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Old 09-18-2012, 08:38 PM   #1
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Will 50A RV Work W/30A Outlet?

I recently bought a used class C that has been wired for 50A. My prior class C was wired for 30A.
On a recent camping trip the park we were staying in didn't have any 50A plug ins, offering only 30A. When I plugged in (using a 50A to 30A adapter) I couldnt get any of the appliances to work.
The 12V system worked but couldnt get anything else to come on (microwave, AC, etc.)
Is this normal? of is there a way to switch over somehow that I am missing?
Thanks for your help.
John
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Old 09-18-2012, 08:46 PM   #2
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It depends on what the other owner did when it was wired to 50AMP did they just add a 20amp sub panel to run a extra A/C if so then all will work as normal except that sub panel
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Old 09-18-2012, 08:48 PM   #3
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RV is wired wrong or there is a switch. Only the previous owner would know about a switch. We (here on the forum) are only guessing since none of us did the work,
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Old 09-18-2012, 09:04 PM   #4
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Sound a little scary to me I would be in there going over that thing good and wire it correct why for the 50amp any way there not that much in a C
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Old 09-18-2012, 09:10 PM   #5
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I'd be careful about using that sauna on a 30A circuit.
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Old 09-18-2012, 09:14 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by born free 28 View Post
I recently bought a used class C that has been wired for 50A. My prior class C was wired for 30A.
John
What is the make and year of your class C?
Does your name "Born Free 28" supposed to tell us the make, or are we supposed to guess?

Are you saying the C was wired from the builder for 50A?
Or are you saying that someone rewired it for 50A?

If it is a Born Free, and IF it was originally wired by them for 50A......call them for help/info.

However, if it has been rewired, there is no easy way to know how and/or what was done......or how safe/unsafe it my be!
You, (or an electrician), will have to figure out how it was changed from the original, and how to use it.
Mel
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Old 09-18-2012, 09:20 PM   #7
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Sorry for the confusion in my original message.
It is a 28' Born Free and was wired from the factory with 50A (I think because it has 2 AC units).
At any rate, I will take your suggestion and call them to get some more information.
Thanks
John
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Old 09-18-2012, 11:16 PM   #8
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I assume the 30 to 50 adaptor that came with mine connects both legs of the 50 amp system together. Base that on being able to run everything on the MH with the proviso that I have to be sensible what gets switched on.
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Old 09-19-2012, 12:05 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by born free 28 View Post
Sorry for the confusion in my original message.
It is a 28' Born Free and was wired from the factory with 50A (I think because it has 2 AC units).
At any rate, I will take your suggestion and call them to get some more information.
Thanks
John
Well, that certainly changes my earlier answer!
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Old 09-19-2012, 01:27 AM   #10
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Quote:
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I assume the 30 to 50 adaptor that came with mine connects both legs of the 50 amp system together. Base that on being able to run everything on the MH with the proviso that I have to be sensible what gets switched on.
Dude!!!! If the adapter hooked both legs of a 50a curcuit together it would short and pop the breaker. You should have a switching system that spreads the single 30a power to both sides like an intilitec or something, anybody to help?
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Old 09-19-2012, 02:03 AM   #11
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Dude!!!! If the adapter hooked both legs of a 50a curcuit together it would short and pop the breaker. You should have a switching system that spreads the single 30a power to both sides like an intilitec or something, anybody to help?
I didn't suggest hooking both legs of a 50 amp plug together and plugging it into a 50 amp service. Why would you want to do that anyway.

The system you use is different to most of the rest of the world, but my understanding is that the 50 amp plug has 4 pins. An earth and two actives 240V apart plus the neutral. In the motorhome, assuming there is no 240V appliances, each active feeds a separate circuit (or circuits) so they all are running at 120V. Theoretically this can supply 2 x 50 a 120 = 12kW

The 30 amp plug only has three pins - earth, line and neutral and can supply only 1 x 30 x 120 = 3.6kW.

So if I have an adaptor (male plug) that feeds from a 30 amp service into a 50 amp socket (into which the 50 amp motorhome lead is plugged), but only connected inside the adaptor to one leg of the 50 amp socket instead of both, I can only power up half the circuits in the MH - and even then would have to be careful how much load I switched on to keep it to 30 amps.

If I connected the line from the 30 amp plug to both line connections in the 50 amp socket, then I would power up all the 120V circuits in the coach BUT of course I would still have to be careful to limit the load to the 30 amp rating. I don't have any 240V appliances, but even if I did, all that happens is the 220V appliance doesn't work.

Since I'm pretty sure everything in the airstream can with care be powered up whether I use a 30 to 50 adaptor or plug into the 50 amp, I assumed that was how the adaptor is wired.
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Old 09-19-2012, 10:18 AM   #12
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Stink...the 50A/30A adapter routes the single 30A hot feed of the 30A outlet to both of the hot legs of a 50A shore cord, thus providing shared power to them. That does not constitute a short.
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Old 09-19-2012, 10:39 AM   #13
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Something to consider - I've had a 30-to-50 dogbone adapter go bad (it's still in the electrical bay of my RV right now in case I need to scavenge the plugs) such that it drops one of the 50 amp legs of the feed to the RV. If all else fails, check for continuity between the L1 pin on the 30 amp side of the adapter to both L1 and L2 on the 50 amp side of the adapter.

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