Power Types what do they mean

[zzuroweste1]

On the 3400 it has 50 amp service...what if I pull into a 30 amp service lot...how do I change things.

[Countryfolks]

There are 2 types of cables, a short pigtail and a 20' 30A cable with a 50A connector at one end and a 30A at the other. Get the 50A [female] to 30A [male] pigtail or cable, plug your 50A cable into the pigtail and the pigtail into the power post or the cable into the 5er and the power post. Nothing else needed. We use the 30A cable because it is considerably lighter and more flexable. They are available at Camping World, Campers Choice, and probably at your dealers.

Skip

[Montana_2779]

Don't forget that once you've hooked up to the 30amp service with the converter plug, you can only run 30 amps worth of electrical regardless of the rating on your 5er (50amp). If you run too many items, you'll know it soon enough! At 30 amps, you have a pretty fair chance of tripping a breaker if you use the A/C and any two other heavy loads (most notably the microwave). Our Mountaineer runs 30amp service. We will normally shut off the A/C when we want to use the microwave, toaster oven, overhead lights and TV during meal preparation. Once we've finished with the microwave, the A/C can be returned to service.

Another thought (sorry to ramble on!)-- You also posted a question about a surge protector. This can go hand-in-hand with this post. Many RVers carry two VERY inexpensive diagnostic tools that can save you a fortune in electrical repairs. Camping World (and even Radio Shack and Wal-Mart) carries voltage meters and 3-light circuit testers. Both run $10 to $15 on the cheap side, up to $75 for a super duper Cadillac all-in-one. Use these before you plug in to a new power source. These can tell you (in about two seconds) if you have the proper line voltage and if the circuits are wired correctly. Lucky for me, these are idiot-proof. The voltage tester I have is analogue with big red, yellow and white sections, and the circuit tester has three lights and a description of the light combinations right on the tester itself. I keep this just inside the front door, and it's the first thing on our "arrival" checklist. Do the electrical test BEFORE unhooking. If the electrical pole is bad in any way, you can pull into another slip (or another park) with little or no hassle.

[sreigle]

Pete, I have a VOM and a plug-in voltage meter I keep plugged in inside our Montana. But I think I want to get the 3-light circuit tester for an easier test at the power pedestal. Can you give me a quick rundown on this? Does one tester handle testing of both 50, 30, and 20 amp circuits?

ZZ, we also have 50 amp service but most often use 30 amps connections simply because that works fine for us and I don't like handling the 50 amp cord, especially in cold weather when it can be a bear to coil and put away. You can use the adapter at the park's pedestal but you'll still have your 50amp cord connected to the FW. To avoid using that heavy cord, I use a pigtail like Pete mentioned. I also bought a 30amp "rv extension cord" from Walmart (around $30). The pigtail I've seen only at Camping World and it's around $75 or a little more (but worth every penny since I don't deal with the heavy cord very often). Here's a picture of the pigtail so you see what I'm talking about. I plug this into our Montana and then plug the 30 amp extension cord into the pigtail. Then the extension cord into the power pedestal. Life is a whole lot nicer not having to haul out that heavy 50amp cord.



I might add that on 30amps we can run the AC, the washer/dryer(both), and some lesser draw items at the same time. If we need to also use the microwave then we will need to shut off one of the other things. In winter we can run two electric heaters (1500 watt each) and other things but will need to shut one down to run the MW or dryer or turn both to low (around 750 watts each). In other words, it works for us.

[Montana_2779]

The three light tester is a really neat toy! The unit has three very small LEDs on the top of the body (the whole unit is about the size of a big after-market replacement plug). One or two (and maybe all three?) lights illuminate in some sort of combination based on the wiring at that plug. There's a small sticker on the top, next to the lights, that tells you what each combination means (good, reversed polarity, open ground, etc.). The tester has the standard 15amp male plug, but you can use it on any plug by using your adaptors (I keep a full set of plug and pigtail adaptors so I can go from any amperage to any other amperage). Heck, ours paid for itself the first day we had it. I used it to check all of the plugs in the stick house before we sold it, and found one outlet wired backward. Saved us a hickey on the buyer's inspection! If I remember correctly, I got ours at Wally World in either the RV section or Hardware.

[fulltimedreamer]

The three light tester is available in the household/electrical area at Walmart for about $3.50 as opposed to $9.99 at your local RV dealer. Just use the appropriate adapter to get from 15A to 30A or 50A as Pete says above.

[sreigle]

Thanks for the great info, Pete. Now I'll know what to look for during our next Walmart run.

