30A to 50A Adapter Causes MH Fire

[HD4Mark]

Originally Posted by bruceisla

I've switched to one of these from Progressive Industries:

Those look like good quality ends and anything from Progressive is a good product from my experience. The problem is you can buy a complete cord for about $7 more. I am sure it would not have the quality that those have but it is tough to convince people to spend $$$ like that.

Me I will get them, the Camco or maybe just buy the connector and an outlet box at the hardware store and only use the thing as an temporary emergency connection. Contrary to some of the wisdom here the female end is inside the electric bay. As I said it is mainly just for the inverter/charger so there is little amp draw.

[bruceisla]

Originally Posted by HD4Mark

Those look like good quality ends and anything from Progressive is a good product from my experience. The problem is you can buy a complete cord for about $7 more. I am sure it would not have the quality that those have but it is tough to convince people to spend $$$ like that.

Me I will get them, the Camco or maybe just buy the connector and an outlet box at the hardware store and only use the thing as an temporary emergency connection. Contrary to some of the wisdom here the female end is inside the electric bay. As I said it is mainly just for the inverter/charger so there is little amp draw.

This is actually the entire 50/30 adapter ... it's 2 views of the same adapter. 50 amp female to 30 amp male.

[Petro]

Originally Posted by bruceisla

I've switched to one of these from Progressive Industries:

Bruce;

Thanks for posting this. I just ordered one from RVugrades. I was out camping this past week end and used my dog bone adapter to connect to a 30A receptacle. I was running my central air and I was drawing a continuous 27 amps. The plug and the cord on the adapter got quite hot. I shut it down to make sure there was not a bad connection but everything appeared to be OK. I kept track of it every afternoon. I felt very uneasy but it held OK. Labor Day weekend I am going back to the same site and I should have my new Progressive adapter and I will check that for temperature. I will let you folks know if there is an improvement in temperature.

Don

[bruceisla]

Originally Posted by Petro

Bruce;

Thanks for posting this. I just ordered one from RVugrades. I was out camping this past week end and used my dog bone adapter to connect to a 30A receptacle. I was running my central air and I was drawing a continuous 27 amps. The plug and the cord on the adapter got quite hot. I shut it down to make sure there was not a bad connection but everything appeared to be OK. I kept track of it every afternoon. I felt very uneasy but it held OK. Labor Day weekend I am going back to the same site and I should have my new Progressive adapter and I will check that for temperature. I will let you folks know if there is an improvement in temperature.

Don

Thanks Don, it seems very well made. The ground pin is solid ... the little "nubs" on the side are grips. Looks like another quality item from Progressive but time will tell.

[HD4Mark]

Originally Posted by bruceisla

This is actually the entire 50/30 adapter ... it's 2 views of the same adapter. 50 amp female to 30 amp male.

Woops! OK I got it. That makes sense and much more compact that a dog bone adapter.

This thread is making me think we should put a smoke detector in our electric bay. It would be hard to hear but the bay is right under the bedroom slide out so it might be heard there and for the little money why not.

[bruceisla]

Originally Posted by HD4Mark

Woops! OK I got it. That makes sense and much more compact that a dog bone adapter.

This thread is making me think we should put a smoke detector in our electric bay. It would be hard to hear but the bay is right under the bedroom slide out so it might be heard there and for the little money why not.

As you say ... why not? Although I'd probably just toss it in and see what happens when the diesel is running or the folks around you are doing the "gotta' have a campfire" thing.

[Pusherman]

Originally Posted by HD4Mark

Woops! OK I got it. That makes sense and much more compact that a dog bone adapter.

This thread is making me think we should put a smoke detector in our electric bay. It would be hard to hear but the bay is right under the bedroom slide out so it might be heard there and for the little money why not.

My advice is keep all your adapters outside of the coach, and you won't have any issues inside the coach. If the adapter catches fire, it's outside the coach, preferably at the pedestal. No need for a smoke alarm in the electrical compartment.

P.S. I like the direct adapter pictured in this thread. I own one, and use it when the plug won't receive the adapter with the handle on it. Based on the above suggestions in this thread, I might start using it 100% of the time, as it sounds like a much better wiring solution for the adapter, hopefully void of melting prongs.

[bruceisla]

Originally Posted by Pusherman

My advice is keep all your adapters outside of the coach, and you won't have any issues inside the coach. If the adapter catches fire, it's outside the coach, preferably at the pedestal. No need for a smoke alarm in the electrical compartment.

P.S. I like the direct adapter pictured in this thread. I own one, and use it when the plug won't receive the adapter with the handle on it. Based on the above suggestions in this thread, I might start using it 100% of the time, as it sounds like a much better wiring solution for the adapter, hopefully void of melting prongs.

I really like mine but I think I'll zip tie it to a bungee and then to my Progressive Portable EMS. It's so compact I'm a bit concerned about leaving it behind.

[Libero]

Agree 100% with Pusherman - Keep power connections outside the RV if possible.

[jerichorick]

As I read the comments I have become confused. A couple of times I have read "extension cord". I hope my impression is in error. I am envisioning an extension cord being attached to the RV shore power cord coiled in the electrical bay. This is a shuttering thought to me. No mater how good your adapters are, this arrangement is a fire waiting to happen.

To be clear, I use a 50A extension on my coach when the rare need arises. If I pay out my shore line and am short of the power source I need I then connect my extension and adapt to 30A, if needed.

The folks who bungee their cords to the pedestal are wise in my opinion. We have much weight built into our cords. Keeping the connection protected from the full effects of gravity is a great idea.

[HD4Mark]

Originally Posted by Pusherman

My advice is keep all your adapters outside of the coach, and you won't have any issues inside the coach. If the adapter catches fire, it's outside the coach, preferably at the pedestal. No need for a smoke alarm in the electrical compartment.

We always do Don with the exception of at home when the only thing running is the inverter/charger. The EMS shows that it only draws one amp so I am not concerned about it heating up. Inside the bay keeps the surge guard hidden and all of the connections out of the weather.

When we are at our winter home CG for months we pull in forward to have the front windows toward the ocean. Since the MH is in backwards for the site a 50A extension cord is needed. We put the surge guard in between cords so it is hidden underneath and at least out of the sun and infrequent rains.

Cleaning up the connections on our cords has become a regular maintenance for me. After having one "dog bone" melt and twice have connections fail it is a simple precaution for us. If the plug feels loose, start replacing stuff.

[gemini5362]

Originally Posted by HD4Mark

Woops! OK I got it. That makes sense and much more compact that a dog bone adapter.

This thread is making me think we should put a smoke detector in our electric bay. It would be hard to hear but the bay is right under the bedroom slide out so it might be heard there and for the little money why not.

If you do decide to put a smoke detector in your bedroom replace the ones in the coach with the interlocked detectors and use one of them in the electric bay. The interlocked detectors communicate between themselves if one detector detects smoke it communicates that to the other detectors and they all sound the alarm. Lowes sells battery powered versions of these. I use them in my rental house with one in each bedroom and one in the hallways so if there is a fire everyone in the house can hear and get to safety.

[HD4Mark]

Originally Posted by gemini5362

If you do decide to put a smoke detector in your bedroom replace the ones in the coach with the interlocked detectors and use one of them in the electric bay. The interlocked detectors communicate between themselves if one detector detects smoke it communicates that to the other detectors and they all sound the alarm. Lowes sells battery powered versions of these. I use them in my rental house with one in each bedroom and one in the hallways so if there is a fire everyone in the house can hear and get to safety.

We have those in our stick house. They are wired and I really did not know there were wireless interlocking detectors. Great idea for places like an RV where getting a wire to them would not be easy.

[wandering]

So what is the verdict on the large reel coiled 50 amp cords in the 40 ft dp's? Unreel the whole thing or leave excess on the reel when plugged in at the pedestal?