50 amp more reliable?

[Goodspike]

Originally Posted by youracman

Just posting back on my 'sperience with the company that makes the "ckt breakered pigtail" from Amazon. I got on their website and filled out the form that they said would yield a response in 2 or 3 days ............ did that almost 2 weeks ago. NADA. So I guess I am gonna have to break out the the wire strippers and phillips screwdrivers and install my own plug and receptacle. Agree, Phil; would have been nice to just buy it ready made.

I ordered the parts, but haven't connected them yet. No need to since I can't go anywhere. My only concern is how the two connectors will grip the cable, but I think it will work. Once I do it I'll report on what I bought and whether the parts worked well together.

But it really isn't that tough of thing do to if you're familiar with electrical wiring. As I may have mentioned, when I got my 3,000 watt generator I found it impossible to get a cord with the heavy gauge wire I wanted, so I had to order the cable and connectors and make one myself. It's held up well.

[powercat_ras]

If you really want to limit power to exactly what a 30 amp RV cord can handle, a solution would be to buy a weather proof electrical box, a cover with a screw base fuse holder, a package of 30 amp slow blow fuses, two strain relief fittings, and a 50 A plug to 30 A socket pig tail. Cut the pig tail in half and splice the box in the middle, with the fuse in the black wire and connect the white and ground thru. Ground the box/cover to the ground wire. Solder and well insulate the connections. Only issue I would see is that the fuse holder, while it has a protective metal cover for the fuse, it's not rated for outdoor use. So you might have to bag the box in a plastic bag to make it bullet proof in all weather.

All the parts can be purchased at Menards for under $ 25. The 30A slo-blo fuses come in packs of 4 so you'd have 3 spares "just in case".

[youracman]

Goodspike: "I ordered the parts, but haven't connected them yet. No need to since I can't go anywhere. My only concern is how the two connectors will grip the cable, but I think it will work. Once I do it I'll report on what I bought and whether the parts worked well together."

Look fwd to your post. Hope it also includes a pic or two.

After reading powercat's concern re weatherproof requirements, I am a little less enamored with the pigtail device at Amazon..... the CB doesn't appear to be all that weatherproof, but maybe it is.
https://www.amazon.com/30-Amp-Inline.../dp/B07QPR94J7

Best........... ed s

[Morich]

Mention of "tighter" in the post, jogged my memory on a small item we might all use. I find that the blades on our plugs do seem loose in the outlets that may be a little worn, but we are often not going to pull up and move just on this small point.
So to make the connection more solid and therefore less likely to over heat, we can take two pair of pliers and make a slight "bow" in the blades. This bow often makes the blades press against the receptacle's metal a lot more firmly.
Careful! Not such a big bow that it won't go in and don't try it with just one pair of pliers if the plug is plastic!

[Phil G.]

Originally Posted by youracman

Just posting back on my 'sperience with the company that makes the "ckt breakered pigtail" from Amazon. I got on their website and filled out the form that they said would yield a response in 2 or 3 days ............ did that almost 2 weeks ago. NADA. So I guess I am gonna have to break out the the wire strippers and phillips screwdrivers and install my own plug and receptacle. Agree, Phil; would have been nice to just buy it ready made.

Once done, I will be comfortable knowing that I don't have 30A wire from the coach's breaker panel looking back at a 50A breaker when I'm plugged into a 50A pedestal with an adapter (AKA a dog bone?) ...... actually it's my favorite way to hook up when available cuz the campsite's 50A receptacle is usually "tighter".

Best............ ed s

Right you are Ed ... and getting back to my original reason for posting -> so that when camping in hot weather I can maybe get non-sagged 30A voltage into my RV from plugging into a 50A receptacle, thus saving me from a ruined air conditioner!

[Goodspike]

Originally Posted by Phil G.

Right you are Ed ... and getting back to my original reason for posting -> so that when camping in hot weather I can maybe get non-sagged 30A voltage into my RV from plugging into a 50A receptacle, thus saving me from a ruined air conditioner!

Again, the voltage on the 50 amp will be exactly the same as the voltage on the 30 amp, depending on which leg your dog bone is connected to. The 30 and 50 are amperage, not voltage, and the power to both outlets almost certainly comes from one of the same cables.

That said, one of the 50 amp legs might be higher than the other, so your chance of getting the higher one would be 50/50.

This is a temporary power device, which uses a meter, but it shows the wiring that would be basically the same as an RV park. The two hot legs come in and then get split off to the 20, 30 and 50 amp outlets, through appropriate breakers. They don't run separate lines to each pedestal for each outlet.

https://www.amazon.com/Siemens-TL137...5670401&sr=8-6