[Native Tex]

Steve you are so right about the 50 amp cord being hard to handle. I wonder if anyone makes one that is more plyable or easier to handle? I guess I run my 50 amp all the time just so I don't have to stop and calculate what I have plugged in. In our other rig, which was 30 amps, we spent a lot of time plugging and unplugging, tripping breakers, etc. I really like the 50 amp ability. If anyone has seen a different type cord that we could use to fabricate a new cord, let me know.

[sreigle]

Pete, I got the 3-light tester today. Surprised me it was only $3.46 and tax at Walmart.

O.V., good point. Our so-called "50-amp" service is somewhat of a joke, or would be if it didn't irritate me so much that I spent extra to get 50 amp service that really isn't. What I'm trying to say is that on our early 2003 model, 20 of those 50 amps is reserved for the second AC prep. The other 30 goes to the rest of the coach. Since we have the 2nd AC prep but don't have the second AC unit, that 20 amps is wasted. And the rest of the coach is essentially 30 amp. So, hooking up to 50 amps doesn't really do me much good. In fact, probably none. In another thread we had this discussion because many folks thought I was mistaken. I finally posted a picture of our converter and the main breaker. The main on ours, by the way, is a double but not two 50's. Ours is a 30 and a 20 tied together. So this is probably why I don't bother to count amps. It's the same on ours whether attached to 50 or 30. In the late 2003 models (the ones with the flat floor upstairs) I understand they changed to a better electrical system.

[zzuroweste1]

quote:Originally posted by sreigle

Pete, I got the 3-light tester today. Surprised me it was only $3.46 and tax at Walmart.

O.V., good point. Our so-called "50-amp" service is somewhat of a joke, or would be if it didn't irritate me so much that I spent extra to get 50 amp service that really isn't. What I'm trying to say is that on our early 2003 model, 20 of those 50 amps is reserved for the second AC prep. The other 30 goes to the rest of the coach. Since we have the 2nd AC prep but don't have the second AC unit, that 20 amps is wasted. And the rest of the coach is essentially 30 amp. So, hooking up to 50 amps doesn't really do me much good. In fact, probably none. In another thread we had this discussion because many folks thought I was mistaken. I finally posted a picture of our converter and the main breaker. The main on ours, by the way, is a double but not two 50's. Ours is a 30 and a 20 tied together. So this is probably why I don't bother to count amps. It's the same on ours whether attached to 50 or 30. In the late 2003 models (the ones with the flat floor upstairs) I understand they changed to a better electrical system.

That's interesting... does anyone know if the 2005 models are wired this way...I am still learning so all of this knowledge is wonderful...you guys are great.
Zach

[Parrothead]

The 2005 use all of the 50 amps. This has been discussed before and one of the guys explained it a lot better than I.

[sreigle]

Yes, the 2005 models have the better system and use all 50 amps. I talked with Keystone (emailed, rather) about possibly paying to have the newer system put in our early 2003 model. After some discussion it was decided the gain would be fairly minimal since the newer ones have more circuits than ours. We would still be subject to overloading individual circuits and popping those individual breakers unless the entire coach were rewired to use more circuits and that's probably not easily done. However, since it is the main breaker we most often pop, maybe having 50 amps actually available would be of value to us. I probably need to re-open that discussion and find out what this would cost us.

[Coro from Maryland]

Hi Steve

I went throgh tracing this a few years ago, and found that in my unit the one A/C was on my 20 amp line, and everything else was on my 30 amp line. So when I hook up at my home site I use the adapter box that combines the independent 30 and 20 amp feeds into a 50 plug. That way I can use the A/C and hot water heater and toaster and microwave all at the same time.

Did you say you posted more on this in another forum? Do you have a link?

[sreigle]

Coro, it was another thread in MOC. I can search for it if you want but it may be a week or two. We'll be back on the road in the morning and I don't know how much connectivity we'll have between now and 5/30.

Just took another look at the breakers. The hand-labeling is rather cryptic. I relabeled some of them but there's one or two I'm not sure what they are for. Also, we have two mains. We have one on the converter and a separate box with another Main. I assume this separate box is the first one in line coming from the park electrical source. That one has a double breaker, a 30 and a 20 tied together. The converter's main likewise has a 30 and 20 in what appears to be one consolidated breaker unit but it appears they can be operated separately. I'd like to figure out what's on that 20 but right now is not a good time for me to be possibly turning off the power. Vicki's watching TV and probably has some things set to tape. So, that's something to do later...