Todd, thanks for the tech tips. I’ve been around electricity, wired houses, service changes, etc. I’m still trying to get a new perspective on these RV plugs. When your brain sees these 30 amp plugs, it wants to think 220 volts like a dryer. I have to re train it to think 110, even tough these large plugs in homes are 220. Not a big deal, just mindset. Thanks for educating people, so many people burn their houses down overloading the circuit. When I built my house, I made every circuit 20 amps, 12 guage wire. Over 30 years never tripped a breaker inside, other than GFCI, and they trip if you get a solar flare I think, lol. Keep up the good work, probably already saved some lives from fire.
I’m not a electrical person so am struggling to understand the relationship between amps, watts, ohms & volts. I’m a visual person so now I have to buckle down & understand it all before we buy our rig. I did help Hubs get his beginner’s & advanced Ham radio license so I have a weak base to grow from. Your comment about the house plugs just kiboshed my fragile attempt to understand 😂. It also helped. Thanks.
I was wondering if you are running surge protection where you would connect this? Would you connect a 50amp surge protector at the 50amp connection of the dog bone or would you need to purchase a 30amp surge protector to connect to the pedestal?
You know that is not a full explanation. There is a difference between resistance loses and inductive loads and hybrid loads like microwaves. Air conditioners are a problem because of the locked rotor starting demand when the compressor starts. Once they are up and running they only draw about 6’ish amps. Now for resistive loads I(2 squared)*R = Power demand. That demand never falls off. So the important load that you didn’t mention is the hot water heater.
could you do a video on AC how to run off grid, genny versus solar . can u do lithium battery with convertor and skip panes. newbie. many videos ive seen of yours but side by side with options 13.5 btu. have propane genny 30 gal. must be a way to run off grid couple hours a day.
What about hooking 30amp service to the 50amp stand plug? I had a tech guy tell me that was a good idea because in the campgrounds that service is more stable
Same keeping looking for validation on a combo I had like that. Something about using the second channel of the 50 amp to power your 30 amp trailer. "Since most parks are wired to draw from the first channel you are ""safer"" from surges if you can connect to the second channel. I live in a 30 amp and all the big rigs chug power. How do we 30 amp people get more consistency
This past weekend at a thousand trails camp ground I was told that I could not use a 30amp site because my rig is 50 amps. I then explained that I had a dog bone to reduce down and that a 30 amp site was fine. I was told that I couldn’t do that and it was illegal to use a dog bone now. He claimed that was the case because the weight of a 50 amp cord was too heavy for a 30amp plug. Is there any truth to this??
Sounds like a park attendant not understanding the electrical dynamics at work and more concerned with irrational beliefs that the weight of a 90deg cord connection will physically damage their equipment.
hmmm. I wouldnt think so. Heck if you put on an EMS device on their plug it adds weight as well. It may be a PARK rule because they had some problems in the past. But no its not an NFPA thing. I doubt its a local law either but I could be wrong on that. local laws are vast.
Breakers take time to trip when the circuit pulls more than the breaker rating, there is a trip time curve based on current above the breaker rating, it doesn't just trip when the current exceeds the 30A rating
Yes the 50 to 30 amp reducer will pull 1 hot, 1 neutral, 1 ground. It simply abandoned the 2nd got leg. So with the proper adaptor you will only get 120volts and your 30amp breaker in the rv limits how much you can demand.
Todd, you got to cover the "cheater Y" for using a 30A & 20A to power a 50A rig... that will spin a few out! You see them for sale all over. I know you can't use one if the 20A is a GFI. However, some older parks and a lot of fairgrounds don't have GFI's... We ran last weekend off a "30A/30A Y to 50A" at a fairgrounds because they had a temp power setup with all 30A outlets. If you have a 50A rig and have to use a 30A supply often then I highly recommend a EMS that has amperage read out on the unit; or via bluetooth to your phone. That way you can watch the amp draw as you turn things on to push it to 28A. We set the inverter charger to low battery charge, run the RV propane fridge on 120V electric, both 13.5 power saver AC's and watch TV - and nothing else - no problems. You have to know what you have to do this AND keep the voltage over 115V.
I had a Power switch installed on my 50amp rv. If I ended up at an rv park with only 30amps and a 15amp at the pedestal I could plug my 15amp extension cord into the 15amp pedestal and te other end into my 15 amp receptacle on my power switch. this would give me roughly 45 amps. Some TV parks don't like this because they charged you for 30amps na dyour taking 45amps.
Look, lay down the law, NO AC, NO presenter!!!!! I see Todd sweat and I freakin start sweating😓😓. LOL. Can't wait to be there this October...WITH AC. After all, it is TX.
