Replace 30 A service with 50 A service - Montana Owners Club

fulltimedreamer · 01-10-2005, 08:05 PM

I've been looking at this for a while and am interested in your input. We are planning to add a Splendide Washer/Dryer in the bedroom closet of our Mountaineer 335RLBS TT. We considered moving to a fifth wheel but really like the lay out of our current coach.

As part of the upgrade I am going to switch over to a 50A marine connector on the back of the coach. (The current 30A cable pulls out to connect to shore power.) It is my intention to install a breaker box with two branch circuits inside the cabinet that houses the current shore cable. I will connect one leg of the 50A cable through a 30A breaker to the existing switch box to power the existing circuits. The other 50A leg will have a 15A or 20A circuit for the washer/dryer and another 15A circuit to feed a hair dryer for use in the bathroom. When in campgrounds that do not have 50A service I will use a "dogbone" cable to connect the 30A service to both legs of the 50A service.

It is also my intention to install an autoformer in the cabinet with the new sitch box. We have run into lots of campgrounds with low voltage which results in the breakers tripping from too much current flow. I will put vents in both sides of the cabinet to provide ventilation and a cabinet door on front for easy access.

Does any body see any serious issues with this? Its going to cost around $800 or so to accomplish this, but that is still cheaper than a new coach.

Let me know what you think.

NJ Hillbilly · 01-11-2005, 02:36 PM

You are basically doing what the factory panel does (the earlier ones at least). My unit has 50 amp main breakers while others have a 30 and 20 amp main. On thing is they won't be a common trip breaker meaning that if one side of the main gets overloaded then both sides trip. This is not important to out situation though but it is important if there are 220 volt loads, You don't want 1 leg to lose power while the other is still energized.

Good Luck and keep us posted on how things go.

John

Montana_2008 · 01-11-2005, 03:44 PM

ok

Montana_657 · 01-12-2005, 12:21 AM

Not to code... you need the linked 50 amp primary breakers. The breaker box you have now has conductors in it rated for 30 amps not 50. No point in buying insurance cause if you have any sort of fire and they look at that wireing.....Then if you ever sell it an the next guy has a problem....Sounds like your spending a lot to get very little, other then increased personal liability.

By the way... why not save yourself a bit of money. Were here in a 3670 with washer dryer hooked up to 30 amps. Been here almost two months. We can operate washer, air and normal loads no sweat. The washer dryer only draws 15amps, they are not the 30amp household variety.

But...I guess if we really need the hair dryer... we may have to turn something off....

NJ Hillbilly · 01-12-2005, 12:02 PM

Gruffy, I agree with what You are saying, I mentioned the lack of the common trip main but the 30/20 breaker set-up is a common one. Steve Riegle has a main that is a 20/30 amp breaker. The wiring that is set for 30 amps could be split off and run 20 amps safely.

I agree with the liability aspect of it and the fact is that if he changes the feeder wire from the outside connector to the panel over to 50 amp wire, uses a 50 amp cord then things should be fine. How many out there run a 50 amp cord with a dog bone adapter or use a 30 amp cord with a 50 amp twist-loc with a jumper wire that connects both sides of the bus together? Everybody does it at sometime or another. How about adding the 30 to 15 amp adapter then plugging into another extension cord? Let the gulity raise their hand (I know mine is up).

Exercising care and common sense will always be an asset.

John

Montana_657 · 01-12-2005, 12:27 PM

Going down is OK. If you have a 50 amp panel and hook it up to 30 amp outlet you can never exceed the 50 amp rating of the panel and the trailer wiring.... using a bigger cord to feed the old 30 amp circuit is going up... not down. The weak point becomes the panel... if somthing fries... it will be inside the 5er. The breaker on the power post will offer no protection at all.

fulltimedreamer · 01-12-2005, 02:59 PM

Hey guys thanks for the input. As far as code is concerned I was going to upgrade to the 50A cable and go to a box rated for 50A with a 50A double breaker for the two legs. Then run the existing 30A off of a 30A breaker in the new box and then a 20A and a 15A off the other leg. I think this should be safe and meet code. I don't want to do anything to start a fire or electrocute someone.

Anyway, you guys answered a question I had decided to pose, which is, how many are using a washer/dryer and Air conditioning with just 30 amps? I guesss the main reason I was thinking of going to 50A was the problems I had last summer with breakers tripping. The real culprit may be low voltage because of poor wiring in the campgrounds. When the campgrounds would fill up my breakers would start tripping so I wasn't sure if I should try to add more energy using appliances.

The Duo-therm air-conditioner uses 12.9 Amps @ 115 volts = 1483.5 Watts. The Splendide WD2100 uses 13 Amps @ 120 volts = 1560 Watts (Website says 1300 Watts). If these numbers are real then the A/C and W/D together will use between 2783 Watts and 3043 Watts which leaves me with 600 to 800 Watts to run the converter and other miscellaneous loads. The key is I'll need to have dependable voltage of 115 - 120 volts. Maybe I just need to get a 30A Hughes Autoformer and leave the wiring alone.

Gruffy - Do you ever have problems with breakers tripping due to low voltage?

I appreciate your input

Montana_657 · 01-13-2005, 01:48 AM

The way your gonna approach it sounds good. I didn't get the new box with the dual 50s from the first post.

The only breaker we have tripped in the last year was to the central vac. That turned out to be a drill charger plugged into the same CCT. that got it's cord cut... yikes.....

I suspect your right about the power getting weaker as the campground fills up. If that's the case the Autoformer should help but I suspect it has it's limits.... say +-20%??? If the campground power is way off motors are the biggest risk... that means your AC..... in your shoes I think I'd go with the autoformer and a voltage monitor. 50 amps won't help if the whole campground is suffering from low voltage.

fulltimedreamer · 01-13-2005, 01:54 PM

Thanks for the input. I think I'm just going to go the Autoformer route.

Montana_74 · 01-13-2005, 05:46 PM

fulltimedreamer

If your autoformer is similar to mine, it has a time limit that is allowed prior to shutting off the power into the rig. It then senses when the power is restored to within the limits and resets itself and your equipment is not damaged. The one I purchased takes care of surges and brown-outs. They may all operate the same way, I am not sure.

Your upgrade sounds like it will work just fine. The only time our w/d is a problem is when we need to operate the second air and there is a switch in place to make sure that they are not both able to operate at the same time.

travel safe

You may also like: