# 30 Amp Plug Damaged



## larry (Oct 19, 2004)

While camping at Mrytle Beach Travel Park this past week, the main breaker kept kicking out when the A/C and other appliances were in use. Happened 3 times. I checked the 30 amp plug, and it was really hot to touch. Removed the plug and saw one of the posts was also black. Thank goodness Camping World was close by, so I replaced the plug. Everything worked fine the remaining week.

After talking to other campers, they use the 50 amp outlet with a adapter to 30 amp. They said hi/low peaks at some camping parks could cause my damage. Also, make sure the switches are OFF on the shore power box before plugging the 30 amp.

Has anyone else had this problem, and is the 50 amp adapter a good idea ???


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## willie226 (Apr 4, 2006)

larry

you can't have the A\C and other appliances on together. It draws to much current on a 30amps Also the campgrounds not always have the right amps it varies from camp site to camp site. The best thing to get is a volt meter at camping world (about $20.00 bucks) plugs into a wall outlet of the tt and this way you monitor the volts coming in.

Hope this helps out 
Good Luck

Willie


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## Jacko (Feb 14, 2005)

Hello,
I had the same issue with my cord, and I talk to my brother who is an electrician, and he said the very same thing the others told you. The unit is drawing too much power from the box outside, and sometime the box is not providing the right amperage. If the receptacle is loose or the breaker on the external box is bad it will do the same thing.

We have learned that we can use the AC with all other appliances, however if you introduce another device that generates heat, i.e, hair dyer or space heater, toaster it will cause the breaker to trip, and generally the plug will have that burned look. We turn the hot water heater off--and the hair dryer and other things work with no problems.



willie226 said:


> larry
> 
> you can't have the A\C and other appliances on together. It draws to much current on a 30amps Also the campgrounds not always have the right amps it varies from camp site to camp site. The best thing to get is a volt meter at camping world (about $20.00 bucks) plugs into a wall outlet of the tt and this way you monitor the volts coming in.
> 
> ...


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## bill_pfaff (Mar 11, 2005)

I'm pretty much with the others, especially Jacko.

I use an electric griddle to cook breakfast in the morning and if we have the AC on and then use the toaster too it all shuts down very quickly.

Like Jacko, in order to avert the shutdowns we turn off the hot water heater and even the AC if necessary during high usage periods.

I also (only did it once) ran an extension cord to another (empty) camp site and used it to run the griddle to keep the breaker from poping.

Lastly, to minimize any damage due to low voltage, I have permanently installed an Autoformer in line with the shore tie. This pretty much smoothes out any peaks and valleys in the voltage that the camp ground throws at me.

As far as the 50 amp question, I would think it would be a good idea to help minimize the peaks and valley issues not only on the voltage side of the equation but also on the amperage side.

Not sure if I can do it because of the Autoformer. Iâ€™ll have to look into it.


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## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

Question has been well answered, so I'll just throw in one last tidbit.

When you use a 30-50 adapter to hook into a 50 amp plug you actually have LESS amperage available to you becuase the 50 amp service is divided into two 25 amp halves. And the 30-50 adapter simply taps you into one side of the available power.

(thanks CamperAndy for explaining this!) Can't take credit.

So use that adapter with caution and only when needed. I carry one and it saved me on a trip where there was a beautiful campsite that had a dead 30amp plug.

Good Luck


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## Rip (Jul 13, 2006)

California Jim said:


> Question has been well answered, so I'll just throw in one last tidbit.
> 
> When you use a 30-50 adapter to hook into a 50 amp plug you actually have LESS amperage available to you becuase the 50 amp service is divided into two 25 amp halves. And the 30-50 adapter simply taps you into one side of the available power.
> 
> ...


No you are wrong the breaker is 50 amps per side !!!!! Just like you'r house if you have a 100 amp service, you have 100 amps per side


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## Lmbevard (Mar 18, 2006)

Rip said:


> Question has been well answered, so I'll just throw in one last tidbit.
> 
> When you use a 30-50 adapter to hook into a 50 amp plug you actually have LESS amperage available to you becuase the 50 amp service is divided into two 25 amp halves. And the 30-50 adapter simply taps you into one side of the available power.
> 
> ...


