30amp plug into 50amp at campground

[VKC]

Originally Posted by JaycoBP

I have 2021 greyhawk 31f. Looking into a popular campground to visit and all their sites are 50 amp. Greyhawk is 30amp. The person at the park says you just need an 30 to 50 amp adapter. Anyone run into this without any issues? Don't want to burn the thing up

50 to 30 service is no problem. The adapter just drops one leg.

[billcf7]

Originally Posted by Learjet

A 30 amp cord short will still trip the 50 amp breaker. The 30 amp RV main will protect the 30 amp cord from overloads inside the RV.

No different than a light weight cord being plugged into a 20 amp breaker in your home.

Extremely low risk, especially if you take care of your equipment IMHO

Bigger risk from worn out 30 amp park receptacles overheating and melting your plug and causing power surges. IMHO

You can take care of your equipment all you want but if there’s a short in your wiring inside your rv before your breaker there will be 50 amps at that short before the pedestal trips not 30 amps

[billcf7]

Originally Posted by koko

The reason the surge protector is so good is that we've been at some pretty bad campgrounds and were even afraid to plug into their power. As someone else said, peace of mind.

30 amp surge protector will not work plugged into 50 amp pedestal

[billcf7]

Originally Posted by VKC

50 to 30 service is no problem. The adapter just drops one leg.

Still 50 amps

[Hollander Mutthaulers]

You can use a 50A-30A adapter. We do if the 30A is burned, cracked.
As others have also mentioned, always check the pedestal with a good tester before you plug in. Make sure it works - not too hard to find reverse polarity in an RV park.

First thing we do when we park in a site is turn on the pedestal and check it. If it's good turn it off, hook up, and turn it back on. If it's bad, don't try to use it or put up with it. Go to the office and ask for a different site.

We found a seemingly nice camp in Green River, Utah that had the first three pedestals we tried wired wrong. Office lady wasn't too happy but just up the road the nice KOA guy was and he had a wonderful site with working electric.

[Bayoutalker]

Originally Posted by billcf7

You can take care of your equipment all you want but if there’s a short in your wiring inside your rv before your breaker there will be 50 amps at that short before the pedestal trips not 30 amps

.

Just because each leg is capable of 50amp it is not being forced to the unit. The load must demand it. A short will easily override that and trip the breaker on the pole. In normal operation the full load of the rv should not exceed 30amp.

[garywilson]

Originally Posted by billcf7

Still 50 amps

-----------
Your RV has a 30 amp breaker.

My house has a 150 amp box...I'll betcha the power wire off the pole has a lot more than 150 amps in it.
My 20 amp breakers are getting hit with 150 amps.

Should I worry?

LOL

[Mad5581]

Wow amazing how 1 person feels the need to scare people when his facts are wrong.. yes it is fine and done all the time to plug a 30 amp rv into a 50 amp pedestal. The adapter you purchase cuts 1 leg of the 50 amps. To explain that the simplest way is a a 50 amp outlet had 2 legs. So with the adapter you are only using 1 leg of it. And yes you absolutely can use a 30 amp surge protector with a 50 amp plug. You plug you adapter into the pedestal then your rv into the surge protector. You will see of it has a display 120+ normally about 124 or so volts. Your surge protector protects against voltage fluctuation. Volts will kill stuff not amps. On you surge protector it will show L1 and L2 one of them will have 120 ish volts the other will have 0. It's actually more dangerous to plug a 50amp rv into a 30amp plug. It's more common you will over load the circuit and if you do that and the baker dosent trip like it should then you get a fire. Most people don't under stand that rvs are all 120 volt for the Shore lower not 240volt. So depending on how the big 50 amp plug is wired it's 50 amps at 240 volt (this is bad. Rv electrical is fried) or it's 50 amps at 120 votes 2 separate legs in 1 plug. This is why you don't plug your rv into a dryer outlet it's bad news. So my point is you can't get more amps out of an outlet then your rv can consume. So your rv is a 30 amp setup you can't pull 40 amps to it it will trip your internal braker. So plugged in to a 50 amp outlet (as long as it 120 volt) your rv is only capable of pulling 30ish amps. Your surge protector will also limit any overload potential. So no fear... again assuming your equipment is in proper working order and your cord is not crashed or damaged.

[RPR]

This is non technical but as a old farmer once said. The electricity coming to the barn is like a bank. You draw out what you need. It’s like a bank, if you draw out too much the breaker like the bank cuts you off.

[rdvoeller]

Well said and simple enough to be able to remember the overall scope of things.

[bucko]

A simple google search will tell us that even though a electrical power source can provide 50 AMP's, it does not mean that you will see 50 amps; a device would have to draw that amount. And as stated in above posts, our RV's have 30 amp breakers, so only 30 amp's of a 50 amp supply would ever be provided before the breaker trips, if a device (or short) tries to draw over 30 amps.

Now, if you remove, bypass, or install a breaker or fuse that's rated higher for the wiring or circuit was intended for, you are toast (or your RV would be).

[Bayoutalker]

Originally Posted by bucko

A simple google search will tell us that even though a electrical power source can provide 50 AMP's, it does not mean that you will see 50 amps; a device would have to draw that amount. And as stated in above posts, our RV's have 30 amp breakers, so only 30 amp's of a 50 amp supply would ever be provided before the breaker trips, if a device (or short) tries to draw over 30 amps.

Now, if you remove, bypass, or install a breaker or fuse that's rated higher for the wiring or circuit was intended for, you are toast (or your RV would be).