Inverter when turned on without anything plug into it will use around 2 amps to keep it alive and then whatever you plug into the inverter for additional amps. So keep your inverter turn off if not using it.
The Golden rule, turn off the AC, nuke the food in microwave, turn back on the AC. I let laziness of having to deal with blown breakers n god knows what else motivate me to ALWAYS do this lol. I used to have a 50 amp RV, but now a 30amp, unfortunately covid threw up the cost of a 30amp surge protector to over the cost I paid for my awesome 50amp protector. So for now I have dogbone-50A protector-dogbone, setup 🙄. 🍻
my 1989 terry resort has stock 30 amp fuse panel i ordered the wfco 30 amp an i got the 55 amp wf-8955 model.... can i still use this on my 30 amp system?
@@EarlBalentine ty! i did carch wfco 58min guide an they said all campers are basically 30 amp except the new models its just the converter charger thats 55 amp so 30 goues to your dc fuses an the leftover 25 goes thou your charger from converter but im not charging any batteries. but thank you for the prompt reply
A 30A cb won’t trip right on 30A if you creep up on it. That is by design, the trip curves are deliberately slow for small overloads to stop nuscisance trips.
thanks for tech tip, I have a bull dog serge protector and its bluetooth to my phone. I use it very ofter to see voltage and amps my rig is pulling. Very helpful
awesome, this way you can more quickly determine how many items you can turn on without overload. More technology will be commonplace and we will have less failures.
So...if you wanted to convert a cargo trailer into a camper, who would you hire to do the wiring? A regular household electrician? Or someone who works on RVs normally?
Hey Todd, how about using a 50-to-30 amp dogbone for a 30Amp rig when the post only has a 50 amp service available? I've done this for years and found the power to seem more dependable. Any thoughts?
"More reliable" meaning doesn't trip under excessive load? If the post only has a 50amp receptacle, then it should be protected by a 50amp breaker and won't trip at the post unless it is subjected to a dead short or the load exceeds the trip threshold. Some breakers will hold a constant load in excess of its rating under certain circumstances. If you're using a dogbone to hook a 30amp service on your trailer to a 50amp post, you will likely never trip the post breaker as your 30amp main breaker on you trailer service is now your main overcurrent protection device. The lower rated breaker in the circuit is your highest level of protection in the event of a fault.
absolutely nothing wrong with this. your 30amp breaker and the gauge of your wire will be the limiting factors. Flow is demand based, not supply based.
Hey Todd. Thanks for the info. What do you about the Active control new dog bone that works like soft start and easy start and plugs into the 30amp side? I bought one for my camper. You just plug it into the pedestal. You can dog bone it for 50amp. You can monitor the amount of amps, electricity etc you are using. We just returned from. 2mth trip and used it several times even with my generator. Pretty amazing to be able to see how many amps you are using so you know when to turn say the ac up so you can run something else.
Something alot of people dont realize is that on a 50 amp service you have 50 amps on esch leg. Thats 100 amps overall. Step that down to a 30 amp service and youre literally at 30% of the capacity youre used to.
It’s not always you turning on the appliances with caution. Others in the motorhome have no idea of the danger. I worry about that. I have kids so this is a solid reminder. I’ve got five fire extinguishers close just in case I screw up.
A circuit is rated to handle a constant load of 80% of its rated ampacity. For a 30amp circuit, that's 2880 watts. Add up your total load you're using for appliances, and don't exceed 2880 watts. A microwave typically uses 1500 watts, leaving 1380 watts for your AC. A typical 13.5k btu AC draws 12.6amps while running, which translates to 1512 watts. When the compressor of the AC starts up, it exhibits a momentary inrush current of upwards of 150% or more of its running load or, in this instance, 18.9amps or 2880 watts. This is why both running at the same time will trip a 30amp breaker.
Hello Gary, Here is the deal. Too many factors to say yes. This is why I am saying no. If you get in the habit of turning off the ac comressor and just let the fan run while using the microwave, then turning back to cool then you should NEVER have a problem. Air conditioners pull a certain amount of amperage.....which you will see quoted all over the place. What NO ONE is adding is the rated amps on that compressor will change based on HEAT. So much so that both Dometic and Coleman can quantify how many amps more are being used based on how hot it is outside. Next there are different sizes of microwaves. from 900 watts to 1500 watts. What I dont say is there are several other items that are on that you dont think about. Refrigerator which pulls 300 to 800 watts. You dont know when the cooling cycle comes on and if you are cooking with your microwave then chances are you recently opened the refrigerator door which will force it into cool meaning the refrigerator, microwave, and ac are all on at once. Lets not forget the converter which is powering the lights and other 12volt items by using 120volts. You see there are too many factors to ever say yes. Some people in some instances can do it no problem. But if I make you mindful and say no, then you creatre habits of NOT overloading your circuits....which is safer.
