30 amp cord ?

[edge68474]

I got to thinking about this, this morning. At home right now I have my MH plugged into regular outlet with a regular extension cord for lights and maybe some heat once in awhile. Is there anything wrong with this?
So my guess is, with the 30 amp cord plugged in to a 30amp outlet, or 20, or 50, that it would be able to handle more juice at one time, yes or no?
And what would happen if I plugged in with a regular extension cord and tried to run every thing? Trip a breaker some where?
Thanks for your response.

[Podivin]

You don't have any more worry than using that same extension cord at any other time.
You MAY be able to draw enough power to overheat the cord - it depends on how well the cord is made and how heavy/thick the wires are in it.
Ultimately you can't draw more than power than the breaker the cord is plugged in to will allow, otherwise the breaker (in the house, not the RV) will trip.

I have a 50 amp coach plugged in to a 30 amp outlet that is powered by a 20 amp breaker (are you with me so far? ).
If I try to pull more than 20 amps I'll trip the breaker in the house, the fact that I'm using a 30 amp cord and am plugged in to a 30 amp outlet does change anything. I still only have a 20 amp breaker, that's the stopping point.

So, in short, don't run anything more than you are comfortable running on THAT extension cord. Check it every now and then to see if it's getting warm, if so either turn something off or get a new cord (or both).

[Brentw]

Had a response started, but Podivin has it right.

[jacwjames]

For safety the cord should be sizes to the maximum power that the breaker is rated. I made a 100' extension cord using 10awg type wire that is good for 30 amp. The length does result in a voltage drop which ends up increasing the amperage so ultimately you still have to watch what you are using.

Long story short, I would not try to run 30 amps if you were using a small cord, it may run for a while but heat could cause the cord to fail.

[Hikerdogs]

Originally Posted by edge68474

I got to thinking about this, this morning. At home right now I have my MH plugged into regular outlet with a regular extension cord for lights and maybe some heat once in awhile. Is there anything wrong with this?
So my guess is, with the 30 amp cord plugged in to a 30amp outlet, or 20, or 50, that it would be able to handle more juice at one time, yes or no?
And what would happen if I plugged in with a regular extension cord and tried to run every thing? Trip a breaker some where?
Thanks for your response.

By saying you have a standard extension cord plugged into a standard outlet I interpret that as having a 12 gauge or lighter cord plugged into a 15 amp outlet.

If the load is as you describe there shouldn't be any problems unless you have electric heat. Both the cord and circuit can handle short term loads of 15 amps.

The maximum load long term on a 12 gauge cord is 18 amps, and the maximum long term output of the circuit is only 12 amps. Both the cord and the circuit are rated at 80% of maximum load for extended periods.

So, yes you will get more current through a 30 amp cord connected to a 30 amp circuit. If you use the 12 gauge cord it will be the weak point. The circuit breaker will allow more current to pass than the cord can safely handle. It's more likely the cord will overheat than the breaker will trip.

At some point the resistance in the overheated cord may cause the breaker to trip, but I wouldn't depend on it. One of the most common electrical fires in the home is using an undersized cord to power a something that has a high amperage draw.

Powering space heaters with a 18 gauge cord comes to mind. An 18 gauge wire is only capable of carrying 13 amps for a short period. The long term rating is 10.4 amps. Most space heaters draw 12 amps or more. For a short period of time it will work, however if the heater is running constantly it will eventually overload the cord. It's possible for the cord to get hot enough to start a fire.

[mattchew]

Something else to consider;
The big box stores sell many versions (gauges) of extension cords. The cheap ones can be 16ga and are not even truly safe too use on 15 amp circuits. Invest in a good cord and be sure it is a 12 ga or larger, (lower number). bigger cord lessens voltage drop. Voltage drop can damage appliances if there is enough of it !
Matt

expect to pay north of 50$ for a good 25-50ft cord.

[edge68474]

All right you guys, Thank you. Good information.
You are THE BEST.

[xrated]

I've also seen breakers fail to trip when they are supposed to. DO NOT overload the circuit.....any circuit and rely on a breaker taking it off line if you put too many things on it. Breakers do fail, and when they do, there is usually some sort of damage involved. It could be a cord that finally burns up, it could be a fire in the electrical panel, it could be something as drastic as the house catching fire. Again, do NOT rely on a breaker to take out an overload....even though that is what they are supposed to do. Stuff happens.

