50 amp on a 30 amp circuit

[Magoogle]

Originally Posted by Pusherman

I would not do that until you verify the wiring is capable of supporting 50 amps. It needs to be 6 gauge wire. Your electrician can verify the wiring and ampere capacity rating.

Now -- if you still have both legs of the 30 amp 240v service available, you could change the receptacle to accept the 50A 240V plug of the motorhome. As long as it's fused (breaker) at 30A double pole breaker at the house, you will have 7200 watts available to feed your coach, instead of the standard 3600 watts on a 30A 120V service. And it should be safe as long as you use the proper size breaker at the house end. It must be a 4-wire service.

HOWEVER -- be sure you know what you or your electrician are doing. The danger comes in when people wire a 30A 120V receptacle for an RV to 240 volts. It will pretty much fry everything.

A 50A RV service is a 240V service and provides for 12,000 watts of power.
A 30A RV service is a 120V service and provides for 3,600 watts of power.

Ohms Law: Watts = Volts x Amps.

50A RV service is also 120v.. HOWEVER some RV's are capable of using a 240v supply. You still get 50A regardless of which you use but 240v is more efficient than 120v is.

[frankdamp]

If you're just running "keep warm" stuff in winter, even a regular 15A domestic socket would be enough. That's what I have at present.

The fridge is switched off and doors open, there's no heat on except an oil-filled radiator on a digital thermostat that kicks in at 45 F (I can't set it any lower!). A remote temp sensor indicates that the heater keeps the interior at about 42F when it's about 28 outside.

Electrical systems take whatever they need. If you don't have much turned on, 15 to 20A will be more than enough. If you have a 20A circuit breaker on the circuit feeding the RV, it will probably work just fine. Just keep the fridge, electric water heater and furnace turned off.