Shore Power Question -- (15A+30A=45A)

[dcmac214]

How well does a dual-pigtail like this Camco item work for 15A plus 30A giving you a nominal 45A when they don't have 50A? Reviews at amazon etc are pretty good.

[pianotuna]

Two solutions to poor power are autoformers and hybrid inverter/chargers.

[Cummins12V98]

I have used 30A running 15 and 13.5K AC's. No problem with Refrigerator on gas along with the water heater.

[ken56]

Your RV is not your sticks and bricks home with a 200 amp service. Breakers are limiting devices for safety reasons. Can you draw more than 30 amps in a 30 amp rated coach? yes, for a little while until that breakker trips because of over heating. Your home and your trailer both have 110/120 volts entering them when plugged in. A 50 amp coach still has 110/120 volts entering the box. The difference is the distribution legs in the box each have 110/120 to them where the 30 mp coach has 110/120 powering both sides. Don't try fancy power gymnastics to "get more power". Manage your usage when you're a plugged into a 30 amp circuit. I never have any issues when my 50 amp coach is plugged into 30 amp shore power. You just have to understand you are limited in using the high wattage appliances at the same time.

[wa8yxm]

To answer many questions:
There is a device that has two TT-30 plugs or one TT-30 and one 15 and a 50 amp outlet.. HOWEVER it is rare that you can use it. The Reason: Most parks have modern pedistal boxes if it's a 30 amp site the 20 amp outlet is a GFCI and these devices trip the GFCI. SOME sites the 30 amp outlet is also GFCI protected.

NOW.. I do have one park, now "Deceased" (got sold and no longer an RV park) where I could use two non-GFCI 30 amp outlets with this box and another park that has a couple sites with no GFCI's and it works there... One park that rents the boxes to 50 amp customers during their slow seacon and only lets you park on every other site so you can use two 30 amp outlets NOTE we are still less than 5 places it's useful that I have visited.

So how do I do 30 amp sites

I pulled the power lead to the Rear AC (Does not matter which one you pull) and ran it, using 12ga flexible cable. to a 20 amp plug in an exterior compartment I added.. I ran a new 12ga line from the breaker to a 15/20 amp outlet mounted in the same compartment.. On a 50 amp site such as the one I am now the plug goes in the socket and the factory wiring is basically "Restored"

On a 30 amp site I pull the plug add a 12ga Extension cord and the Rear A/C is isolated from the rest of the "house" Oh I also added a 15/20 amp outlet to the Load side of the above inside because I usually use electric heat and >.... well I don't need heat and A/C at the same time.

[DrewE]

cavie wrote:

gbopp wrote:
I've never seen this type adapter. If only one male end was plugged in wouldn't the other one be hot?

the two plugs are not connected.

The two hot wires are not directly connected together, but each connect to either of the two hot connections on the 50A connector. The neutrals are all connected together (which is why GFCIs will trip when this gets plugged into them), and similarly the grounds are also connected together.

If there's a 240V load in the RV--which is not a particularly common situation--one hot would be live with power that goes through that load from the other when only one was connected.

[BB_TX]

way2roll wrote:
I am scratching my head as to what it's actually for. In a decade of camping all over I have never had the need to even ask if such a thing exists. Is the theory to provide a 50A coach with power when you only have 30 and 15 at a pedestal? In my rudimentary knowledge based on the way 30a and 15a is supplied being very different to how 50a is supplied I don't see how it would work. It's like adding 2 oranges together to make a basketball. Sorry, I don't get it.

There are campgrounds that still only have 30 amp and 20 amp service. And if you have ever stayed at one in the south in the summer you know how limiting 30 amp on a 50 amp rig is when running your A/C. You can’t run much else. So the idea is to get you an extra 20 amps of service and maybe not trip the park breaker as often. But unless the park has non GFCI breakers that adapter will not work.

[cavie]

gbopp wrote:
I've never seen this type adapter. If only one male end was plugged in wouldn't the other one be hot?

the two plugs are not connected.

[Big_Katuna]

What DOES work if you want more than 30A is to add an aux recep that has a dedicated cord.

My power comes in under the bed so I added a recep there and used a good ext cord.

Wifey can use it for her hair dryer or plug the electric tea pot in.

