50A to 60A

[Curtis20]

Hi guys. I bought myself a 2008 eagle 5th wheel. 291RLTS. My wife and I are living in it while we build our home. It hasn’t started yet and we have it parked on my in-laws property by their garage. We have it plugged in to the garage at at 15amp for now. Were in Ontario Canada and winter is about to hit. I found inside the garage a plug for a generator so it can run the Necessities in the house if the power goes out. But me with a 50amp camper saw the plug and I’m wondering if I could use it for 50 amps. I checked the breaker box it’s all 15s and 1 60 breaker. I’m thinking that big plug I’m seeing is a 60amp. Can I use that ? Thank you guys

[Mopar_Earl]

Originally Posted by Curtis20

Hi guys. I bought myself a 2008 eagle 5th wheel. 291RLTS. My wife and I are living in it while we build our home. It hasn’t started yet and we have it parked on my in-laws property by their garage. We have it plugged in to the garage at at 15amp for now. Were in Ontario Canada and winter is about to hit. I found inside the garage a plug for a generator so it can run the Necessities in the house if the power goes out. But me with a 50amp camper saw the plug and I’m wondering if I could use it for 50 amps. I checked the breaker box it’s all 15s and 1 60 breaker. I’m thinking that big plug I’m seeing is a 60amp. Can I use that ? Thank you guys

Is it a 3 prong or 4 prong?


Earl

[Jagiven]

Question; is it a dual pole 60 amp breaker (takes two slots)? Does it have the correct outlet on the wall?

If so, the technically yes. I would strongly recommend replacing the 60 amp breaker with a 50 amp breaker. If it was properly installed no need to change the wire as it will be oversized, which is fully acceptable. This will protect the power feed cable between the outlet and your 5ver's circuit panel.

If it was me, I would verify that in the wall (aka in the breaker panel) you have a minimum of an 8 gauge wire, 6 gauge wire should be in the wall for a 60 amp breaker.

Can you post a picture of the outlet and of the circuit panel the 60 amp breaker is in??

[Curtis20]

Here is some pics. Unfortunately I cannot get any electrician to come out. I have tried 4 different ones and they are full of excuses and won’t come out. They are just to busy.

[Jagiven]

Originally Posted by Curtis20

Here is some pics. Unfortunately I cannot get any electrician to come out. I have tried 4 different ones and they are full of excuses and won’t come out. They are just to busy.

At work it is almost impossible to find an industrial electrician within 300+ miles of one of our plant sites. Our engineers and plants say they are all working on huge Covid projects to ramp up production lines.

Back to your pictures, That is a dual pole breaker, so that is perfect! The twist-lock outlet looks correct. I see three options, do an online search for an adaptor, I bet there is a generator to RV adaptor. Have a cable made with the correct ends, Or you could change out the outlet, and install a traditional RV outlet.

We have a few electricians on the forum, hopefully they can chime in, maybe even know which parts you might need.

Edit:

Is that electrical panel the main feed for the house? Or a subpanel, maybe for a garage? Is there another breaker that is out of sight? Maybe like a 100 amp? Just concerned that is a subpanel, and the 60 amp might be the the main breaker for the subpanel??? If it is a subpanel, go to the main breaker box and see if there is an auto transfer switch for the generator, or a set of breakers for the generator outlet.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by Jagiven

Is that electrical panel the main feed for the house? Or a subpanel, maybe for a garage? Is there another breaker that is out of sight? Maybe like a 100 amp? Just concerned that is a subpanel, and the 60 amp might be the the main breaker for the subpanel??? If it is a subpanel, go to the main breaker box and see if there is an auto transfer switch for the generator, or a set of breakers for the generator outlet.

That looks like a Manual Transfer switch to me. Don't think it will accomplish what he wants to do. That twist lock should not be hot since it is a male.

[Scottenj]

Originally Posted by Curtis20

Here is some pics. Unfortunately I cannot get any electrician to come out. I have tried 4 different ones and they are full of excuses and won’t come out. They are just to busy.

First off, someone said 8 or 6 gauge, for 60 amps it should be 4 gauge wire in the wall.

Secondly, I am surprised to see a generator-feed run directly into the panel like that. If you hook up a generator and forget to shut off the main breaker to the house you would be trying to power the neighborhood. In the US that is a violation of the electrical code, you need a transfer switch.

Of course none of that answers your question.

Yes, make an adapter to go from that twist plug to a female plug for your shore power cord and if you wire it right it should work. ideally you should switch the breakers to 50 amp to protect your shore power cord but you do have 50 amp breakers in your coach so the only time you wouldn’t be properly protected is if you shorted your shore power cord.

[Scottenj]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

That looks like a Manual Transfer switch to me. Don't think it will accomplish what he wants to do. That twist lock should not be hot since it is a male.

What I was thinking is someone who didn’t know what they were doing wired the generator feed directly into the panel. I would put a meter on the twist plug, you are right it shouldn’t be hot but the breakers just look like a pair of 60 amp to me. Of course that’s assuming that is what that plug is wired to.

[klassic]

My vote is don’t do it.

[Cavie]

Originally Posted by Curtis20

Hi guys. I bought myself a 2008 eagle 5th wheel. 291RLTS. My wife and I are living in it while we build our home. It hasn’t started yet and we have it parked on my in-laws property by their garage. We have it plugged in to the garage at at 15amp for now. Were in Ontario Canada and winter is about to hit. I found inside the garage a plug for a generator so it can run the Necessities in the house if the power goes out. But me with a 50amp camper saw the plug and I’m wondering if I could use it for 50 amps. I checked the breaker box it’s all 15s and 1 60 breaker. I’m thinking that big plug I’m seeing is a 60amp. Can I use that ? Thank you guys

If it is 4 prong you can use it but you will need to build your own dog bone to plugin to it. Your 50 RV plug should not fit.