No you are wrong the breaker is 50 amps per side !!!!! Just like you'r house if you have a 100 amp service, you have 100 amps per side
[/quote]
I agree with Rip, you have 50 amps on two different curcuits. So when you use a 50 amp adapter, you loose the protection of the the shore breaker, it's setting at 50 amps, and rely on the breaker in the OB at 30 amps. I have been at places that the breaker is not in the best shape, so it keeps kicking out, so using the 50 amps adapter would help there. I think you would have more of a chance to burn up something with overamperage in this case since if something happens to the cord or plug, it would take 50 amps to kick out instead of 30 amps inside since the breaker in the OB would not see the big draw of electricity.


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## jgheesling (Sep 28, 2004)

I had the same issue; I installed a permanent amp meter that I can continuously monitor how much current I am using at any given time. And based on ohms law if you drop the voltage the current will go up. I was surprised at the load produced, and saw at times that I was pulling 35 amps and the breaker was holding, but the cord would get hot. I notice also that the receptacles that are at campgrounds are using pretty worn out and loose. So I make sure the plug is clean and always turn off the breaker while plugging as to not arch the plug blades. I also use a light coat of NoLox (this is a inhibitor you can get at Lowes etc.) That is generally used with aluminum wiring connections and high load connects. I put a light coat on the blades before plugging in and this helps make a good clean connection to the receptacle. Here are some of amp draws based on what is on at the time:

A/C and M/W 27 amps

A/C and Elec H/W 24 amps

A/C and wife hair dryer 26 amps

So as you can see if you have the A/C and H/W and turn on a few of the 120 volt lights and TV your are pretty much at full load. And will start heating things up. I have started using the H/W on Gas when I run the A/C to allow room for other loads. But when I have the A/C off I will use the H/W on Elec.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

California Jim said:


> Question has been well answered, so I'll just throw in one last tidbit.
> 
> When you use a 30-50 adapter to hook into a 50 amp plug you actually have LESS amperage available to you becuase the 50 amp service is divided into two 25 amp halves. And the 30-50 adapter simply taps you into one side of the available power.
> 
> ...


Jim and the rest of you , I was WRONG before when I gave the description of a 50 amp service being the sum of 2 - 25 amp legs. It is two 50 amp legs but they must be on separate phases. That was the issue that got me before as I made the mistake when I first looked at it thinking it was a single phase. Sorry about that. I had made a correction comment in the first thread where this cam up but not everyone saw my correction.


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## W4DRR (May 17, 2005)

The big difference between the 30A and 50A service is the 50A service is 240V, just like the dryer socket in our homes. It consists of both of the 120V "phases", a neutral, and ground. Between the "phases" is 240V, between each of the respective "phases" and neutral would be 120V. In the case of the 50A service at the campground, there should be a separate 50A breaker for each phase, just like a 240V circuit in our home. The 50A / 30A adaptors just use one of the phases to provide 120V.

Bob


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## bill_pfaff (Mar 11, 2005)

So does anyone have an opinion on whether or not I can hook a 30 amp Autoformer into a 50 amp service (using a 50-30 amp adapter) without damaging the Autoformer?


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## W4DRR (May 17, 2005)

bill_pfaff said:


> So does anyone have an opinion on whether or not I can hook a 30 amp Autoformer into a 50 amp service (using a 50-30 amp adapter) without damaging the Autoformer?


Your current draw will still be limited by the 30A breaker in your Outback. Does the Autoformer have a 30A breaker in it also?

Bob


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## nynethead (Sep 23, 2005)

Most camp sites also have a 20amp plug. I use and extension cord to run the 20amp over and use this for my electric griddle and coffee pot and not put the load on the 30amp service. I find this works best during the summer trips when the AC is running most of the time. My DW is good at using a hair dryer, microwave and the AC at the same time and tripping the circuit anyway.


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## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

Thanks for the clarification Andy. Ya learn something every day


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## bill_pfaff (Mar 11, 2005)

W4DRR said:


> So does anyone have an opinion on whether or not I can hook a 30 amp Autoformer into a 50 amp service (using a 50-30 amp adapter) without damaging the Autoformer?


