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Old 02-17-2015, 08:25 AM   #1
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When you have 50A but the Campground Doesn't

Looking for feedback on what you folks do when you encounter a campground that only offers 30A service but your rig is 50A.

We've hit several SP campgrounds where they only offer 30A & 20A service. So far, this is a non-issue but we're planning an upgrade that will almost surely result in a need for 50A in the rig.

I realize you can use an adapter and you have to adjust your demand load accordingly. If you have two AC units, do you turn one off?
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Old 02-17-2015, 08:31 AM   #2
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I have a Marineco 25 foot cord that hooks up to the 50 amp on the trailer and the 30 amp on the post. I use it 90% of the time because we usually don't need 50 amps and it is MUCH easier to handle than the 50 amp cord. The only time I use 50 amps is when we are at a location for extended periods and when we need two air conditioners, which is not often.
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Old 02-17-2015, 08:41 AM   #3
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I use a 50a to 30a adapter on my 50a cord. I also carry a 25' 10/3 cord to use. It's much easier to handle than the 50a cord, but then you need an adapter to go from the 50a hookup on your unit to the 30a cord. So, regardless of which way you go, you will need to use an adapter.

Yes, you can only run one a/c when connected to a 30a source. Some other uses may be limited also, such as a washer and dryer or running the a/c and attempting to use the microwave at the same time. You will soon learn which appliances you can use simultaneously while connected to 30a.
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Old 02-17-2015, 08:53 AM   #4
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I use a 50 to 30 adapter (dogbone type) when I run into this. I never had a problem running everything I need on 30A. My trailer is wired for 50A and has 2nd AC prep, so some day I might add the 2nd unit, then I'll be in the same boat as you're about to be.

I figure when that happens, I'll just turn the 2nd AC off. It doesn't happen to us that often that we don't have 50A service. DW likes her LOOOOONG showers, so we usually choose places with sewer, and that usually means 50A, but not always...
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Old 02-17-2015, 08:54 AM   #5
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I use a 30 to 50A pigtail and shut the BR AC down, but you can also pop the breaker if the water heater and AC come on together. I just put the water heater on propane if I am running the AC or electric heat.
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Old 02-17-2015, 09:23 AM   #6
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30 amp service will prove 1/3 of the electric that 50 amp service does. To explain, 30 amp service is one 30 amp, 120 volt line. Everything in your rig is run off of this. With 50 amp service you have two 50 amp, 120 volt lines coming into your unit, a total of 100 amps at 120 volts. Your power center will split your rig, half will run on one leg, the other on the other leg. So if you have two A/C you will have power to only one of them, not both. You may not be able to run your AC and your water heater, especially if you want to use a MW or other heat producing appliance.

Sometimes you can get an adapter that will go from 50 amp to a 30 amp plug and also a 20 amp std outlet plug. When you plug both of these in, you will then have power (limited) coming to both sides of your power center. 30 amp on one side, and 20 amp on the other leg. You may or may not be able to run both AC depending on the size of the unit. But you will still have only 1/2 the total power a standard 50 amp service would give you.
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Old 02-17-2015, 09:36 AM   #7
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FYI Here are typical power usage in an RV. This can vary depending on the efficiency and size of the appliance.

AC 13,500 btu 14 amps
AC 15,000 btu 14.5 amps
Dual basement 27,000 btu 18.5 amps
Blow dryer 7.8 - 13 amps
Coffee maker 5.7 - 10 amps
Curling iron 2.6 - 7 amps
6 gallon water heater 12.5 amps
furnace 1/3 hp 10.4 amps
Microwave 9.6 - 17.4 amps
satellite dish and receiver 1.7 - 2.2 amps
toaster 7.0 - 13.0 amps

As you can see it doesn't take long to exceed 30 amps of usage, so, make sure your life style will be supported using a 30 amp service when your unit typically requires a 50 amp service.

Hope this helps, it is a common complaint at campgrounds. Folks will say 30 amp and 50 amp is not all that much less, 40%..when in reality its 67% less power.
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Old 02-17-2015, 09:44 AM   #8
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My wife loves to go snow shoeing so we do some winter dry camping and if you want to run 2 space heaters (so you don't run through all your propane) and the furnace or refrigerator kicks in you can also trip the breaker.
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Old 02-17-2015, 09:44 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wags999 View Post
Sometimes you can get an adapter that will go from 50 amp to a 30 amp plug and also a 20 amp std outlet plug. When you plug both of these in, you will then have power (limited) coming to both sides of your power center. 30 amp on one side, and 20 amp on the other leg. You may or may not be able to run both AC depending on the size of the unit. But you will still have only 1/2 the total power a standard 50 amp service would give you.
These adapters only work when the system is not protected with ground fault breakers. Most newer parks have ground fault protection.
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Old 02-17-2015, 09:53 AM   #10
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There are many different kinds of adapters that allow you plug into the 30 and the 20 amp side at the same time to give you 50 amp service here is a link to one of them
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping...-adapter/67825
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Old 02-17-2015, 09:55 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wags999 View Post
30 amp service will prove 1/3 of the electric that 50 amp service does. To explain, 30 amp service is one 30 amp, 120 volt line. Everything in your rig is run off of this. With 50 amp service you have two 50 amp, 120 volt lines coming into your unit, a total of 100 amps at 120 volts. Your power center will split your rig, half will run on one leg, the other on the other leg. So if you have two A/C you will have power to only one of them, not both. You may not be able to run your AC and your water heater, especially if you want to use a MW or other heat producing appliance.