[IB853347201]

DownTheAvenue wrote:

BB_TX wrote:

Chris Bryant wrote:
They are near worthless, as they will not work if the 15 amp outlet is GFI protected, which they all are required to be.

This answer is correct. Newer codes require GFCI outlets. And this device will not work with a GFCI since the common neutral almost guarantees the currents thru the two separate hot outlets will not balance with the neutrals back thru the respective outlet neutrals.
Might work in an older campground that has not been upgraded to GFCI.

YUP! This is correct!

The above 3 answers are correct. I have one and from experience I can tell you that it hasn't worked anywhere that I have tried it, in multiple campgrounds. In fact, if you want it, PM me and I will let you have it for a good price.

[Cummins12V98]

way2roll wrote:
I am scratching my head as to what it's actually for. In a decade of camping all over I have never had the need to even ask if such a thing exists. Is the theory to provide a 50A coach with power when you only have 30 and 15 at a pedestal? In my rudimentary knowledge based on the way 30a and 15a is supplied being very different to how 50a is supplied I don't see how it would work. It's like adding 2 oranges together to make a basketball. Sorry, I don't get it.

Some parks charge for 50A and if you only want 30A they lockout the 50. Those that like to beat the system will use these for a few more amps.

They also get a few more if at a 30A ONLY pedestal.

[way2roll]

I am scratching my head as to what it's actually for. In a decade of camping all over I have never had the need to even ask if such a thing exists. Is the theory to provide a 50A coach with power when you only have 30 and 15 at a pedestal? In my rudimentary knowledge based on the way 30a and 15a is supplied being very different to how 50a is supplied I don't see how it would work. It's like adding 2 oranges together to make a basketball. Sorry, I don't get it.

[happy2rv]

dcmac214 wrote:


How well does a dual-pigtail like this Camco item work for 15A plus 30A giving you a nominal 45A when they don't have 50A? Reviews at amazon etc are pretty good.

To answer original poster's question, for the reasons already mentioned, I think this is pretty much useless for any campground. You are better off with a "standard" 50A to 30A dog-bone.

There are a few potential situations where it might be useful, assuming you understand the limitations. A couple of examples are:

• Running both air conditioners off of separate generators that aren't running paralleled.
• At your home or another private location where you have a 30A outlet and a separate non-GFCI 20A outlet.

[time2roll]

dcmac214 wrote:


How well does a dual-pigtail like this Camco item work for 15A plus 30A giving you a nominal 45A when they don't have 50A? Reviews at amazon etc are pretty good.

Works fine for what it is.

Does not combine power so you have 15 on one side of your panel and 30 on the other side.
Will trip a GFCI outlet.
If you are OK with these limitations then it will work well for you.

For most people a 50/30 adapter works just fine also putting the 30 amps on the full panel.

[happy2rv]

jdc1 wrote:
One question, three different answers. That's why this forum is so popular. Everyone gets their say, and they don't get ridiculed for it.

Only if something else is wired improperly. This highlights a common misconception. A lot of people think the difference between 30A and 50A service is 20A. But that's not really accurate. Really the difference is 70A. 30A service is 30A at 110V where 50A service is 2 50A 110V circuits. This is almost always implemented as a 50A 220V circuit on the power pedestal. Any time you use a 50A to 30A dog-bone though, it connects both legs together supplying the single 30A 110V circuit to both of the 50A circuits in the RV. This dual circuit adapter does not connect the 15A circuit and the 30A circuit together internally, so unless something within the RV connects them, connecting one but not the other should not result in voltage to the disconnected plug. However, as DrewE suggested, if there is a fault in the RV wiring or "true" 220V appliance in the RV, it could result in voltage on the unattached plug.

However, the biggest reason not to use one of these is that unless you have special circumstances, they almost always gain you no additional capacity. Most power pedestals that offer a 30A circuit and a 15/20A outlet aren't powered by separate circuits and the pedestal is limited to 30A not 50A. So in this case, using a standard 50A to 30A dog-bone gets you the same amount of power. Now you could, in theory, use this adapter to get power from two different pedestals, but even if campgrounds would allow this, as already suggested the required GFCI on the 15/20A receptacle would likely immediately trip.