That is unless the short is between the power post and the breaker which is unlikely but could occur with a damaged main cable. In that case the 50 amp breaker at the pole will trip. Still not more than 30 amps inside the unit.

[billcf7]

Originally Posted by Mad5581

Wow amazing how 1 person feels the need to scare people when his facts are wrong.. yes it is fine and done all the time to plug a 30 amp rv into a 50 amp pedestal. The adapter you purchase cuts 1 leg of the 50 amps. To explain that the simplest way is a a 50 amp outlet had 2 legs. So with the adapter you are only using 1 leg of it. And yes you absolutely can use a 30 amp surge protector with a 50 amp plug. You plug you adapter into the pedestal then your rv into the surge protector. You will see of it has a display 120+ normally about 124 or so volts. Your surge protector protects against voltage fluctuation. Volts will kill stuff not amps. On you surge protector it will show L1 and L2 one of them will have 120 ish volts the other will have 0. It's actually more dangerous to plug a 50amp rv into a 30amp plug. It's more common you will over load the circuit and if you do that and the baker dosent trip like it should then you get a fire. Most people don't under stand that rvs are all 120 volt for the Shore lower not 240volt. So depending on how the big 50 amp plug is wired it's 50 amps at 240 volt (this is bad. Rv electrical is fried) or it's 50 amps at 120 votes 2 separate legs in 1 plug. This is why you don't plug your rv into a dryer outlet it's bad news. So my point is you can't get more amps out of an outlet then your rv can consume. So your rv is a 30 amp setup you can't pull 40 amps to it it will trip your internal braker. So plugged in to a 50 amp outlet (as long as it 120 volt) your rv is only capable of pulling 30ish amps. Your surge protector will also limit any overload potential. So no fear... again assuming your equipment is in proper working order and your cord is not crashed or damaged.

A 30 amp surge protector only has 1 leg not 2 and if you have a short in your power cord you will have more than 30 amps

[billcf7]

Originally Posted by Bayoutalker

That is unless the short is between the power post and the breaker which is unlikely but could occur with a damaged main cable. In that case the 50 amp breaker at the pole will trip. Still not more than 30 amps inside the unit.

Your power cord doesnt stop at the wall of your rv. In some cases it runs almost the entire length. If for instance you had a loose connection at your 30 amp breaker, the 10 gauge wire from the panel inside your rv all the way to the pedestal would see 50 amps before breaker would trip at pedestal. All I'm saying is a 30 amp rv isnt protected by a 50 amp pedestal breaker

[Mad5581]

Originally Posted by billcf7

A 30 amp surge protector only has 1 leg not 2 and if you have a short in your power cord you will have more than 30 amps

Yes your right but it's only getting power from one leg of the circuit anyway. Also if you have an issue between the wall and the converter your gonna have problems hooked to a 50 or 30 amp outlet. Again the adapter at the pedestal is only going to feed 1 leg if you use a 50 to 30 adapter. So technically your not feeding 50 amps to your rv your feeding 30 or less. 1 leg is cut off by the adapter. So issue inside the rv are issues either way plugged in to a 50 or a 30 amp outlet. Because with the adapter you can check the voltage and amperage at the converter it will be 30ish amps and 120 ish volts

[EJH]

Please for the love of god stop the nonsense here. I am an electrical engineer with decades of experience. There is NO issue using a 30A plug into a 50A plug. Period, done, do not pass go do not collect $200. Please end this thread.

It is the same principle as using a lamp with a 10W LED bulb plugged into a 110V home outlet. That 110V outlet can source 15A, but the LED lamp will only draw ~0.1A. Current is not 'pushed' out of an outlet. Only what is needed is consumed. In the event of a short circuit, multiple layers of breakers/fuses/relays will trip almost instantly preventing damage. Still, protect your electronics and use a surge protector (this is more for a voltage spike).

[hamerjk]

Yes have used a 50 amp to 30 amp dog bone a few times. Also use a 30amp EMS surge protector. This will also help save all your electronics inside your rig. A lot cheaper than having to replace your tv, refrigerator, microwave, and everything else. Happy camping...

[Riich]

Originally Posted by billcf7

30 amp surge protector will not work plugged into 50 amp pedestal

It's stated above buried in a thread or two, but to make it simple:

Plug the 50-30 adapter in first. Then the 30 amp surge protector into the adapter.

[billcf7]

Originally Posted by EJH

Please for the love of god stop the nonsense here. I am an electrical engineer with decades of experience. There is NO issue using a 30A plug into a 50A plug. Period, done, do not pass go do not collect $200. Please end this thread.

It is the same principle as using a lamp with a 10W LED bulb plugged into a 110V home outlet. That 110V outlet can source 15A, but the LED lamp will only draw ~0.1A. Current is not 'pushed' out of an outlet. Only what is needed is consumed. In the event of a short circuit, multiple layers of breakers/fuses/relays will trip almost instantly preventing damage. Still, protect your electronics and use a surge protector (this is more for a voltage spike).

Just because you have a ring doesn’t mean your right. Different situation. You don’t change out a 15 amp fuse or breaker with a 20 or 30 amp in your rv right. The breaker is to protect the wire Same thing. Case closed

[billcf7]

I have found the link that was sent to me by Tom Morton last year when I asked the same question on one of his YouTube videos . It also breaks the electrical code he said
https://www.mortonsonthemove.com/can...-50-amp-power/