smkettner
Southern California
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The 50/30 adapter will have four pins that go into the 50 amp connector but one pin is not connected. There are no brains or smarts or intelligence in the adapter. It simply connects to one hot, neutral and ground. This correctly feeds the RV with 120v.
If he installed a 30amp I would check that it is 120v before I plugged anything in. The 50 is a standard slam dunk install. It is the 30 amp installs that give trouble.
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kaydeejay
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fishnlab wrote:very simple question....but I have no clue!
I just had a 50 amp outlet installed off of my breaker box on the house for guests that will be bringing their trailer for July 4th weekend.
I have confirmed that their trailer is a 30 amp trailer.
My assumption is that I they can use a simple FEMALE 30 to MALE 50 adapter to plug into the 50 amp outlet.
Am I correct?
In reading various threads, I am a bit concerned about the whole 220v vs 110v situation. Some folks indicate that the 50 amp pushes 220 volts and could fry the wiring in a 30 amp trailer. Some say that the 50 amp outlet is 2 x 110v, so it is fine.
Any clarification or redirect would be appreciated.
Thanks Assuming it is a correctly wired 4-prong 220V outlet, you have:
Two hots
One neutral
One ground
Between either hot and neutral is 110V. This is how the 50A to 30A dog-bone will connect and your friends with the 30A trailer will be fine.
There IS 220V available between the two hots but only a few high end Motorhomes actually use 220V, the rest simply have a split system with two 110V 50A circuits.
It's wired exactly the same as your house.
The only point to check is the "correctly wired" bit. Get a voltmeter and check the voltage between the various contacts.
kdenneny wrote:If you had a 50amp 220v outlet installed, that's not going to work for their RV. They need a 50 or a 30amp 110v outlet.
This comment would be true if the outlet was only 3 prong, ie two hots (at 120V each) and a ground. Without neutral there is no way to use this with a 110V RV.
A standard four prong NEMA 14-50R (stove outlet) will provide two 110V circuits but CAN provide 220V if needed.
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rhochnadel
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I am absolutely amazed at the various opinions on how a 50 amp rv circuit is connected to a source, and just as amazed that they insist on expounding on their opinions. Retired master electrician.
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SWD
W 109°58'22 N 50°33'40
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kdenneny wrote:If you had a 50amp 220v outlet installed, that's not going to work for their RV. They need a 50 or a 30amp 110v outlet.
A 220 outlet has 2 110 wires (plus a ground) going to it. 110+110=220
A 110 outlet has one 110 wire and a common (plus ground). 110+0=110
The amperage is related to the wire and breaker size, based on expected load.
The 50amp 220v service will work as the dogbone adapter only takes 110 from one side of the 50amp plug.
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bigdogger
Texas
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There is no such thing a a 220 volt circuit in anything other than an industrial usage. A 220 volt appliance combines two 110 volt lines that are 90 degrees out of phase (don't worry about what that means, it means that if you measure accross the two hot lines with a voltmeter you will get a reading of between 220 and 240 volts +/-). A 220 volt appliance combines the lines inside the appliance. There is never a single wire in household wiring that is delivering 220 volts. If the outlet outside has four connecting holes and is wired correctly, an adapter will work just fine. IF there are only three connecting slots or holes, DO NOT USE if you get a 220 volt reading with the probes sticking in any two holes. This would be an older 220 volt outlet, without a neutral and is not acceptable to use with a motorhome.
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Sandy & Shirley
North East, MD
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The 50 to 30 dogbone will connect just one of the hot leads of the 50-amp circuit to the hot lead of the 30-amp circuit. The other hot lead will float, it will go nowhere. Their "30-amp" 110 circuit will actually be 50-amp 110, but that wont make any difference.
amps is ony how much power is available. If they plug in one lightbulb they will be using a fraction of an amp, turn on the AC and they will use 10 or so amps, etc. when they plug in enough to use 30-amp their internal breakers will pop, but that shouldn't happen.
What you have to avoid is crossing both hot leads of the 50-amp circuit which will give them 220-volts. It is the voltage, not the amps that can cuse serious problems.
If you have a volt meter and want to insure that everything is ok, push the leads in the various plug outlets on the 50-amp plug. when you find the two hot leads you will measure 220-volts.
then plug in the 50-30 adapter. You should measure 110-volts from one lead to each of the other two leads and no voltage between the other two leads. Just check all the combinations and make sure you have nothing that measure 220-volts.
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Bobbo
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kdenneny wrote:If you had a 50amp 220v outlet installed, that's not going to work for their RV. They need a 50 or a 30amp 110v outlet.
A 220 outlet has 2 110 wires (plus a ground) going to it. 110+110=220
A 110 outlet has one 110 wire and a common (plus ground). 110+0=110
The amperage is related to the wire and breaker size, based on expected load.
If it is the 4 prong 110v/220v 50amp outlet, the dogbone is fine. Ignore the above information as it doesn't apply to that outlet, it only applies to the 3 prong 50amp outlets that aren't used any more.
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isuee94
Iowa
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kdenneny wrote:If you had a 50amp 220v outlet installed, that's not going to work for their RV. They need a 50 or a 30amp 110v outlet.
A 220 outlet has 2 110 wires (plus a ground) going to it. 110+110=220
A 110 outlet has one 110 wire and a common (plus ground). 110+0=110
The amperage is related to the wire and breaker size, based on expected load.
Incorrect. The 50A outlet has 4 wires. 2 Hots/Neutral/Ground. Each of the two hots has a 110V circuit. They don't add together to 220V. They are separate circuits. The 30A outlet has 3 wires. 1 Hot/Neutral/Ground. With an adapter plugged into the 50A outlet, the 30A plug can only connect to 3 wires. As stated above, as long as those three wires are Hot/Neutral/Ground you are fine.
* This post was
edited 06/22/10 02:39pm by isuee94 *
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Horsedoc
Dixie --- N. Georgia
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Whoa! more opinions. Someone is going to get hurt listening to some of this stuff.
Does WaMart have 110/120 or 220/240 volt hookups for those who overnight there? (gotta get the direction of this discussion changed)
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jetboater454
No Idea
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If it was installed by a certified electrician and you told him is was for a 50 amp TT,it should be wired right.If not get it checked first.Simple and avoids all the BS you read here.
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