Your current draw will still be limited by the 30A breaker in your Outback. Does the Autoformer have a 30A breaker in it also?

Bob
[/quote]

I'm with you Bob on the 30A breaker. I just thought the power might be a little cleaner using the 50A service.

As far as a breaker on the Autoformer, no, there isn't on although it would be nice.

I have the Autoformer hooked permenantly in line inside the TT. I guess I could put a small sub panel between the Autoformer and the CG service but 50A is 50A. It might not make a differance because amps are a measure of draw, not feed, therefore it should be a so what to the Autoformer.

Maybe I should just give up on the idea and stay with the 30A service.


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## N7OQ (Jun 10, 2006)

bill_pfaff said:


> So does anyone have an opinion on whether or not I can hook a 30 amp Autoformer into a 50 amp service (using a 50-30 amp adapter) without damaging the Autoformer?


Your current draw will still be limited by the 30A breaker in your Outback. Does the Autoformer have a 30A breaker in it also?

Bob
[/quote]

I'm with you Bob on the 30A breaker. I just thought the power might be a little cleaner using the 50A service.

As far as a breaker on the Autoformer, no, there isn't on although it would be nice.

I have the Autoformer hooked permenantly in line inside the TT. I guess I could put a small sub panel between the Autoformer and the CG service but 50A is 50A. It might not make a differance because amps are a measure of draw, not feed, therefore it should be a so what to the Autoformer.

Maybe I should just give up on the idea and stay with the 30A service.
[/quote]

Your Auto transformer will work the same no matter if you are connected to the 30A or 50A connector. If you were to open the Service box at the campground you would find that the 30 amp connector would be connected to one leg of the 50 amp connector just have a 30A circuit breaker in in-line.

Circuit breakers have only one purpose in life and that is to protect the wires and nothing else. If you have 200amps on the buss then every circuit has 200 amps the circuit breaker will only limit how long you can pull this current. No mater how much current is available you will only draw what you need and the circuit breakers will protect the wiring.

When you first start your AC it will draw lock rotor current, about 65 amps and the 20amp circuit breaker is designed to withstand that current for a short period of time.


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## W4DRR (May 17, 2005)

Verstelle said:


> So does anyone have an opinion on whether or not I can hook a 30 amp Autoformer into a 50 amp service (using a 50-30 amp adapter) without damaging the Autoformer?


Your current draw will still be limited by the 30A breaker in your Outback. Does the Autoformer have a 30A breaker in it also?

Bob
[/quote]

I'm with you Bob on the 30A breaker. I just thought the power might be a little cleaner using the 50A service.

As far as a breaker on the Autoformer, no, there isn't on although it would be nice.

I have the Autoformer hooked permenantly in line inside the TT. I guess I could put a small sub panel between the Autoformer and the CG service but 50A is 50A. It might not make a differance because amps are a measure of draw, not feed, therefore it should be a so what to the Autoformer.

Maybe I should just give up on the idea and stay with the 30A service.
[/quote]

Your Auto transformer will work the same no matter if you are connected to the 30A or 50A connector. If you were to open the Service box at the campground you would find that the 30 amp connector would be connected to one leg of the 50 amp connector just have a 30A circuit breaker in in-line.

Circuit breakers have only one purpose in life and that is to protect the wires and nothing else. If you have 200amps on the buss then every circuit has 200 amps the circuit breaker will only limit how long you can pull this current. No mater how much current is available you will only draw what you need and the circuit breakers will protect the wiring.

When you first start your AC it will draw lock rotor current, about 65 amps and the 20amp circuit breaker is designed to withstand that current for a short period of time.
[/quote]

Yeah. What Bill said.

Another thing to remember, with the 50A autoformer, you will need at least one, if not two adapters, since it will have a 50A gozenta and comzouta. And you will only be using half of the autoformer, since it will be for 240V.
The 30A ought to do the trick, unless you anticipate moving on up in the near future to something that requires a 50A hook-up.

Bob


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