Community Forums

Mike & Nancy · 07-30-2005, 02:08 PM

Would like to plug into 50 amp service while Coach is parked at my house. I have a 50 amp 220 (red-black-white-green wires) outlet in garage.....can plug be changed to accept 4 prong plug coming out of coach and work without frying Coach electrical system. I have gotten different answers to this question so I need some help

EngineerMike where are you.

Mike

Mike & Nancy · 07-30-2005, 02:08 PM

Would like to plug into 50 amp service while Coach is parked at my house. I have a 50 amp 220 (red-black-white-green wires) outlet in garage.....can plug be changed to accept 4 prong plug coming out of coach and work without frying Coach electrical system. I have gotten different answers to this question so I need some help

EngineerMike where are you.

Mike

TXiceman · 07-30-2005, 02:14 PM

The thing to do is to get an RV 50 amp plug and have it wired in next to your dryer connection. Of course you can not use the dryer and MoHo at the same time.

Ken

Cruzer · 07-31-2005, 10:53 AM

Apparently you have a 4 prong outlet in your garage because you have the four different colored wires. Your 50 amp RV service needs to be a 4 wire split phase system. That means that if you measure with a voltmeter you'll have 240 volts between the red and black, 120 volts between red and white, and 120 volts between the black and white. The white is neutral and the green is ground.

If you have this, you can install a 50 amp RV style receptacle in that location. Note that you also need to have #6 wire gauge (#8 is fine on the green wire though) and a 50 amp breaker. If you only have #10 wire gauge then you're only capable of 30 amps unless you upgrade your wiring.

Do not connect your 50 amp 4 wire split-phase system to a 3 wire non-split-phase system, such as is typically found in a 30 amp dryer connection. You will need that 4th neutral wire to balance out the loads between the two phases.

Mike & Nancy · 08-01-2005, 05:52 AM

Cruzer....

Thanks for the detailed info on 50 Amp service. This is exactly what I was looking for

Mike

Audrey & John · 08-02-2005, 05:44 AM

I guess it's clear, right, that you are not connecting 240V to your RV. You're connecting two 120V lines. A 50 Amp connection is actually two 120V 50 Amp connections.

I have heard of someone wiring in 240V and then burning a bunch of stuff up!!

Audrey

bigfish · 08-02-2005, 05:43 PM

A typical installation for a 50 amp branch circuit is a 3 pole/4-wire grounding 50 amp straight blade receptacle (NEMA 14-50 configuration) fed from a 2 pole 50 amp breaker in your home's load center. Should be able to pick up the receptacle at any Lowes-Home Depot-Menards, etc. outlet. Wire size from load center to receptacle can be #8 awg copper. If distance is over 100' from load center to receptacle, then wire size needs to be larger (#6 awg cu). Green wire is equipment ground (grounding conductor), white wire is the neutral (grounded conductor), red & black are your hot leads.
BT

Ted III · 08-03-2005, 06:07 AM

"Cruzer" is absolutely correct on the wiring. Any other way will definitely fry lots of things that will create many unwanted situations.

With the proper box which "bigfish" suggested it is the better way to hook it up. Personally I would stick with the # 6 wire gauge. Bigger in this case is always better.
Ted

Stretch · 08-08-2005, 12:43 PM

Ground and neutral are the same thing. Go to the load center wher the meter is and pull the cover off. You will find that the green wires (the ground) qnd the white wires (neutral) are wired to the ground buss bar. Does anybod disagree?

bigfish · 08-08-2005, 05:09 PM

Bigfish disagrees, Gnd & neutral are not the same thing! Typical home load center will have a neutral bus bar with the white wires connected to it, there should be a separate equipment ground bar where all the bare gnd's are attached. The neutral bus bar & the equipment gnd bar are then bonded, generally by a #6 awg or # 4 awg cu bare solid wire. The neutral bus bar is then grounded via #6 or # 4 cu solid wire (size depends on load center size 100A or 200A) to a driven gnd rod and/or incoming metallic water line (on line side of main water shutoff) or other means per local code. With older installations, the load ctr may not have an equipment gnd bar and all bare gnd wire & white neutrals are connected to same bus bar.
BT