 13.5. And no, I don't use the microwave or electric water heater when doing this.

[camaraderie]

Originally Posted by TURBS

Yeah running two a/c units on a 30 amp circuit isn't real wise and its obvious.

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Yup...especially since start up amps every time one kicks back on can be nearly twice as high as running amps.

[Jakieboy]

All the above comments are on the mark. We recently upgraded from a TT with 30 AMP capacity to a fifth wheel with dual AC's. Because we often have family visitors, we have been able to park our RV behind a driveway gate and use it as our "guest house". One of our niece's has an unusual medical condition where she cannot regulate her own body temperature when things get really hot........so.......we decided to upgrade our entire household electrical system to 200 AMPS, and had the contractor install a dedicated 50-AMP outlet so we can plug in our RV and keep everyone comfortable when they visit. It was expensive, but worth every penny when our niece visits, enjoys the cool temps in our RV even when temps in our backyard are into triple digits!!

[ilmor]

Originally Posted by Ned

Just got a ' 14 351. It has 50amp service but not all campgrounds have 50 amp service. I know I can get a 30 amp adapter but what won't I be able to run 'cause of the 20 amp less load capacity? Thanks

Per the Owner's Manual -

Adapters/Reducers Many aftermarket devices are available that connect to the shore cord on your RV, allowing it to be plugged into a lesser power supply. Using an adapter or reducer to connect your RV to a lesser power source than the RV was designed to use requires you to shut off some appliances in the RV in order to keep the demand lower than the power available. PLUGGING YOUR RV INTO A POWER SOURCE LESS THAN IT WAS DESIGNED FOR SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASES THE RISK OF FIRE.
Because of the increased risk of fire or electrical damage, we recommend that you do not use an adapter or reducer to plug your RV into a lesser power source than it was designed for. If you choose to use an adapter or reducer, be aware that many if not all these products are not certified by Underwriters Laboratories™ or any other safety testing firm. It is therefore up to you to ensure that any adapter or reducer you use is properly sized for the electric load and adequately constructed to protect you and your family from the risk of fire or electric shock.

[Jakieboy]

The manufacturers of RV's will do anything they deem necessary to reduce the risk of lawsuits by owners who don't quite follow all the recommendations contained in the official "Owners Manuals". In more than 40 years of RV'ing, we have never experienced or witnessed or heard of a situation where a fire resulted from someone connecting an RV power cord, via an adapter to a shoreline power outlet of reduced rated capacity. We have experienced situations where the campsite power connection tripped its own circuit breaker because we inadvertently left "turned on" electrical appliances that exceeded the campsite's capacity. We are not saying that you should never use a "reduced capacity adapter", but we highly recommend that you take a prudent approach whenever you hook-up to a camp site electrical outlet with lower capacity than the rating for your RV inlet connection. Make sure you have all your high-amperage appliances (AC's, Washer/Dryer/ Water Heater, etc.) turned off before you connect.