ELECTRIC
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Forum Name: I need HELP!!!
Forum Discription: Perplexed/need help with a problem - ask here
URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=13736
Printed Date: 14 May 2025 at 8:23pm
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Topic: ELECTRIC
Posted By: alandlearned
Subject: ELECTRIC
Date Posted: 04 Jul 2020 at 3:27pm
| We have a 2015 RPod 178. We used our AC at the same time we used our standard RPod issue convection oven and our 30 amp plug kept blowing out a 30 amp campground powerpost. We then used a 50 amp adapter at the post and have not had a problem since. What is happening? Is this normal? If not, how can it be corrected or should we even bother? That being said, what kind of surge protector should we use on a 30 amp camper with a 50 amp draw like ours? I'm in a mental knot over this. |
Replies:
Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 04 Jul 2020 at 5:01pm
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Well, lets do basics. You don't have a 50 Amp draw. The adapter is allowing you to attach to a 50Amp source and run a 30 Amp source. One thing to consider is you are using two different plug ins. There could very well be an issue with the 30A side of the powerpost. The 50A side of the power post is working correctly and it runs your trailer. It is only providing a single phase. Personally I would discontinue use of the adapter, I'd report the 30A issue or I'd move to another site. The fact it works on the 50A site connecter and doesn't on the 30A side, to me says you have a camp power issue. ------------- Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability." |
Posted By: Pod People
Date Posted: 04 Jul 2020 at 5:25pm
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the other option is that the campground power really is not a 30 amp service and the breaker is old or really a smaller than 30 amp breaker. By powering both the convection oven and the A/C at the SAME time, you are drawing more power than the "30amp" campground service is supplying. That under powered situation is causing the breaker to trip
------------- Vann & Laura 2015 RPod 179 https://postimg.cc/0zwKrfB9"> 
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Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 04 Jul 2020 at 5:56pm
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Until you know what's going on I would strongly advise you not to use the 50A to 30A dogbone adapter. Those can be dangerous, because they allow up to 50A to flow through your cord to your trailer. The cord, trailer power inlet, and wiring between the power inlet and the trailer panel are only rated for 30A. You could overheat the wiring and have a fire. I'm an electrical engineer and I personally would never use one of those adapters, for that reason.The tripping 30A breaker at the pedestal is a red flag that something isn't right. Unfortunately, to my knowledge (and I've looked) none of the available surge protectors will monitor what you want to monitor. They only track voltage, not current. Circuit breakers monitor current, and by using that dogbone adapter you have bypassed the function the campground's 30A circuit breaker was doing to keep you safe. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 04 Jul 2020 at 6:26pm
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There are some situations, most recently our stay at an RV park in Hubert, NC, where only 50A service was available. The owner told me that the newer parks are being done this way and lent me the use of a dogbone adapter for our stay. Sometimes, the use of a 50A outlet with dogbone is unavoidable.
------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 04 Jul 2020 at 7:18pm
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That park owner is either misinformed or is lying to you. Yes new installations now have 50A service but the the National Electric Code specifically requires new 50A pedestals to also have 30A amp and 20A service. He is trying to justify something that is unsafe for you that is convenient for him. If it was me I’d ask him if he would like me to call his city or county inspector and invite him out for a discussion on the topic. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 04 Jul 2020 at 7:32pm
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Please send me the reference. I will make sure to forward that to him. I would rather do that first.
------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 05 Jul 2020 at 7:54am
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Sure, its NEC Article 551.71 (C). I can't copy it here as it is copyrighted material but it is available free to private users on the NFPA website. Google NFPA free access and navigate to NFPA 70 (which is the NEC). You will have to register once. There are many other good docs and standards on the same website, including the propane regs for RVs. One thing to check is which Code cycle the specific local jurisdiction is using. A Code revision is released every 3 years, and the most recent happens to be 2020. But, almost no one will be on 2020 yet. So, I looked back at the previous versions and found that the change requiring edit 30A The number of sites at an RV park which are required to have 50A service is going up over time, and is at 40% in new parks in the 2020 code. So, your park owner is partially right in that the industry is moving toward more and more 50A receptacles, but wrong that that will lead to less 30A receptacles being available. Just as a reminder, the park owner is not required to upgrade his electrical system to the new standards every time a new Code revision comes out, any more than you are at home. But if he does any new work on his system, including adding 50A receptacles, he is required to pull a permit and assure that all the new work meets the then-current Code requirements. So, your park owner can leave what he has now alone, but if he wants to increase the number of sites with 50A, all of the new ones will also need to have 30A receptacles. So, over time, pedestals with only 50A will disappear, which is the intent of the Code writers. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 05 Jul 2020 at 8:16am
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alandlearned, one other comment for you. Just like at home, if you turn on everything in your RV at once you will trip your main breaker. This is called demand factor, you are allowed to hang more loads on a service panel than the panel can handle if they are all on at once. Its still safe because the main breaker will trip. If you run both the oven and the air conditioner simultaneously you will be approaching but should not be over 30A. But you most likely have other electrical loads going too. If your water heater and/ or fridge are running on AC and/or your converter is recharging a discharged battery then that could easily put you over. So, you could simply be running into a situation where you are running around 30A total load and the 30A breaker at the pedestal is a bit faster to trip that the 30A breaker in the rPod. Breakers are not identical. One simple check is to see how hot your cord is getting. If its getting hot to the touch, turn some stuff off. Use propane for water heating and refrigeration or wait till you're done with the oven to heat the water. What you don't want to do is just bypass a circuit breaker that is tripping (by using the adapter or some other way) and call it good. It could be a weak breaker, but it could also be a real problem somewhere that needs to be corrected before it gets worse and starts a fire. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: podwerkz
Date Posted: 05 Jul 2020 at 9:08am
They all do that. ------------- r･pod 171 gone but not forgotten! |