Community Forums

Acemart · 12-22-2011, 10:12 PM

New to Class A and 50 amp system. Can I use house current when parked in driveway for minimal electrical systems such as furnace blower and fridge?

SuperGewl · 12-22-2011, 10:17 PM

Yes yes and Oh Yeah yes

173dave · 12-22-2011, 10:18 PM

Mine is always plugged in to the house power and I keep electric heater running in winter to keep it dry.

RickO · 12-22-2011, 10:26 PM

Yep, assuming that you have the dog bone adapters. Just watch your power draw and if you need to run an extension cord you'll have to use the largest one you can find (12 ga) and account for some voltage drop if it's very long.

Rick

Mr_D · 12-22-2011, 10:30 PM

I ran a 30 amp circuit out beside the MH, then plug my 50 amp cord in using a dogbone. I run two 1500 watt heaters, my inverter, a couple small fans and a 100 watt bulb in the wet bay. Since a 30 amp supplies 3,600 watts I'm pretty close to maxed out if everything runs at once. I do set the inverter to 5 amp draw.

WeatherTodd · 12-22-2011, 10:49 PM

yes but check that the draw isnt too much for the outlet. Some older homes might have 14/2 wiring to the outlets.

Rmiscoord · 12-22-2011, 10:56 PM

Yes. But.
You need adapters so you can plug in to your house receptacle. Next you need to ensure you do not over load your 15 or 20 amp circuit breaker in the house. Also if you use an extension cord, monitor the voltage actually in the RV, it can go below 110 volts easy if you are using space heaters. I leave my RV plugged in all the time.

Paul R. Haller · 12-22-2011, 11:15 PM

Actually, if you have 2 empty spaces in your service panel or sub panel you can hook up a 50 amp RV receptical and cover. All you need is some 6/3 copper romex with ground, perhaps some conduit if its exposed and then rather then romex or ser cable, 3 conductors of #6 wire, an outdoor box, and 50 amp breakers. Simple!
-Paul R. Haller-

RV Wizard · 12-23-2011, 02:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul R. Haller

Actually, if you have 2 empty spaces in your service panel or sub panel you can hook up a 50 amp RV receptical and cover. All you need is some 6/3 copper romex with ground, perhaps some conduit if its exposed and then rather then romex or ser cable, 3 conductors of #6 wire, an outdoor box, and 50 amp breakers. Simple!
-Paul R. Haller-

If you decide to install a 50 amp receptacle, be sure that all of the National Electrical Code as well as any local codes are followed. You will need to install a four wire circuit. This will include an equipment ground conductor as well as two hot legs and a neutral. If you decide to only adapt down to your 15 or 20 amp duplex receptacle and the circuit does not hold, it could be that you have a circuit in the coach that has current leakage through a heating element. Your duplex receptacle in a garage or on an outside wall will be GFCI protected and any current leakage will trip out the circuit. If this situation occurs, isolate the refrigerator and water heater completely and retest receptacle. If the circuit holds, identify which one is the culprit and make necessary repairs to allow the GFCI circuit to do its intended job.

Dunner · 12-23-2011, 02:53 AM

I found some UV resistant Romex at Home Depot. A lot cheaper than conduit and separate wires + ground.

bbeane · 12-23-2011, 04:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dunner

I found some UV resistant Romex at Home Depot. A lot cheaper than conduit and separate wires + ground.

As O/P said 50A for your RV requires 4 wire receptacle, 2 hots, Neutral, and ground, and a 50A 2 pole breaker. The two hots and neutral need to be the same size # 6 copper, the ground can be #10. But to answer you orginal question yes with the adapters you can plug in to house 20A outlet, and keep batterys charged, and fridge on but thats about it. Heaters start to draw a good bit of current.

Dunner · 12-23-2011, 06:53 AM

It was late(early). I should have said it was UV resistant 6/3 with a ground Romex. 85 foot of it.

Alan_Hepburn · 12-23-2011, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acemart

New to Class A and 50 amp system. Can I use house current when parked in driveway for minimal electrical systems such as furnace blower and fridge?

It depends - if the "house current" comes from a plug that supplies 120VAC at either 15A or 20A then all you need is a set of dogbones - one to go from the 15/20A receptacle to a 30A configuration, and another to go from 30A to 50A.

If the "house current" comes from a plug designed to power some clothes dryers, welders, or other 240V tools then you need to do some major rewiring to convert the 240V supply to a 120V supply.

sdennislee · 12-23-2011, 07:26 PM

Until I had my 50 amp service put in I did it all the time.

I kept the shop light over my work bench on all the time as it is on the same 20 amp circuit that i plugged the MH into. I used it to tell me I had not popped the breaker and therefore the coach had 20 amp service. I only used the 20 amps to supply the battery charger and dehumidifier.