50 Amp to 20 Amp

[Bangorbob]

I am confused - probably not well educated in this area. I have owned RVs with 30 and had no problems plugging into my house with a 30 to 15 converter. I now have a 1998 Gulfstream Sun Voyager 36' Diesel pusher with 50 amp. I do have the converter from 50 - 30 - 15. Plugged in the house and tripped the breaker. Have read about as much as my brain can handle and need help or someone to explain in basic terms why it won't work.
BTW - I will eventually being getting 50 amp service.

[trackman]

If you have electric hot water on it will not work.
If you are trying to run air conditioner it will not work.
Too many electric fans will not work.
In essence the only good you can actually do is keep the coach batteries charged and run the 12volt systems

[Dutch Star David]

Originally Posted by Jarvis

I am confused - probably not well educated in this area. I have owned RVs with 30 and had no problems plugging into my house with a 30 to 15 converter. I now have a 1998 Gulfstream Sun Voyager 36' Diesel pusher with 50 amp. I do have the converter from 50 - 30 - 15. Plugged in the house and tripped the breaker. Have read about as much as my brain can handle and need help or someone to explain in basic terms why it won't work.
BTW - I will eventually being getting 50 amp service.

My power management system allows me to set the maximum amperage when on less than 50 amps.

[BFlinn181]

Not only check that water heater isn't on 120 AC, but also refrigerator if it can operate on 120 AC. Something is drawing too many amps. Your converter/charger shouldn't overload the circuit, but make sure no other items are drawing power from the same circuit the RV is plugged into. If all else fails, try plugging in another outlet on a different circuit.

[Gary RVRoamer]

Actually, if you have a large inverter/charger and the batteries are low, the charger alone can eat most of your 15 amp budget. Some of them can charge at 100-120 amps, which means it can pull about 12 amps for that purpose alone. But if the batteries are fairly well charged already, the charger shouldn't be pulling more than 1-3 amps.

If you can't figure out where the amp loads are coming from, turn off all the circuit breakers in your load center before plugging in. Then turn them back on one at a time to find what circuits you can use. Air conditioners, water heater, washer/dryer are out for sure. The fridge is probably ok as long as you don't try to do much else - it is probably about 4-5 amps.

[Mike Canter]

When you say it is tripping the breaker are you talking about the breaker in the house electric panel or a GFI breaker?

[Bangorbob]

Originally Posted by Mike Canter

When you say it is tripping the breaker are you talking about the breaker in the house electric panel or a GFI breaker?

Mike, Sorry about that. It is the house GFI in the garage. BTW, thanks for you service. I'm also a retired USN "AK".

Bob

[SarahW]

Bob--sometimes it depends on what else in your house/garage is drawing on the same circuit. Try plugging in to a different outlet. When we first got our moho, we plugged in the same circuit as our deep freezer in the garage and kept tripping that breaker. We can operate the fridge, some lights, a TV, and even an A/C when plugged in at home. Occasionally I will overload the circuit and have to reset a breaker, but I'm learning.

[Playtime III]

My EMS requires me to manually switch between 30 and 20Amp (50 to 30 is automatic). However, 20 is more than 15 so the EMS will allow more draw than your house will allow. Your gararge outlet is probably not a dedicated circuit and has other items on it. Since it is GFI, I'd bet your outside outlets and lampost are on it as well. On newer homes it is probably a 20A circuit and not 15A.

[Bangorbob]

I greatly appreciate all the words of wisdom. I do understand I will be limited to using only the TV etc and not A/C. I will follow the advice and start unplugging stuff until it works. I did have my garage and 1 outside receptacle wired for 20a, therefore the GFI.
I will be getting a cost estimate to have 50 amp service installed.

Again, Thanks Bob

[BFlinn181]

Bob, try plugging in to a non GFI circuit. It could be the GFI is sensing something to cause it to trip.

[Peralko]

Bob, find out what else in the house is on that circuit. If there are heavy current draws from that circuit in the house, there will not be enough current left over to power your coach. Trip the circuit breaker and see what doesn't work in the house. You would be surprised what house builders put on a circuit to save on electrical wire.

[Mike Canter]

Bob, the GFI breaker is popping because most mh inverter/chargers make them pop. It is NOT because of current draw. GFI breakers do NOT pop because of current draw but because of an imbalance to ground. Some MHs work ok on. 15 amp GFI in a house and some do not. My Monaco Signature blows GFI breakers and there is nothing wrong with it. You need to either replace that GFI with a regular non GFI outlet or put in a dedicated 30 or 50 amp box.

[Playtime III]

I'd bet your GFI is 15A even though your line (10 or 12ga wire) and circuit breaker is 20A. Most don't look when they buy them.