[Park Super]

Originally Posted by edge68474

I got to thinking about this, this morning. At home right now I have my MH plugged into regular outlet with a regular extension cord for lights and maybe some heat once in awhile. Is there anything wrong with this?
So my guess is, with the 30 amp cord plugged in to a 30amp outlet, or 20, or 50, that it would be able to handle more juice at one time, yes or no?
And what would happen if I plugged in with a regular extension cord and tried to run every thing? Trip a breaker some where?
Thanks for your response.

Careful! This is a recipe for fire. The small cord may overheat, melt, and catch fire before the breaker trips. This event could happen very quickly. I speak from experience. Read your manual and you will find warnings not to plug your MH in as you have described.

However, a couple lights will not be an issue but heat and battery charging combined may overload the amperage of the regular extension cord. More then a few house fires and MH fires resulting in death have resulted by overloading an extension cord.

Please, be careful and enjoy!

[wa8yxm]

The Rules according to Reddy kilowatt.

15 AMP. You can not run much. Your converter (of course) and the electronics (TV/Radio) after a couple hours add the Fridge (let the batteries charge first) and that's about it.

Possibly one A/C depending (mine are 13.5 amp and that's a bit much)

20 amp. I could run one A/C or one space heater or the microwave, NOTE the OR's here, only one of those. But the Fridge was on Gas if it was on at all.

30 amp. ONE A/C or TWO space heaters (See warning) and Fridge or low-power water heater (See note)

50 amp ALL YOU CAN EAT (if that is you have a 50 amp rv)

Warning: Outlets in RVs are often Self Contained Devices. this type of outlet is not a good choice for running a 1500 watt load. 900 watts is OK but try to avoid double digit amps on this type of outlet. I have special 15/20 amp outlets 12ga wire wrapped around a screw Dedicated circuit breaker.. These run the heaters.

NOTE Low power water heater.
When I replaced the tank on my Water heater I removed the 1500 Watt 120 volt element and put in a 1500 watt 240 volt element, this gives me about 375 watts at 120 volts. means I can use the water heater with a 30 amp supply and not worry about tripping the breaker so often. Does take longer to heat water but I've not had a problem.

[tropical36]

Originally Posted by edge68474

I got to thinking about this, this morning. At home right now I have my MH plugged into regular outlet with a regular extension cord for lights and maybe some heat once in awhile. Is there anything wrong with this?
So my guess is, with the 30 amp cord plugged in to a 30amp outlet, or 20, or 50, that it would be able to handle more juice at one time, yes or no?
And what would happen if I plugged in with a regular extension cord and tried to run every thing? Trip a breaker some where?
Thanks for your response.

A decent size cord won't overheat before it trips the source breaker of 15 or 20amps. At the same time, you can't run much on this, but you can keep the fridge and battery charger going indefinetly. We've even run an ac on occasion, with nothing much else on. Best to just shut off the breakers to unnessary items. Main thing is to not use a long small gauge cord, as this will create a voltage drop, as well. Stores tend to call a light 16awg cord, heavy duty, but even with a shorty, I like having at least a 14awg (15amp) and obviously, a 12awg (20amp) for longer runs, but not too long and wheras you may want to spend some big bucks on a 10awg RV cord.

[325BH]

In all cases, the receptacle your are plugged into will be protected by an appropriately-sized breaker. This means you can’t overload anything.

The concern with any extension cord would be its size and length. Voltage-drop will occur when attempting to draw too much current than the size & distance combination of the extension cord can handle. In other words, for any given combination of current (amps) and distance (length of cord), you must have the proper gauge cord.

The danger of voltage-drop is damaging your devices.

The proper gauge of cord is most often sized for the amount of current (amps) it can handle. When talking long distance, the size of the conductors must be increased more (numerically lower) to minimize voltage-drop.

For example: a 10awg cord drawing 30 amps that is 60 feet long, will have a 3.6 voltage drop (3%).

A 100 foot 12awg extension cord drawing 15 amps will have a 4.76 voltage drop (3.97%).

For a 20 amp draw, a 100 foot cord would need to be 8awg to stay under a 3% drop.

There are many voltage-drop calculators on the net. When plugging in your values, use 120volts. Even though 50amp rigs are plugged into standard 120/240 volt receptacles, the loads are only 120 volts.

[Steveo57]

Here's a good reference chart.

[edge68474]

Thanks again. I think enough info went into my brain to keep out of trouble. The cord is only about 20 feet in length. It was not warm to the touch. I tried to see if their was a rating etc. on the cord but no. It seems to be a little bit on the heavy side compared to some I have, but that may not mean anything. I'll keep an eye on it and get another one when I go to Home Depot again.
Thanks.