[Curtis20]

Originally Posted by Scottenj

First off, someone said 8 or 6 gauge, for 60 amps it should be 4 gauge wire in the wall.

Secondly, I am surprised to see a generator-feed run directly into the panel like that. If you hook up a generator and forget to shut off the main breaker to the house you would be trying to power the neighborhood. In the US that is a violation of the electrical code, you need a transfer switch.

Of course none of that answers your question.

Yes, make an adapter to go from that twist plug to a female plug for your shore power cord and if you wire it right it should work. ideally you should switch the breakers to 50 amp to protect your shore power cord but you do have 50 amp breakers in your coach so the only time you wouldn’t be properly protected is if you shorted your shore power cord.

In the basement of the house there is a main electric panel and then a 2nd different Panal beside it and a switch to switch over when using the generator if that makes any sense. Ty

[Jagiven]

Sounds like a transfer switch in the basement.

If I was a betting man, that 4 prong outlet is tied to that secondary panel (transfer switch). I have never played with a transfer switch. Hopefully someone like Cavie, can step in and determine if it is still usable.

I bet again a photo of each of those panels would be helpful.

[JohnWedell]

That is a power inlet. It has no voltage on it. A generator will plug into it and power the panel. If there was voltage on it anyone would get a shock if they touched it. The 60 amp breaker probably protects the panel.

[JimD]

Don't even consider doing the wiring yourself. These are lethal voltages and can completely ruin your day.

If you want to plug your rig into a 50 amp RV outlet you will have to install a couple of breakers and run the wires out from the panel to the correct RV 50 amp outlet. There is no shortcut for this.

Don't consider using a residential 240 volt line to tap into. This could be for a stove, dryer, AC condenser, air compressor, welder, etc. A true 240 volt residential setup with a 3 prong outlet will run two hot legs plus a safety ground to the outlet. This is NOT what you want!

You need a four wire setup which includes the very important neutral wire. Your RV basically requires 2 separate 120 volt lines coming in which is what the 2 hot legs plus neutral gives you.

I have seen posts of people feeding 240 volt to their rig. The result was instant destruction of their power converter, microwave, and TVs. This is because they fed 240 volts into the rig but everything inside the rig is only 120 volt. These items blew because they have a constant 120 volt connection that will self destruct if hit with twice the normal voltage. Other items like air conditioners, electric water heaters, and anything else plugged into an outlet will be OK UNTIL you turn them on.

Just a warning in case you proceed. A quick option might be to run 2 separate extension cords to the rig with each being plugged into a different house outlet that is on a separate circuit breaker. One cord could feed your standard shore power and the other cord could run your space heater. With 2 cords on different breakers you could squeak by until a proper outlet is installed.

You may even want to consider a 30 amp outlet which would be much easier to run and less expensive. Then just use a 50 to 30 amp adapter. You just would have to be aware of how much power you need to pull at one time.

[Curtis20]

Originally Posted by JimD

Don't even consider doing the wiring yourself. These are lethal voltages and can completely ruin your day.

If you want to plug your rig into a 50 amp RV outlet you will have to install a couple of breakers and run the wires out from the panel to the correct RV 50 amp outlet. There is no shortcut for this.

Don't consider using a residential 240 volt line to tap into. This could be for a stove, dryer, AC condenser, air compressor, welder, etc. A true 240 volt residential setup with a 3 prong outlet will run two hot legs plus a safety ground to the outlet. This is NOT what you want!

You need a four wire setup which includes the very important neutral wire. Your RV basically requires 2 separate 120 volt lines coming in which is what the 2 hot legs plus neutral gives you.

I have seen posts of people feeding 240 volt to their rig. The result was instant destruction of their power converter, microwave, and TVs. This is because they fed 240 volts into the rig but everything inside the rig is only 120 volt. These items blew because they have a constant 120 volt connection that will self destruct if hit with twice the normal voltage. Other items like air conditioners, electric water heaters, and anything else plugged into an outlet will be OK UNTIL you turn them on.

Just a warning in case you proceed. A quick option might be to run 2 separate extension cords to the rig with each being plugged into a different house outlet that is on a separate circuit breaker. One cord could feed your standard shore power and the other cord could run your space heater. With 2 cords on different breakers you could squeak by until a proper outlet is installed.

You may even want to consider a 30 amp outlet which would be much easier to run and less expensive. Then just use a 50 to 30 amp adapter. You just would have to be aware of how much power you need to pull at one time.

Thank you Jim. Everything you said makes sense. I will find a different outlet in the garage on a separate breaker and use it for my heat fan. I tried all summer to get a electrician to come install a 30 amp. Absolutely nobody will come except 1 guy quoted me about 800 bucks...thx everyone

[PaulB12]

It's not really that hard, just a ton of caution dealing with electricity!
You tube is your friend, if I were near you I'd give you a hand, I've done several.

PaulB12

[klassic]

Originally Posted by Curtis20

Thank you Jim. Everything you said makes sense. I will find a different outlet in the garage on a separate breaker and use it for my heat fan. I tried all summer to get a electrician to come install a 30 amp. Absolutely nobody will come except 1 guy quoted me about 800 bucks...thx everyone

Wow. I’m 45 mins past Toronto and I would drive there and supply the wire for $800.