Using EMS with a heavy duty extension cord instead of OEM 50 amp cord

[LandKKnight]

We switched out our OEM 50 amp cord for a lighter shorter 50 amp cord. But the fact that it is shorter sometimes has meant that it won't reach the plug I want to use. I have a very heavy duty, long extension cord that I would like to be able to use in those situations because that OEM cord is a beast and we don't want to carry it if we don't have to. I want to be able to use my 50 amp Progressive industries EMS when I use this cord so I need an adapter that is a 50 amp male to 15 amp female adapter. (I have an adapter that allows me to plug into the RV with this extension cord, I use it when at home). So to be clear, I want to plug my EMS into the power source, then want to be able to plug my 15 amp (110v) extension cord into it via a 50 amp male to 15 amp female adapter which then plugs into my RV via an adapter that I already have. But I cannot for the life of me find this 50 male to 15 female adapter. I have googled, gone on Amazon, Trailer Life, can't find one. Anyone have any ideas how I can get this done?

[rskeans]

You might have to go from a 50A male adapter to a 30A then to a 15A Camping World has an assortment of adapters.

[SeaDog]

Keep in mind that the cable size supplied to your rig needs to be able to handle the total amperage draw of your rig. 15 amp cable does not sound good.

[cavie]

Originally Posted by rskeans

You might have to go from a 50A male adapter to a 30A then to a 15A Camping World has an assortment of adapters.

X's 2

[MtBiker]

Why not take your stock 50 amp cord and cut it into two pieces. Make the house side so it works for most of the places you need it and then the cut off section could just attach to the house section.
Same cord in two sections. Buy male and female 50 amp plugs and rewire the cut ends.
There's a reason the cord is big, heavy and made for 50 amps. Try not to start a fire. 15 amp cord from a fifty amp breaker is just looking for trouble.

[DouglasReid]

I too find my 50 amp cord a beast. This basket, while designed for a water hose works VERY well, the cord rolls up and is mush more easily transported and stored in our pass through.

https://www.campingworld.com/strombe...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

[tande]

Originally Posted by MtBiker

Why not take your stock 50 amp cord and cut it into two pieces. Make the house side so it works for most of the places you need it and then the cut off section could just attach to the house section.
Same cord in two sections. Buy male and female 50 amp plugs and rewire the cut ends.
There's a reason the cord is big, heavy and made for 50 amps. Try not to start a fire. 15 amp cord from a fifty amp breaker is just looking for trouble.

^^^^^^^^^^^^

[DouglasReid]

Originally Posted by tande

^^^^^^^^^^^^

I agree, if you only need 15 amps, you probably only need a "Pop Up or a ground tent

[Iwritecode]

Originally Posted by rskeans

You might have to go from a 50A male adapter to a 30A then to a 15A Camping World has an assortment of adapters.

Probably the best bet. Something like this:

50 to 30

Then this:

30 to 15

[jimmoore13]

Originally Posted by MtBiker

Why not take your stock 50 amp cord and cut it into two pieces. Make the house side so it works for most of the places you need it and then the cut off section could just attach to the house section.
Same cord in two sections. Buy male and female 50 amp plugs and rewire the cut ends.
There's a reason the cord is big, heavy and made for 50 amps. Try not to start a fire. 15 amp cord from a fifty amp breaker is just looking for trouble.

Great solution.

Your 50 amp cable is heavy because it's #6 gauge wire. Even a super "heavy" conventional extension cord will top out at #10. It's like stepping down a garden hose to a straw. https://www.amazon.com/Conntek-15455...71989755&psc=1

You can step down with TWO adapters: 1) 15 amp to 30 amp; 2) 30 amp to 50 amp. The reason you can't find a 15 amp to 50 amp is because it's electrically a very bad idea to do what you want to do. A 15 amp supply will run a few items. Perhaps the fridge (depending on how big the fridge is), lights, water pump, and perhaps the microwave. It's also enough to power the battery charger in the converter and deliver something like a 30 amp charge at 12 volts. Most of the other stuff won't work, or it will suffer badly from low voltage.

Important: if you are living in the rig while connected to 15 amps of shore power, it's likely that you'll see a significant voltage drop from excessive demand. How? Well, if you're connected to a 30 or 50 amp pedestal and step down to 15 amps with the jury-rigged adapter system, there MAY not be any 15 amp "fuse" or breaker in the circuit to pop when you overdraw the power. Running equipment on low voltage is bad for it.

Why? At low voltage, current goes up. If you don't have a fuse/breaker in the supply to pop, then you can run stuff at 80 to 90 volts (instead of 120) and current goes up commensurately. That's current inside your fridge, micro, and so on. All those systems are wired and designed to operate at 120 volts +/- about 5 to 10%.

Use this calculator and run some numbers: https://www.rapidtables.com/calc/ele...alculator.html
Let's say a 1000 watt microwave at 120 volts = 8.33 amps
Now drop the voltage to 90 = 11.11 amps
That is a 25% increase in amperage. You're pushing your luck.

Not to mention that the overloaded 15 amp extension cord becomes a small electric heater when you're pulling 25% more current through it than it's designed for. Get it hot enough, and the insulation separating the wires inside the jacket will fail and the wires can short out. That's a dead short supplied by 50 amps!

