PSA: 20A+30Aa|50A dogbone issues...

[cadman_ks]

I think that it's well known that you CANNOT use a 20+30|50 dogbone one one pedestal, IF the 20A side has the proper GFCI recep, so this is NOT about that.

I bought one of these with our last unit BEFORE I knew about the GFCI limitation in hopes that I could run two A/C's in our Montana, so I've had it for a while.

Fast forward to today... Last weekend when I put the Jayco away, I used that adapter, because I had it laying around as an extra, and that meant that I didn't have to constantly get the other one that I have out of the 5er. I had used it several times with the Montana, only on the 20A side, and never had any issues, so I figured it would work with the Jayco. What I didn't know, is that the 20A side of that ONLY powers ONE side of the breaker panel, and NOT both sides.

Guess what? In our Jayco (your's may be different), our converter AND our fridge are on the SAME side of the panel. That meant that after about 24 hours, we had two COMPLETELY dead batteries and a heating up residential fridge, and now 6 days later, we have a fridge that is 87deg inside, and everything in it is ruined. <sigh>

So, the moral of the story is this: If you use one of these, you had better know which side the 20A is powering, and which side the 30A is powering, and plan accordingly.

BUT, if you have a 50A to 20A dogbone, it will power BOTH sides of your breaker box, and you won't have any issues.

I have one of those 20A+30A|50A dogbones if anyone is interested in paying the shipping to get it to them. At the end of the day, I will NEVER recommend that someone get one of these. They are just about totally worthless...

YMMV...

[JFlightRisk]

Thank you for that information. We only carry a 50 to 30 dog bone and a 30 to 15 to use with the EMS at home to keep the battery charged.

[Yooper906]

Originally Posted by cadman_ks

I have one of those 20A+30A|50A dogbones if anyone is interested in paying the shipping to get it to them. At the end of the day, I will NEVER recommend that someone get one of these. They are just about totally worthless...

YMMV...

I appreciate the info. Thanks for posting.

[craigav]

Sorry that you lost the food in your fridge. In an effort to not sound condescending, the purpose of the adapter you have is just that, supply half the RV with the 30a and the other half with the 20a. If only one side (30 or 20) is plugged in and connected then you are only supplying one half of the 50a circuit (one half of the breaker panel) with the adapter you described. That style adapter is not intended for the same purpose, nor is it wired the same as a 20a to 50a dog bone adapter which is wired to provide power to both sides of the 50a circuit (although more limited in ampacity).

[cadman_ks]

Originally Posted by JFlightRisk

Thank you for that information. We only carry a 50 to 30 dog bone and a 30 to 15 to use with the EMS at home to keep the battery charged.

Glad you found it useful!

I'm guessing in this case, you DO have both legs of your breaker panel hot if you're using BOTH adapters in series...

[cadman_ks]

Originally Posted by craigav

Sorry that you lost the food in your fridge. In an effort to not sound condescending, the purpose of the adapter you have is just that, supply half the RV with the 30a and the other half with the 20a. If only one side (30 or 20) is plugged in and connected then you are only supplying one half of the 50a circuit (one half of the breaker panel) with the adapter you described. That style adapter is not intended for the same purpose, nor is it wired the same as a 20a to 50a dog bone adapter which is wired to provide power to both sides of the 50a circuit (although more limited in ampacity).

I get that now, and in theory, I understand that before. BUT where I got lulled into a sense of it works, is that this adapter DID work on my Montana, because the fridge just happened to be on the 20A leg.

In the end I posted this to make sure others TOTALLY understand how these (worthless) adapters work. I still stand by the statement that I would never personally recommend thia setup to anyone. Get dedicated dog bones...

[cadman_ks]

Originally Posted by Yooper906

I appreciate the info. Thanks for posting.

You're welcome! This is the second time that we have had to throw away everything in our res fridge. The first time was my fault for NOT plugging it in, DUH, and now this adapter bit me I the butt, but still ultimately my fault...

[norty1]

I have one that is a double 30 to 50a and have used it many times in parks with 2-30a supplies in one pedestal. They are few and far between but they work with the correct inputs.

I tried using a adapter to use the 20a but it never works because of the GFCI.

It has saved several stays where I would have had to make do with 30a in my 50a rig.

[cadman_ks]

Originally Posted by norty1

I have one that is a double 30 to 50a and have used it many times in parks with 2-30a supplies in one pedestal. They are few and far between but they work with the correct inputs.

I tried using a adapter to use the 20a but it never works because of the GFCI.

It has saved several stays where I would have had to make do with 30a in my 50a rig.

I just have a 30 to 50 adapter that I use, and then gut it out being on 30A, which is bit ideal for sure. At the house, when in storage, I only need a 20A circuit to charge the batteries and run the fridge...