What happens if you are 50amp trailer, using a 30amp reducer, but have the inventors (2 - one for each leg) assisting what is coming in. Do you still have the concerns you mentioned? Thanks
My W is 30A but whenever Im at a park with 50 on my pole, I use my adapter to give my coach 1L of 50A-just in case. More is ALWAYS better. I have long been curious. What do you suppose an Rv parks electric bill is like? !
Any thoughts on why my white wire to Dometic 13.5 AC is charred on the last inch of wire connecting to compressor? I've read that this could be from running it on low voltage? Is ok to just cut back wire and put on new flag connector? New to us 2016 GD trailer and I was inspecting and cleaning before this summers 5 month adventure across the wide open prairies. Gotta have ac for the trip
EMS on motorhomes are for the generators. No way to know what the supply limit (amps) are without programming it. On inverters we have to limit the input current. In other words I have to tell it the limit. Can an EMS have the ability to change the input current limit? Sure. And quite possibly this is what you have, but not all EMS gage that capability.
Todd you always have the good info. When the wife and I finally get on the road, we are heading your way for classes. In the mean time, here's my question, if I have a 50amp rig plugged into 30amp with a soft start, does it make any difference?
Hi Todd, Would you consider showing how to add say a Harbor Freight 100 amp portable Thunderbolt external solar to top off house batteries during the day. I don’t want to add solar to roof and use this portable panel only when it can add value. How do you attach solar regulator safely where you can plug in the portable solar panel and not cause any problem.
I would wire a solar plug on the side of the RV. The other ned is hardwired to your battery. With a portable solar panel that already has a built in solar charger you just plug the solar into your new outlet on side of rv. As an alternative you could use alligator clamps on the battery end but they could pop over and cause a short or fire some where.
How would you suggest i run one AC on my 50amp rig in my driveway? I tried to reduce it down to my regular plug at my front door but it kept tripping. I was was ONLY running one AC. Then i got a splitter to plug into TWO regular plugs and that kept tripping also. I've seen it done on RU-vid, what am i missing?
Your outlet at the front door is probably a 15amp GFIC outlet. Most A/C's are 15k BYU's and if you have a 2nd A/C it is most likely a 13.5K BTU A/C. You might be able to get away turning on the small 13.5 A/C. But if you are adding a extension cord to your already 25/30ft power cord together is getting to hot because its to long and overheating causing the circuit breaker to pop. You need to buy one of those circuit load tester called "Kill a Watt" so you can see actually how much power your using. BTW that circuit at your front door could have other devices using power from the same circuit, over loading it.
Turn off A/C and then run the microwave for its short time to cook, when done just turn the A/C back on. Sometimes the numbers to be so close that it might work if you had a soft start module installed on your A/C. If I had 2 A/C's on my rv I would put the soft start on the smaller A/C.
So I got a very good question if you say that you can not run two Ac on a 30 amp service why do the manufacturer put two Ac on a camper with 30 Amp service???????????
Not to speak for Todd… but it is actually possible to run two ACs on 30 amp. If you have soft starts installed on your air conditioner units. It’s the initial jolt of electricity that’s needed to fire up the compressors that cause a problem. I think he may not have wanted to get into the weeds and go into different products that can help manage power consumption, but rather do a basic and very informative video about amperage, and what can happen if you overload.
there are several reasons... first, you may have a lower rated AC unit such as 13.5k btu vs 15k btu. The 13.5 draws less amperage compared to the 15k btu AC. You may have soft starts installed on your AC units AND you have 13.5k btu units... further, you may have staggered start AC's where the compressors between the 2 units will not start at the same time so the inrush current won't exceed your rated ampacity of the service.
Because there are several other appliances you cannot turn off. You don’t know when they are on and it can set you over the limits. Refrigerator. If on electric it will pull from 400 to 600 watts. Converter. The more 12volt items you gage on the more the converter pulls power. Add 2 a/cs on a hot day you are WELL over the amount. Saying “they wouldn’t have built it if it doesn’t work is actually silly. If you add up all the devices on a 30 amp rv offering you are well over 4000-4500 watts. It’s not built for you to turn everything on. It’s for you to choose what and WHEN you turn it on.
@@NationalRVTrainingAcademy "Refrigerator. If on electric it will pull from 400 to 600 amps." Are you referring to the compressor starting current? Seems pretty extreme.
Always make sure the RVpark pedestal is turn off before plugging into it. Plug the surge protector in and then turn on pedestal power to make sure everything works and the lights are correct for good power. Then turn off power at pedestal and then plug your RV into the surge protector and then turn on the pedestal power. When leaving turn off the circuit break at pedestal before unplugging your rv.