Appliances will tolerate some of this kind of abuse, but not a lot.

If you have a 50 AMP coach, supply it 50 amp service when you can. Heavy cord be damned, use it. If you must step down to a 30 amp connection at the pedestal, so be it, but know that you don't have "enough" to run the entire coach. The good news is that at least the pedestal will be breakered at 30 amps, so if you draw too much, the pedestal breaker will pop. A 15 amp supply adapter should be reserved only for desperate situations, boondocking and charging with a 2 kw generator, and to keep the coach charged when parked (and unoccupied) at home.

Again, I like the idea of cutting you RV cord in half and adding proper connectors in the "middle" to allow you the flexibility of a short cord when possible and a proper long cord when needed.

[itat]

I use this 50A female locking connector to 15A male adapter but I only use it to power well under 15A worth of stuff - the refrigerator and converter. I use it strictly to get the refrigerator cold before we leave for a trip.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's on at a steal of a price (CAD$24.74) if you order it from Amazon.ca right now.

If you properly manage your power usage is not dangerous like some here are suggesting. Don't expect to be able to run a lot on 15A.

[Iwritecode]

Originally Posted by itat

I use this 50A female locking connector to 15A male adapter but I only use it to power well under 15A worth of stuff - the refrigerator and converter. I use it strictly to get the refrigerator cold before we leave for a trip.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's on at a steal of a price (CAD$24.74) if you order it from Amazon.ca right now.

If you properly manage your power usage is not dangerous like some here are suggesting. Don't expect to be able to run a lot on 15A.

That's the opposite of what the OP wants. He wants a 50 male to 15 female adapter to be able to use his 50A EMS.

[Magnatudes]

14-50P PLUG to 5-15R Receptacle Adapter

14-50P to 5-20R Adapter With 20 Amp Breaker

[Arnie M]

Would this work for you?
https://www.amazon.com/Parkworld-886...721013&sr=8-22

[LegacyFB38]

Originally Posted by MtBiker

... Try not to start a fire. 15 amp cord from a fifty amp breaker is just looking for trouble.

2X

[itat]

Originally Posted by Iwritecode

That's the opposite of what the OP wants. He wants a 50 male to 15 female adapter to be able to use his 50A EMS.

Thanks. I obviously missed the part about using a portable 50A EMS at the pedestal. But my point about having to limit your power usage to the capability of the 15A cord is still applicable.

The previous post about making shorter 50A cables with properly sized wire is the best option. I did that myself when I needed a 10’ 50A cord to go between my Hughes Autoformer and my trailer (so I can lock the Autoformer to the trailer).

[LandKKnight]

Thank you all for the answers. I am completely illiterate when it comes to electricity. I have learned a lot from your posts. I had thought that if we use the EMS at the source of the power the rig would be protected. I guess not.

I wanted to figure out a way, also, to use my EMS when plugged into my house while getting ready for a trip without having to unspool "the beast" and use this heavy duty extension cord, and that would be into a regular 110v GFCI outlet. We've been doing this without the EMS since we got the RV and no problems. But I read on here that we should always be hooked up to the EMS. We have a 15 to 50 adapter for the EMS to plug into but since there is no 50 to 15 adapter to do this, we haven't done it. If we stay at someone's house and plug into their regular 110v outlet, but now we are living in the RV, is there any danger to the RV? I understand about not being able to run everything, but honestly, we have turned the AC on while working in the RV at home on a hot day and it worked fine. So I'm thinking 15 to 50 adapter (which I have) to EMS, then 50 to 30 adapter, then 30 to 15 adapter to the extension cord?

[Arnie M]

We have run our RV from a 15amp to a 50amp connection many times but not from 50 to 15.
Keeping in mind of the amps and surge of what we want to operate and keeping it below 15amps what is the issue going from a 50 amp to a 15 amp connection using the correct adapter?
I may be wrong but thinking heat should only generate if you go out of these perimeters. RV will be protected, cord will not.
Has anyone out there had an issue running the RV from 50 amp to 15?
50amp outlets? Is it the same as a 220 outlet?

[itat]

Your EMS doesn’t have any breakers or fuses so it won’t prevent you from trying to draw more current than the extension cord can safely handle. So that’s where you need to be mindful of your power usage. I was able to run a 13500 BTU air conditioner when plugged into a 15 amp house receptacle but I would want to use a heavy duty 10 ga extension cord so it doesn’t get hot. If you try it, I’d switch the refrigerator to propane mode. I recall something about the EMS not liking a GFCI circuit but I’m not positive.

[CedarCreekWoody]

If I understand you have a 50 amp camper and want to power it with a 15 amp circuit at home, and put your portable EMS in the power feed line? If so I have done this (just to monitor the current draw.) Use a 12 guage extension from the outlet to the camper, two dog bones to connect to the EMS, and then a 50 amp dogbone (50 amp female to the 50 amp twist lock on the camper.)
You can then use the EMS to monitor your current draw but you will depend on the individual circuit breakers for protection on each circuit. The EMS does not protect against drawing too much amperage.