[kirkelli]

my 30 Amp Camco doggone powers both sides of the panel when pluged into 30Amp service. I just can't run both AC's while on 30AMP service else one of the AC breakers eventfully trips. i've heard that some of the CE (Chinese knock off brands) do what you complain about. Are pluging into a 20Amp service at the pedestal? Is that because they dont have a 30A or 50A option? If you have 30A available at the pet, then get a good Cameo doggone, you won't have any issues.. Better yeet, 50 amp if you can

[cadman_ks]

Originally Posted by kirkelli

my 30 Amp Camco doggone powers both sides of the panel when pluged into 30Amp service. I just can't run both AC's while on 30AMP service else one of the AC breakers eventfully trips. i've heard that some of the CE (Chinese knock off brands) do what you complain about. Are pluging into a 20Amp service at the pedestal? Is that because they dont have a 30A or 50A option? If you have 30A available at the pet, then get a good Cameo doggone, you won't have any issues.. Better yeet, 50 amp if you can

In this case, I don't think that it's a brand specific issue. It's the way that the 20A+30A to 50A adapters work. The 20A powers one leg, and the 30A powers the other leg. But, if your fridge is on the OPPOSITE leg of the 20A, and that's what you plug in, your fridge doesn't run...

[cadman_ks]

Just to make sure that everyone knows what I'm talking about, I decided to add a pic of the dogbone that I'm talking so there's no confusion.

I only had the 20A side of this thing plugged in...

[kirkelli]

Originally Posted by cadman_ks

Just to make sure that everyone knows what I'm talking about, I decided to add a pic of the dogbone that I'm talking so there's no confusion.

I only had the 20A side of this thing plugged in...

I would stick with one 30 amp dogbone. I think your issue has to do with the 20amp side of your adapter which will limit to one side of your 50amp panel. Get a Camco 30 amp adapter and you won’t have the problem your having. If you have have the need to plug into a 20 amp service, then only one side of your panel will light up. Personally, I’ve never used a 20 amp service, although most RV parks have that option. use 30 0r 50 amp whenever possible and always use the highest option when available.

[cadman_ks]

Originally Posted by kirkelli

I would stick with one 30 amp dogbone. I think your issue has to do with the 20amp side of your adapter which will limit to one side of your 50amp panel. Get a Camco 30 amp adapter and you won’t have the problem your having. If you have have the need to plug into a 20 amp service, then only one side of your panel will light up. Personally, I’ve never used a 20 amp service, although most RV parks have that option. use 30 0r 50 amp whenever possible and always use the highest option when available.

I personally have never been to a campground that has just 20A either.

One thing that I didn't make totally clear in my OP was that when I put the unit away, that was at our house. This is the reason that I need to use a 20A plug.

At home, I only need a 20A circuit, because all I'm running is my res fridge and the converter, so it doesn't take a lot of power.

Sorry for the confusion...

[kirkelli]

Originally Posted by cadman_ks

I personally have never been to a campground that has just 20A either.

One thing that I didn't make totally clear in my OP was that when I put the unit away, that was at our house. This is the reason that I need to use a 20A plug.

At home, I only need a 20A circuit, because all I'm running is my res fridge and the converter, so it doesn't take a lot of power.

Sorry for the confusion...

When i was running a 2000W Renegy inverter for 20A service, i took a NEMA 50 connector and wired it to work on 20 Amp service. To do this, you have to pllace a jumper across the two hot legs on your NEMA connector, without the jumper, only one side of the panel will be energized. Below is some pictures explaining. you won't be able to run much in this fashion, but it will power both sides of your 50A panel.

[cadman_ks]

Originally Posted by kirkelli

When i was running a 2000W Renegy inverter for 20A service, i took a NEMA 50 connector and wired it to work on 20 Amp service. To do this, you have to pllace a jumper across the two hot legs on your NEMA connector, without the jumper, only one side of the panel will be energized. Below is some pictures explaining. you won't be able to run much in this fashion, but it will power both sides of your 50A panel.

I actually have a NEMA 14-50 recep on order, and when it comes in, I'm going to write it in the config that you Skype here. Then, I just plug my 14-50 plug into the wall, and I don't even need a dogbone. Not sure why I didn't think of that before all of this happened!!!

[Rmgrose]

I thought I could make one these style dogbone ones to work also, it doesn’t and is sitting in my rv since new. I think the main problem it doesn’t work is neutral is only on the one plug when I tested it with an ohm meter. My brother is convinced he can make his own adapter utilizing 2 separate wires and connecting them in the 50 amp female connection as a dogbone. I now just have the 30-50 dogbone and run a heavy duty extension cord from gfci into camper as an extra outlet. I wired my second ac with a plug and switch between toaster oven to ac to washer, etc

[cadman_ks]

Originally Posted by Rmgrose

... My brother is convinced he can make his own adapter utilizing 2 separate wires and connecting them in the 50 amp female connection as a dogbone. ...

I'm pretty sure that it will fail, since they both have to share the same neutral in the 50A side, and that will trip the GFCI...

[Rmgrose]

I told him that and he wants to try it anyway. Didn’t know if anyone else had tried it so I can stop him, thanks

[cadman_ks]

Originally Posted by Rmgrose

I told him that and he wants to try it anyway. Didn’t know if anyone else had tried it so I can stop him, thanks

LOL...

That's the way that I learn too. That's the reason that I bought one, even when someone told me it wouldn't work. I'm like, "why would that be?". Sounds silly. Doesn't work...