Sometimes you can get an adapter that will go from 50 amp to a 30 amp plug and also a 20 amp std outlet plug. When you plug both of these in, you will then have power (limited) coming to both sides of your power center. 30 amp on one side, and 20 amp on the other leg. You may or may not be able to run both AC depending on the size of the unit. But you will still have only 1/2 the total power a standard 50 amp service would give you.
What kind of surge protector(s) would be (should be) used for using the 30amp + 20amp outlets? Is it recommended that folks with 50amp service carry both 50amp and 30amp surge protectors?

I'm also guessing (and it's strictly a guess because I don't have a clue) a 50amp surge protector would not work (or work poorly) when used with a 30amp adapter.
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Old 02-17-2015, 10:26 AM   #12
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I have one of these reels. http://www.morryde.com/products/118-...255B%255D%3D12
It has made handing the 50 amp cord easy. Just grab both ends and drag the cord to the reel. Hook one end into and reel and crank (easy). You can hold a paper towel around the cord with your other hand and clean the cord as you crank. The reel is not cheap but well worth it in my opinion.
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Old 02-17-2015, 01:51 PM   #13
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I have a 50a PD Surge Protector. I use it all the time on 30a service when 50a is not available. Just plug the 30-50 adapter into the surge protector.

Also when we only have 30a service we simply turn either of the units off and use the other. Our rig has common ducting so either or both pump cold into the overhead ducts.
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Old 02-17-2015, 03:15 PM   #14
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30 Amp to 50 Amp

Quote:
Originally Posted by wags999 View Post
FYI Here are typical power usage in an RV. This can vary depending on the efficiency and size of the appliance.

AC 13,500 btu 14 amps
AC 15,000 btu 14.5 amps
Dual basement 27,000 btu 18.5 amps
Blow dryer 7.8 - 13 amps
Coffee maker 5.7 - 10 amps
Curling iron 2.6 - 7 amps
6 gallon water heater 12.5 amps
furnace 1/3 hp 10.4 amps
Microwave 9.6 - 17.4 amps
satellite dish and receiver 1.7 - 2.2 amps
toaster 7.0 - 13.0 amps

As you can see it doesn't take long to exceed 30 amps of usage, so, make sure your life style will be supported using a 30 amp service when your unit typically requires a 50 amp service.

Hope this helps, it is a common complaint at campgrounds. Folks will say 30 amp and 50 amp is not all that much less, 40%..when in reality its 67% less power.
So, if you have a 30 amp trailer as I do, can I adapt to 50 amp and use more of the appliances at the same time that you mention above? Yeah, if this is dumb question, remember I am a newbie to all of this.
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Old 02-17-2015, 03:27 PM   #15
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These adapters only work when the system is not protected with ground fault breakers. Most newer parks have ground fault protection.
The adapters should still work, the GFCI just measures a "leak" and shuts the power off before anyone can get a shock.
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Old 02-17-2015, 03:30 PM   #16
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So, if you have a 30 amp trailer as I do, can I adapt to 50 amp and use more of the appliances at the same time that you mention above? Yeah, if this is dumb question, remember I am a newbie to all of this.
NO. in a word. Your system is designed for 30 amp, which means wiring etc is all sized for that MAX. Could you put a 50 amp breaker on a 30 amp plug..yes...BUT you chance a fire because your rigs wiring is sized for 30 amps max.. Again 30 amp units have 1 30 amp line coming into your rig.. a 50 amp unit have 2 50 amp lines coming into the rig, with each running half the trailer. Thats the basic explanation.
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Old 02-17-2015, 03:32 PM   #17
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What kind of surge protector(s) would be (should be) used for using the 30amp + 20amp outlets? Is it recommended that folks with 50amp service carry both 50amp and 30amp surge protectors?

I'm also guessing (and it's strictly a guess because I don't have a clue) a 50amp surge protector would not work (or work poorly) when used with a 30amp adapter.
I'm guessing you would need two surge protectors, one on each line/plug. But the bigger picture is get the electrical you need to power your rig, using smaller is only a good temporary measure, you will not get the full service from your rig by under powering it.
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Old 02-17-2015, 03:36 PM   #18
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There are many different kinds of adapters that allow you plug into the 30 and the 20 amp side at the same time to give you 50 amp service here is a link to one of them
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping...-adapter/67825

This will still only give you 50% of the power your rig typically connects to. This will give you a 30 amp 120 volt line and a 20 amp 120 volt line, when you connect your 50 amp cord, you are getting 2 120 volt 50 amp lines. So with this cord you will have 50 amps total in your rig. With your 50 amp cord plugged into a 50 amp outlet you will have 100 amps at 120 volts or twice the power.

Bottom line, using any adapter will limit your power coming into the rig, and limit what you can use at any one time.
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Old 02-17-2015, 03:43 PM   #19
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The adapters should still work, the GFCI just measures a "leak" and shuts the power off before anyone can get a shock.
Nope read the fine print:

"Will not work with GFI receptacle".
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Old 02-17-2015, 04:05 PM   #20
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Nope read the fine print:

"Will not work with GFI receptacle".
that would be true when using a common neutral and a common leg, as it would constitute an unbalanced system.
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