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Old 08-12-2013, 03:36 PM   #1
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Which generator plug to use?

I have an older Mitsubishi generator that I plan to use temporarily and was wondering if I should use the 120 3 prong outlet or the 120/240 4 prong outlet? When we built our new house my electrician set me up a bypass box so I could power my house and he fabricated a cable for the 120/240 4 prong outlet. So that makes me think I should use the 120/240 outlet but before I plug in the camper I thought I'd better ask.
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Old 08-12-2013, 03:51 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chunkychuck View Post
I have an older Mitsubishi generator that I plan to use temporarily and was wondering if I should use the 120 3 prong outlet or the 120/240 4 prong outlet? When we built our new house my electrician set me up a bypass box so I could power my house and he fabricated a cable for the 120/240 4 prong outlet. So that makes me think I should use the 120/240 outlet but before I plug in the camper I thought I'd better ask.
They 120/240 four plug won't work if your gennie is neutral bonded, which I'm certain it probably is.
You have 30 amps available on the 240 side but only 15 amps on the 120 side.


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Old 08-12-2013, 04:28 PM   #3
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It sounds to me like someone about ready to burn up their power converter!

This scenario sounds an awful lot like those unhappy folks here who've
plugged their trailer into a dryer or welding receptacle at home and fired
lots of onboard stuff.

I have a genny with a 4 prong plug that's 220v. I can plug it into
my home breaker panel and power my house.
That 4 prong plug is not the same as the "50 amp" plug in an
RV campground.

Or am I wrong??
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Old 08-12-2013, 04:44 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KyDan View Post
It sounds to me like someone about ready to burn up their power converter!

This scenario sounds an awful lot like those unhappy folks here who've
plugged their trailer into a dryer or welding receptacle at home and fired
lots of onboard stuff.

I have a genny with a 4 prong plug that's 220v. I can plug it into
my home breaker panel and power my house.
That 4 prong plug is not the same as the "50 amp" plug in an
RV campground.

Or am I wrong??
It is not the not same plug but the same voltage. A 4 prong 120/240 volt 30 amp twist to 50 amp RV style adapter is required. Turbs is correct just about all portable generators are neutral bonded and they are considered as a service entrance where the two would be bonded. (Ontario electrical code reference)




You can confirm with a Voltmeter if you are comfortable using such or a licensed electrician to confirm the bonded neutral.

Brian
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Old 08-12-2013, 05:21 PM   #5
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The biggest no no I see here is op says the electrician rewired the gen. Don't plug it in you will fry your RV.
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Old 08-12-2013, 05:38 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by Batts-toy View Post
The biggest no no I see here is op says the electrician rewired the gen. Don't plug it in you will fry your RV.
Evidently I wasn't clear with my statement. The gen has not been modified. The electrician fabricated a cable with the house plug on one end and a plug that fit the gen on the other end.
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Old 08-12-2013, 05:41 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KyDan View Post
It sounds to me like someone about ready to burn up their power converter!
That's why I asked before doing.
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Old 08-12-2013, 05:54 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by B and B View Post
It is not the not same plug but the same voltage. A 4 prong 120/240 volt 30 amp twist to 50 amp RV style adapter is required. Turbs is correct just about all portable generators are neutral bonded and they are considered as a service entrance where the two would be bonded. (Ontario electrical code reference)




You can confirm with a Voltmeter if you are comfortable using such or a licensed electrician to confirm the bonded neutral.

Brian
I have a 30 amp rv female to a four prong male adapter that fits the gen. If that won't work I can use my 30 rv female to 15 amp male adapter and just use the 120 plug ins. I was hoping to use the 120/240 hookup to get a little more juice so I could run more things.
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Old 08-12-2013, 06:19 PM   #9
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The gennie will "sense" if its 120 or 240.
So you are able to plug into that outlet BUT you'll only have 15 amps available and that will not run a/c.
You only have 30 amps at 240 volt sorry.


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Old 08-12-2013, 06:22 PM   #10
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With that being said I had a qualified and competent generator expert rewire my gennie and he eliminated that 4 prong 120/240 oulet and put in a 30 amp rv receptical.
It has worked flawlessly for over a year now.

