Cheater Box: Disappoints

[Craig P.]

Like a dummy, when I had my RV pad constructed on the side of my house, I didn't look to the future. At that time my RV only required 30 amp service, so that's what I installed. The wiring required for 50 amp service was very expensive, and everyone told me that 30 amp would suffice for use at home.

Now that my latest MH requires 50 amps, I wish I had spent the extra money. I can run both of my RV's A/C's on 30 amps, but if I try and power anything else up, the power management system will shed the rear A/C.

I bought a cheater box through RV Upgrades, hoping that it may give me the extra power I needed to at least power up the fridge or the electric water heater. It disappointed me. The cheater box doesn't allow any additional appliances, even though the 20 amp extension is plugged into an outlet on a separate breaker. The power management system in the coach gives a 30 amp indicator, regardless of the addition of the cheater box. Am I expecting too much, or should the cheater box allow more incoming voltage?

Craig

[Craig P.]

Like a dummy, when I had my RV pad constructed on the side of my house, I didn't look to the future. At that time my RV only required 30 amp service, so that's what I installed. The wiring required for 50 amp service was very expensive, and everyone told me that 30 amp would suffice for use at home.

Now that my latest MH requires 50 amps, I wish I had spent the extra money. I can run both of my RV's A/C's on 30 amps, but if I try and power anything else up, the power management system will shed the rear A/C.

I bought a cheater box through RV Upgrades, hoping that it may give me the extra power I needed to at least power up the fridge or the electric water heater. It disappointed me. The cheater box doesn't allow any additional appliances, even though the 20 amp extension is plugged into an outlet on a separate breaker. The power management system in the coach gives a 30 amp indicator, regardless of the addition of the cheater box. Am I expecting too much, or should the cheater box allow more incoming voltage?

Craig

[Hitchhiker]

Are you connected to the 20 amp outlet with at least a #12 gauge cable, #10 would be better if it's a long run.

If using adapters, are they getting hot?

[Petro]

Craig;

I think your EMS is looking for 240 volts. Your 30 & 20 amp plugs may not be phased correctly. I am not an electician so I am just guessing.

Don

[hondo122]

I hope this makes sense to you. Look in your breaker box, 2 rows of breakers. They are each on one leg of the 240v coming into the house. The circuits to the cheater have to come off different legs. I'm not an electrician so I hope I'm making sense to you. As they say in Chinese restaurants one 1 from column A, 1 from column B

[adj]

As hondo122 stated, you need seperate legs for your box to perform correctly. Voltmeter readings at the outlet on the box should be 220vac between the two hot legs. If you are connected to the same leg, the voltmeter will indicate 0vac between the two legs.

[DSouthw524]

First, I wonder why he needs both AC and all the other equipment for his coach at the house!

Secondly, you guys are remembering that true 50Amp power is 50Amp to each leg of the power or possible 100 Amps.

Yes, I have 50 Amp and only use 30 Amp.

[mrschwarz]

The EMS in the motorhome senses the voltage between both legs of the 50-amp circuit, which is 220 volts (two legs of 110 volts each). If the voltage between the two legs is 0, it assumes you are plugged into a 30 amp (or 20) 110 volt circuit.

Most likely, both your 30 and 20 amp circuits are connected to the same 100 volt leg of your house service. The way circuit breaker panels are made, the odd breakers on one side are wired to one leg of your 220 volt service. The even breakers are wired to the other leg.

The way to check this is to measure the voltage between hot wires (the black ones) on the 20 and 30 amp circuits in the breaker panel. If you don't measure anything, that's your problem. The easiest fix is to make sure both breakers are on the same side of the panel, next to each other. If that's not possible, move one of them up or down one position.

If I confused you (I do that a lot) or you're not comfortable doing this, have an electrician do this. Messing around in a breaker panel can be hazardous to your health.

[JavaJelly]

Posts are correct about the legs. I own a campground and have installed many pedestals. A cheater cord doesn't always work in a pedastal because the 20 and 30 amp were connected to the same leg. Your EMS will sniff this out and the cheater cord does you no good.

A newer pedestal with 50 amp service is wired with two legs into the 50 amp outlet then one leg to the 30 amp outlet and 2nd leg to the 20 amp outlet. However, obviously you wouldn't need a cheater cord w/this set-up.

For your house, as others have said, find a circuit on a separate leg from your 30 amp outlet and you should be OK.

[Road Pilot]

I think our EMS gives us the ability to disable or not use it.

[Route 66]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I think our EMS gives us the ability to disable or not use it. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

It is my understanding that the Newmar EMS has no way to bypass it.

[RustyJC]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Craig P.:
Like a dummy, when I had my RV pad constructed on the side of my house, I didn't look to the future. At that time my RV only required 30 amp service, so that's what I installed. The wiring required for 50 amp service was very expensive, and everyone told me that 30 amp would suffice for use at home. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
From the above, I would think that only one (1) hot leg was pulled to the RV outlet.

Rusty

[Craig P.]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by DSouthw524:
First, I wonder why he needs both AC and all the other equipment for his coach at the house! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
HINT: If you notice the location below my signaure, you'll see that I live in SoCal. It routinely hit's over 100 here during the summer. Inside the coach hit's well over 115. I like it just a little cooler when packing or cleaning.

Thanks everyone else for your helpful information. I'll do some research on my electrical panel. Odds are, I'll end up coverting over to 50 amp service.

Craig

[hamdave]

30 amp is 30 amp. If you want to move to a 50 amp 220v service, you need bigger wire, 4 strands, and a 220 v breaker. You are expecting too much.