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mcarter View Drop Down
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Joined: 07 Apr 2016
Location: Greenbrier, TN
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Posts: 3419 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: 50 or 30 amp
    Posted: 26 Jan 2019 at 4:08pm
+1 to GlueGuy, the adapter eliminates a leg in the 50 amp supplied circuit. The Pod has protection. You're not getting 50A to the Pod. You're getting one leg of a possible 50A connection. You're Pod is not burning up.
Mike Carter
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lostagain View Drop Down
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Posts: 2586 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Jan 2019 at 4:15pm
Seems to me the significant risk lies in the wire run from the 30A connector on the outside of the trailer to the 30A breaker in the main panel.  The cord from the 50A plug to the trailer could have an issue, but the worst it's going to do is burn up and trip the 50A breaker in the process.

On second thought, that outside cord, if it caught fire, could start a rather impressionable forest fire if it was not promptly attended to under some circumstances.  
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Posts: 6128 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Jan 2019 at 5:07pm
Originally posted by lostagain

Seems to me the significant risk lies in the wire run from the 30A connector on the outside of the trailer to the 30A breaker in the main panel.  The cord from the 50A plug to the trailer could have an issue, but the worst it's going to do is burn up and trip the 50A breaker in the process.

On second thought, that outside cord, if it caught fire, could start a rather impressionable forest fire if it was not promptly attended to under some circumstances.  


Yes.. but of course so could the 30A or 15/20A...
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Jan 2019 at 5:24pm
I think there is a misunderstanding about something. Conductors don't spontaneously overheat, they are designed for a specific current flow, called ampacity. If you exceed that current they will overheat and can potentially start a fire. Below that current level that won't happen. The purpose of overcurrent protection is to be sure that all the conductors in a power system are protected by a fuse or circuit breaker that is properly coordinated with the ampacity of the conductors it protects. 


This is power system electrical engineering 101, fundamental.  I worked in electrical power system engineering for 35 plus years, if one of my engineers brought me a design like that he would have been looking for another place of employment. I did not relish being the defendant in a negligence lawsuit.  

By connecting conductors rated for 30A to overcurrent protection rated for 50A you are creating a risk that this overheating could occur. That includes the power cord to the trailer, the trailer connector, and the conductors internal to the trailer between the connector and the trailer power distribution panel. That's why FR places label near your trailer connector saying not to do that. 

I am the last person to tell someone on this forum that they can't do something, that is a personal choice based on an individual's opinion. But there are new members here asking questions and they need the facts in order to make an informed decision. When someone says that this can't result in a trailer burning up that is not a factual statement and I feel an obligation to object.You are entitled to your own opinion but not your own facts, sorry. 
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Posts: 6128 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Jan 2019 at 6:54pm
Well.. the fact is.. owners of many many many rigs do it out there every day, and the parks are not littered with burned out campers. 

We used 50A hookups 3 times this last season, because the 30A receptacles were terrible.

We are getting very close to dead horse territory here.
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Posts: 1446 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Jan 2019 at 7:33pm
It seems there are often distinct differences of opinion regarding risk.  Some people seem to be very risk averse.  I suppose it makes sense to try to let people understand that a risk exists.  Other people seem okay with risk, especially if they think it's minimal.  And aside from any statistics, there is also the personal level of anxiety, or fear of a given possibility.

Most days I skip the helmet despite the risk of meteorites.

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Posts: 6285 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Jan 2019 at 10:07pm
+1 TT Approve
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jan 2019 at 5:00am
We'll.... perhaps the campgrounds aren't littered with burned up trailers because most owners are reading and following the required label on their trailer power supply connection, which states the circuit rating and says, in all caps:

"DO NOT EXCEED CIRCUIT RATING. EXCEEDING THE CIRCUIT RATING MAY CAUSE A FIRE AND RESULT IN DEATH OR SERIOUS INJURY".

Just sayin'...But feel free to ignore that label, as I've said that's a personal choice. 

What would I do if I was in a campground with hookups that I really had to use and found the 30A receptacle to be non functional? I'd use the 20A one which is perfectly safe and can run everything in an rPod (just not all at the same time).  

As far as risk aversion and fear are concerned, I'm personally not the least bit afraid of low (under 600V) electrical circuits. Been designing and working around them my whole professional life. Respectful yes.  Afraid no. Respectful in part because I've seen the results of electrical fires caused by the kind of high impedance faults that that warning label is trying to mitigate against. High impedance faults can create currents that are above the ampacity of the conductors but below the overcurrent protection rating in improperly designed systems.

Medium and high voltage circuits, now those scare the daylights out of me. Dead
 
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Posts: 2586 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jan 2019 at 7:39am
So, one shouldn't connect the 18AWG lamp cord to a 20A circuit?  If I understand correctly something could happen in the lamp that could put a greater load on the lamp cord, but under 20 amps and the cord would burn up before the circuit breaker tripped?  I think this is not unheard of in house fires.  

Why doesn't someone sell a 50A to 30A converter that has 30A overcurrent protection right in the plug?  That would seem to be a simple solution.  The only risk, albeit minimal, would be in the space between where the plug connects and the 30A fuse or circuit breaker.  Indeed, selling converters without that protection might give me enough work to come out of retirement.
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Fred & Maria Kearney
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mcarter View Drop Down
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Posts: 3419 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jan 2019 at 8:38am
+1 to Dead Horse.
Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."
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