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Old 08-12-2013, 06:33 PM   #11
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Is your RV set up for 30amp or 50amp? Next question how big is the generator? I saw some amp numbers thrown around but didn't see anywhere that the size of genny was posted.
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Old 08-12-2013, 06:33 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by f1100turbo View Post
The gennie will "sense" if its 120 or 240.
So you are able to plug into that outlet BUT you'll only have 15 amps available and that will not run a/c.
You only have 30 amps at 240 volt sorry.


Turbs
Thanks. Am planning to get a new gen. Narrowed down to parallel Honda 2000's or the Yamaha 2400. Done some reading on a Boliy Pro3600SI Digital Inverter Generator. It seems interesting. More features than either the Honda or Yamaha and less money.
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Old 08-12-2013, 06:35 PM   #13
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Is your RV set up for 30amp or 50amp? Next question how big is the generator? I saw some amp numbers thrown around but didn't see anywhere that the size of genny was posted.
50 amp RV set up. Gen is 4000W.
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Old 08-12-2013, 06:45 PM   #14
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50 amp RV set up. Gen is 4000W.
50 amp RV is a 240 volt system. you have (2) 120 Vac legs @ up to 50 amps each (1) Neutral and (1) ground. Using your twistlock plug on your genny would be fine however you will only have about 17 amps on each one of the (2) 120 volt lines. So your A/C's wont work, you want at least 20-25 amps of good power to get an A/C powered up.
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Old 08-12-2013, 06:52 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by f1100turbo View Post
The gennie will "sense" if its 120 or 240.
So you are able to plug into that outlet BUT you'll only have 15 amps available and that will not run a/c.
You only have 30 amps at 240 volt sorry.


Turbs
The genny does not decide weather 120 or 240 is put out. Its what we plug into it. If you plug a twist lock into that plug with only one of the hots tied to it it is 120 if you plug a twistlock into it, with both hots tied to it, its 240.

An assumption was made here as well. Most smaller gennys with a 120/240 plug are 20amp twistlocks not 30amp. His genny is a 4000 watt set max amps is 33.3@ 120 or 16.6@240
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Old 08-12-2013, 06:53 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by Acableguy06 View Post
50 amp RV is a 240 volt system. you have (2) 120 Vac legs @ up to 50 amps each (1) Neutral and (1) ground. Using your twistlock plug on your genny would be fine however you will only have about 17 amps on each one of the (2) 120 volt lines. So your A/C's wont work, you want at least 20-25 amps of good power to get an A/C powered up.
Thanks. Not really planning on using the air right now. We are in MN. My main concern was making sure it was OK to use the 120/240 plug on the gen
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Old 08-12-2013, 06:58 PM   #17
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The genny does not decide weather 120 or 240 is put out. Its what we plug into it. If you plug a twist lock into that plug with only one of the hots tied to it it is 120 if you plug a twistlock into it, with both hots tied to it, its 240.

An assumption was made here as well. Most smaller gennys with a 120/240 plug are 20amp twistlocks not 30amp. His genny is a 4000 watt set max amps is 33.3@ 120 or 16.6@240
It is a 20 amp plug in. I have the Park Power by Marinco 128A RV Generator Adapter 20 Amp Locking (4 prong)
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Old 08-12-2013, 07:03 PM   #18
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It is a 20 amp plug in. I have the Park Power by Marinco 128A RV Generator Adapter 20 Amp Locking (4 prong)
So with that then you ar going to use another adapter to go from your rv plug to that one?
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Old 08-12-2013, 07:09 PM   #19
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So with that then you ar going to use another adapter to go from your rv plug to that one?
Yes, the RV came with an adapter to take the 50 amp plug to a 30 amp plug.
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Old 08-12-2013, 07:09 PM   #20
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It sounds to me like someone about ready to burn up their power converter!

This scenario sounds an awful lot like those unhappy folks here who've
plugged their trailer into a dryer or welding receptacle at home and fired
lots of onboard stuff.

I have a genny with a 4 prong plug that's 220v. I can plug it into
my home breaker panel and power my house.
That 4 prong plug is not the same as the "50 amp" plug in an
RV campground.

Or am I wrong??
The issues you are thinking of is when people plug their 30 amp RV into a dryer or welding receptacle.
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