Extrension Cord from 50A to house outlet - ‘18 JF 32BHDS

[lefoster]

Originally Posted by norty1

Yes unless you want the extension cord to act as a breaker? Anytime I use an extension cord, I have a habit of feeling the cord and connectors on each end checking for heat.

It it is to warm to my hand, then it is to small a cord or a bad connection somewhere.

ok, great, thanks for info!

[rkresge]

Originally Posted by lefoster

so, in theory, you want the house breaker to trip before extension cord is overloaded? correct? so extension cord should have higher amp rating than house breaker that governs the outlet you are using???

That's not a bad theory!

Regarding extension cords, unless you have an actual RV 30-amp outlet, your house outlets are almost certainly either 20- or 15-amp. You only need the minimum gauge wire for the level of service at your circuit breaker box. A 15-amp circuit requires minimum 14 gauge wire, while a 20-amp circuit requires a minimum of 12-gauge wire. No need to get cords rated for higher current than the circuit breaker.

OTOH, if you have a 30-amp RV outlet then you should use 10 gauge wire for an extension cord. HOWEVER, when you exceed about 25-30' you start seeing a noticeable voltage drop. In a 30-amp circuit with 10 gauge wire, you're going to lose about 2.2 volts at 30 feet. At 50' you lose 3.6 volts, and you lose 7.2 volts at 100'.

Think about that. Suppose the supply at the pedestal is 110 volts. With a 50' extension cord of 10 gauge wire, you wind up with just over 106 volts at the other end. This can be a problem for starting up air conditioner compressors, for example. If you need a run longer than about 25' it might be worth it to drop the wire gauge down a step, to maybe 8 gauge wire.

Good luck. Hope that's not too much detail!

Roger

[lefoster]

Originally Posted by rkresge

That's not a bad theory!

Regarding extension cords, unless you have an actual RV 30-amp outlet, your house outlets are almost certainly either 20- or 15-amp. You only need the minimum gauge wire for the level of service at your circuit breaker box. A 15-amp circuit requires minimum 14 gauge wire, while a 20-amp circuit requires a minimum of 12-gauge wire. No need to get cords rated for higher current than the circuit breaker.

OTOH, if you have a 30-amp RV outlet then you should use 10 gauge wire for an extension cord. HOWEVER, when you exceed about 25-30' you start seeing a noticeable voltage drop. In a 30-amp circuit with 10 gauge wire, you're going to lose about 2.2 volts at 30 feet. At 50' you lose 3.6 volts, and you lose 7.2 volts at 100'.

Think about that. Suppose the supply at the pedestal is 110 volts. With a 50' extension cord of 10 gauge wire, you wind up with just over 106 volts at the other end. This can be a problem for starting up air conditioner compressors, for example. If you need a run longer than about 25' it might be worth it to drop the wire gauge down a step, to maybe 8 gauge wire.

Good luck. Hope that's not too much detail!

Roger

I am a detail person, so I appreciate all that. thank you!

[bdreinv]

We probably only need a 10g cord any issue with going to an 8?

[rkresge]

Originally Posted by bdreinv

We probably only need a 10g cord any issue with going to an 8?

Technically no. Price and weight are fun factors to consider, though.

Roger

[jmsokol]

I'm Mike Sokol from the No~Shock~Zone and an expert in all things electrical. For this application you need at least a 12-gauge extension cord rated for 20-amps to plug into most any modern home electrical outlet. That's because even if you have a 15-amp outlet on the wall, it's likely fed by a 20-amp circuit breaker. Never use a 16-gauge extension cord for anything like this as it's only rated for a maximum of 13-amperes and it could easily be overloaded and possibly catch on fire. If you have a very long extension cord run, over 50 ft, the idea of getting a heavier 10-gauge extension cord to reduce voltage drop is a good idea. Here's a video I made a few years ago showing what happens when you overload an extension cord beyond its rated amperage:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZznobYGF_c

[jaypkauffman]

I have a subpannel in the garage and had a 50amp outlet installed for this purpose, or if near the main panel can do the same. Well worth the money when doing inside repairs with A/C on a Hot SE Texas day!

At storage lot I use a short 12ga ext cord th charge batteries with a 110V 15Amp to 50 amp adapter. However, should I be concerned with the tightly coiled 50Amp cord on the reel setting up a conduction heating situation. The manual says to extend the cable all the way off the reel.

[jmsokol]

Originally Posted by jaypkauffman

At storage lot I use a short 12ga ext cord th charge batteries with a 110V 15Amp to 50 amp adapter. However, should I be concerned with the tightly coiled 50Amp cord on the reel setting up a conduction heating situation. The manual says to extend the cable all the way off the reel.

While it is a good idea not to run a tightly coiled extension cord with a lot of amperage, it has nothing to do with any magnetic induction or eddy current effects. It's only due to a lack of air circulation allowing the heat to build up. Here's an article I wrote about this topic: Does coiled extension cord heat up in storage bucket? - RV Travel

[ALJO]

With a very small load like a charger it is no problem............don't be tempted the A/C

[2naEagle]

Originally Posted by jmsokol

I'm Mike Sokol from the No~Shock~Zone and an expert in all things electrical.

Good to see you here. Do you have any videos that explain load balancing as related to RV 50 amp? Especially if someone wires one 120 volt leg to both lines of the 50 amp RV receptacle?