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Old 07-04-2019, 09:07 AM   #1
Slow Hand
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Please dont laugh

Well I am remodeling our house and removing the popcorn ceiling paint and new floors. We have everything we own in the garage and so we decided to bring the Montana home so we can have a place to sleep.

We won't be able to be in the house for 2 days while they remove the popcorn. I decided I wanted to plug in the rv because we need to watch TV and live in there. So i went to Lowes and bought a 220v plug for my power cord I have a cord capable of 30 amps.

So I proceed to plug it into the dryer outlet in the garage. WOW don't do that!!! I tried all sorts of things from checking my wiring and everything looked good. Nope not good. All the lights on my surge protector stayed lit.

Well I fried my inverter and went and got another one and installed it $$$. Then I thought problem solved but no. I finely had 110 volts for the lights but they were to bright when I turned them on so I unplugged the cord and went online. To my surprise the RV uses 110 volts at 30 amps. I finely have my RV hooked up but never plug in your RV into a 220 circuit.
 
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Old 07-04-2019, 09:46 AM   #2
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You are definitely not the first to do that. Plugging an RV into a 240 vac dryer outlet gets reported often. And the results are always the same. $$$$. 50 amp RV service is in fact a 120/240 vac service. BUT, nothing in your 5er actually used 240 vac. The standard 50 amp RV service is just like your home service, there is 240 vac available for such things as ovens, cooktops, home A/Cs, etc. But the service also has two 120 vac hot legs for everything else. A dryer 240 vac outlet is just that, 240 vac, and does bad things to an RV.
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Old 07-04-2019, 10:01 AM   #3
Hblick48
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I did that once on my old Seabreeze motorhome...fried the microwave and boat anchor tube tv. Surprised that the power converter was ok.

My Montana is 50 amp, so 220 is ok so long as it's properly wired in.
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Old 07-04-2019, 11:05 AM   #4
jeffba
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My soon to be son-in-law wired up a 30 amp circuit for me. 2 hots and a ground. Surge Guard caught it. Whew!!
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Old 07-04-2019, 11:19 AM   #5
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Not laughing; that is not funny. Sorry for your troubles.

My RV shore power is two 120VAC legs 50A each. My breaker panel is split; one of the legs runs half the stuff, the other runs the rest; all 120VAC. There is nothing that runs on 240 (for very long).
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Old 07-04-2019, 11:34 AM   #6
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Bummer I feel your pain. It can happen to the best of us.
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Old 07-04-2019, 11:42 AM   #7
Our3231CK
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be very thankful you are alive to tell the story, I would think that the RV dealers would stress on the unit walk through this extremely important safety awareness matter. Maybe Keystone could take the lead and put an awareness sticker above the plug on the unit with 110V only???
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Old 07-04-2019, 12:56 PM   #8
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Excellent idea on the warning sticker Rick. They put stickers all over the place that sometimes seem silly, but this is one that could save thousands of repair dollars or perhaps even a life!
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Old 07-05-2019, 05:57 AM   #9
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I've got a 50plug installed in the garage by my electrician years back.
always cool when the Monty is in the driveway.
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Old 07-05-2019, 06:01 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Our3820FK View Post
be very thankful you are alive to tell the story, I would think that the RV dealers would stress on the unit walk through this extremely important safety awareness matter. Maybe Keystone could take the lead and put an awareness sticker above the plug on the unit with 110V only???
The only stress some RV dealers do is running to the bank to cash your check and trying to figure out how to charge you for warranty work
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Old 07-05-2019, 10:01 AM   #11
richfaa
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We tend to take some things for granted . We knew from prior experience and this forum that we had two legs of 50 amps 120V and that the Rv used 12V and 120V.The tag at the 50 amp plug input can be confusing if you are not already aware of the power capabilities of the RV.
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Old 07-05-2019, 10:16 AM   #12
mhs4771
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Well in reality, you are plugging into a 240 Volt outlet, two 120V hots, ground, & neutral. As long as you have all four you're good to go, but lose the neutral and watch out.
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Old 07-05-2019, 09:00 PM   #13
Slow Hand
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I finely got my RV up and running. We are remodeling the house and have popcorn ceilings and need to be out of the house for 2 days. That is the reason I needed to have power. Way cheaper than Motel 6. They don't need to leave the lights on for me. only drug dealers be staying there LOL
besides spent all my extra cash on a new inverter. LOL.
I hate costing myself money for no reason. Before I try anything like this again I will ask questions first. i just took it for granted that the size of cord surely it's 220. Grasshopper was wrong.
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Old 07-05-2019, 09:15 PM   #14
Daryles
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Good luck with the remodel.
I almost made the same mistake. Almost plugged into a welders outlet.
Found this article and it saved me from this mistake.
RVs use 50 amps NEMA 14-50r outlet, BUT they use two 120v legs. NOT 240v.
Very good article explaining this.
https://www.rvtravel.com/can-i-use-a...-amp-rv-power/
Other useful link.
http://www.myrv.us/electric/
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Old 07-06-2019, 06:56 AM   #15
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But our 50 Amp service is 240V with a neutral. Leave off the neutral and you do put 240 volts on converter and all AC devices. The neutral splits the 240 into 2 120.
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Old 07-06-2019, 08:16 AM   #16
DanandBrenda
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I plug mine into the 240 outlet with 4 prongs all the time with no problems.
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Old 07-06-2019, 08:38 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Slow Hand View Post
........ i just took it for granted that the size of cord surely it's 220. Grasshopper was wrong.
The cord size is large due to a thick abrasive resistant outer sheathing since they are dragged across concrete, asphalt, gravel, etc regularly.




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I plug mine into the 240 outlet with 4 prongs all the time with no problems.
That's because the standard 50 amp 4 prong 240 outlet has a neutral and the RV devices only get 120 vac to them. A 3 prong 240 dryer or welder outlet does not have a neutral, and there is no 120 vac. There-in lies the problem, and subsequent damage.
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Old 07-10-2019, 01:40 PM   #18
steiny93
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don't feel too bad about it

we have on two separate occasions with two different licensed and bonded electrical companies had 50 amp rv outlets added to the outside of buildings

both times they were incorrectly installed as real 240volt outlets

the first one did about $50k worth of damage to a diesel pusher, the second one I caught via testing the voltage before use
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Old 07-10-2019, 02:04 PM   #19
WaltBennett
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Originally Posted by scottz View Post
Not laughing; that is not funny. Sorry for your troubles.

My RV shore power is two 120VAC legs 50A each. My breaker panel is split; one of the legs runs half the stuff, the other runs the rest; all 120VAC. There is nothing that runs on 240 (for very long).



This is what confuses MANY RVers. You've a 30 amp 5er, so while I'm sorry for what happened, you should have realized that wasn't a good idea. For 50 amp service 5ers, the 5er does NOT use 320 volts, but uses TWO 30 amp circuits instead. The connectors could also be used for 240, but anyone doing that would have the same outcome as you did.
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Old 07-10-2019, 02:07 PM   #20
WaltBennett
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Originally Posted by psomers View Post
But our 50 Amp service is 240V with a neutral. Leave off the neutral and you do put 240 volts on converter and all AC devices. The neutral splits the 240 into 2 120.



You're right, you're 5er does NOT use 240v. Talk to an electrician if you anyone doesn't believe me. Look at your appliances labels -you see anything says 240v?
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