Community Forums

jstbu · 10-10-2011, 10:13 AM

Because of an unforeseen circumstances, we are stuck in a park that only has 30 amps. Which means in the morning we can't have the coffee pot on, the heat running and make toast or watch TV. Also we can't run laundry during the day and leave the air (even one) one at the same time. So we tried a cheater box from camping world. This one, 50-amp-rv-box-adapter/25774, and it made things worse, the washer/dryer wouldn't work at all and the hot water heater wouldn't work on electric. Also, is was really difficult to get the 50 amp plug into the thing, so maybe we just got a bad one? The thing is, we're 45 minutes away from any city, and more than an hour from Camping World, so we don't want to exchange it for another one, unless we can get some feedback, that the thing actually should work. Has anybody used this thing with good results? Or does anyone have an alternate device that has worked?

BigSkyBob · 10-10-2011, 10:23 AM

Is running your generator an option?

ottffss · 10-10-2011, 10:50 AM

If the dryer or electric water heater are 220v, no cheater will make them work.
Cheaters only deliver 110v.

In the morning maybe switch to furnace heat instead of the heat pumps/elec heater?
30amp is plenty to run coffee pot, toaster, lights, and TV (w/o any heat pump).

Maybe try some load management thinking - One AC only during the day, laundry while you are there w/o AC, or try the genset for the heavy load times.

Paul R. Haller · 10-10-2011, 10:57 AM

A 30- 50 cheater cord works by allowing one leg of a 30 amp circuit on both hot legs of a 50 amp circuit. A 30 amp 110 circuit is 30 amps total. A 50 amp 110 circuit is actually 2 hot legs of 50 amps each giving you 100 amps of power.
When you use a cheater cable you can only draw 30 amps total as opposed to a 50 amp circuit that gives you 100 amps total. You are getting less then 1/3 the power using a cheater cable.
-Paul R. Haller-

ottffss · 10-10-2011, 11:06 AM

Paul, the OP is running a full fledged "cheater box" not an "adapter".
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping...-adapter/25774
A 30-50 adapter works as you describe.

Cheater boxes either combine two 30a plugs to deliver 60a OR combine a 30a and a 15/20a to deliver 45-50a.

The Driver · 10-10-2011, 11:06 AM

My rig won't run at all on a cheater box. Was told it's because my EMS sees it as faulty wiring. Thought I could at least use it as an adapter when only 30amp available, but nooo. So I use a normal 30-to-50 dogbone for that, and haul around my cheater as dead weight.

RustyJC · 10-10-2011, 11:20 AM

Neither will a cheater box work on a GFCI-protected pedestal outlet. The GFCI looks for identical current on the hot and neutral legs, and the common neutral on the downstream side of the cheater box won't deliver that.

Rusty

jstbu · 10-10-2011, 02:36 PM

Okay, now I'm really confused! First, no the "box" does not have GFCI. Secondly, my furnace is not working and I am not somewhere that I can get it fixed right now. So I have to run the heat pump in the morning. We're stuck where we are for probably 2 to 3 more weeks, and its just a pain to have to think about what we have plugged in, or turn everything else off because we want to use the microwave.

So, what I think I'm hearing, is that these things really don't work to give you better than 30 amps???

RustyJC · 10-10-2011, 02:44 PM

Best case, if you plug the cheater box into 30 and 20 amp outlets at the park pedestal, you'll have 30 amps available on one hot leg and 20 amps available on the other hot leg of your 50 amp service - that's a total ampacity of 50 amps. With true 50 amp service, you have 50 amps available on each hot leg for a total ampacity of 100 amps.

Rusty

The Driver · 10-10-2011, 02:46 PM

It sounds like your rig has a sophisticated energy management system that doesn't recognize the unorthodox wiring of the cheater box. Those of us most in need of more than 30amp service usually have those things, and no they won't allow the cheater box to work.

The comment about GFCI was talking about the CG service....if its 20amp is GFCI, then it senses the unorthodox wiring of the cheater box and won't operate.

Bought mine at PPL, and no mention of these limitations.

RJay · 10-10-2011, 02:50 PM

The reason it might be worst may be explained by how the cheater box is wired. If the 30 amp leg of the cheater box goes to the leg of the coach that's only energized when connected to 50 amps that means only 15 or 20 amps is going to the leg of the coach when connected to 30 amps. You may just have to swap the live legs in the cheater box.

jstbu · 10-10-2011, 03:10 PM

Thanks guys, sounds like the coach is smarter than I am, which I already knew! Guess we'll just be careful or use the gen

jfran304 · 10-10-2011, 05:00 PM

We used the same box at my in-laws farm and didn't have any problems. One side was plugged into a 30 A outlet and the other was plugged into a 20 A on a different circuit. We could run both AC's and other appliances at the same time.

The only time we tripped a breaker at the farm was when my brother-in-law turned on a microwave that was on one of the circuits.

Jon

wa8yxm · 10-10-2011, 08:15 PM

I do not know why they market the cheater boxes THEY CAN NOT WORK AS ADVERTISED... You see, here is why.. They advertise you can plug one leg into the 30 amp outlet in the box, and the other into the 20 amp outlet. In some few older grandfathered parks, such as the one I spend much of my winter in, this can, in fact, be done, but in most parks, any park that conforms to the code (electrical) within the last decade. or if you like this century..... (Same thing) IT WILL NOT WORK.

It will trip the GFCI

What does work.. If the web site is back up is http://www.psrv.net (I won't bother making it a clicky too easy to type)

What this does is to break off, normally the rear air conditoner, onto a circuit all by it's self, no common connection with the rest of the RV.

You could also route an extension cord in .. I used to sneak one in a half opened slide, then finish opening it.. I relented however and routerd one in via other openings in the floor (It "Starts" in a basement compartment) I plug the heater into it.