Community Forums

Cypressloser · 10-20-2017, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bob caldwell

And a 50 amp Progressive hard wired unit will work in a 30 amp RV if wired correctly.....so if one is gonna buy one, and someday buy an RV with 50 amp service, you'll already have one......and , if you use plugs in the right sequence, when you remove it, you can just plug the original wiring back together

Of course.
If you have a 30 Amp rv you have a single leg 30 Amp breaker in your main panel as your overload protection. The surge protector only monitors the quality of the power (safe voltage range, correctly wired connections and catastrophic spikes) coming in and shuts down or self destructs itself if necessary.

"007" · 10-20-2017, 10:14 AM

Welcome larry to irv2.
You will find answers to a lot of your questions here.
Help around irv2 is here.
Enjoy the forums and have safe travels ahead for you.

wa8yxm · 10-20-2017, 10:46 AM

The pins on the 30 amp plug get burned because they are not heavy enough to handle the full 30 amps. OR because you did not clean them.. You need to clean them every time.

As for plugging into 50 amps.. You are right it will not fit (For one thing the 50 amp outlet has FOUR pins and the 30 only 3) but the adapters take care of most of what you need to worry about (There is one worry left, but when I plug in my 50 amp RV I have that worry still)

There is no surge protector and surges will NOT burn the pins unless they are... Well perhaps a direct lightening strike serious.

What burns the pins is current, consistant current.

OH, some folks worry that by plugging into a 50 amp you can "overload" the plug/cord but the fact is you still have your 30 amp MAIN breaker back in the RV limiting.. Oh yes. I can, if I really work at it in a lab. Create an overload.. But in real life it would be next to impossible.. One way I can think of is an extension cord with the plug/outlet junction in a puddle of water.. That's about the only way And of course you should avoid that under ALL conditions .

edge68474 · 10-21-2017, 06:03 AM

One other question. What type of adapter is best? I see the dog bone style and a plain adapter that came with the coach in a 5 gallon bucket like a care package. Whats the advantage of the dog bone please?

Old Scout · 10-21-2017, 06:22 AM

I know they make them but I am not a big fan of stepping DOWN amps via adaptors/ dog-bones. You end up with 50 amps potential on a cord designed for 30 amps, or worst case, a 15-20 amps. Fully understand that the breakers is your rig will "protect" you from amp over-draw, but not for shorts or bare wires/connectors. 15yrs and 170k miles, rarely found a CG with 50 amp only plug-ins.....

twinboat · 10-21-2017, 06:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by edge68474

One other question. What type of adapter is best? I see the dog bone style and a plain adapter that came with the coach in a 5 gallon bucket like a care package. Whats the advantage of the dog bone please?

The short adaptors put the plug and receptcal in the same molded enclosure. With that, you have 2 potential heat sources. It seems that plug in connectors always developed some heat.

A dogbone style separates them, leading to cooler operating connections.

epj · 10-21-2017, 06:41 AM

Many maybe most CG s that I go to have 50 30 20 on the poll. Some older or smaller
CGs May only have 30-20. Typically the 50-30 adapters are used by the bigger rigs that require 50A. This allows us to plug into a 30A box and use most but not all our electric circuits. Most notable difference is that I can only run 1 AC at a time. If you have a 30A coach it’s unlikely you will need to plug into a 50A circuit. You probably have a 30-20 or 30-15 adapter in your bucket. That is useful at home for plugging into a regular heavy duty extension cord so that you can run your refrigerator and maybe a light or two while in the driveway.
The surge protector is an entirely different subject. There are $100 units that will perhaps protect from surges. The Progressive Industries unit protects against low voltage high voltage reverse polarity and surges. Probably some other things I don’t know about. Yes, they cost $350 or thereabouts. Any idea ho much a new inverter for one of these things costs? This season mine has shut down on low voltage twice. Park stall finally changed my 50A breaker. The PI itself showed a non repairable fault code. Called PI Friday morning to see what I needed to do. Had a brand new one in hand Tuesday afternoon. They didn’t want the old one back. I think I did give them the serial number. Great service!

Finally Time · 10-21-2017, 04:17 PM

If you have a 30 amp coach do buy a 50 to 30 adapter. I have been in several campgrounds where the 30 amp receptacle has been damaged and had to use the 50 with the adapter and I was in one campground where the box only had 50 and 20 receptacles.

I added a Progressive hard-wired "surge" protector to my coach. It doesn't just protect against surges. When I plug in it analyzes the power and will not allow it to pass into the coach unless it is in the proper voltage range and is error free. Also if the voltage drops or increases it will shut off power to the coach. I was in a campground site last month where the voltage varied from 118 to 138 volts. The surge protector kept shutting off power to the coach. Moved to another site with newer wiring and all was well.

ThePowells · 10-21-2017, 06:31 PM

i ran into that problem this weekend. I plugged in and all was good. I was running the A/C and vacuum and tripped the pole breaker. The pole breaker wouldn't reset. The maintenance guy fixed it, but the question has always been "do we really need that (50>30amp) now"? I was looking forward to sending somebody 18 miles to WalMart and 18 miles back. I bet then it would have been important.

tropical36 · 10-22-2017, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wa8yxm

The pins on the 30 amp plug get burned because they are not heavy enough to handle the full 30 amps. OR because you did not clean them.. You need to clean them every time.

As for plugging into 50 amps.. You are right it will not fit (For one thing the 50 amp outlet has FOUR pins and the 30 only 3) but the adapters take care of most of what you need to worry about (There is one worry left, but when I plug in my 50 amp RV I have that worry still)

There is no surge protector and surges will NOT burn the pins unless they are... Well perhaps a direct lightening strike serious.

What burns the pins is current, consistant current.

OH, some folks worry that by plugging into a 50 amp you can "overload" the plug/cord but the fact is you still have your 30 amp MAIN breaker back in the RV limiting.. Oh yes. I can, if I really work at it in a lab. Create an overload.. But in real life it would be next to impossible.. One way I can think of is an extension cord with the plug/outlet junction in a puddle of water.. That's about the only way And of course you should avoid that under ALL conditions .

With our old 30amp coach, I finally got tired of loose and burnt 30amp pedestal outlets burning my good as new plugs. They are pretty much inadequate for normal use, as far as I'm concerned and with so many coaches out there without an EMS, the chain reaction is apparent. Not like there's any extra beef built into these 30's.
Sooooooo, I put a 50amp plug on the cord. Problem solved and never any problems after that for years to come and still looked new, with the sale of the coach, last year.
I did carry the proper adapters to cover any situation, as one should do.