Shore power at home

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
S

Steve AC guy

Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2019
Posts
9
I recently purchased a new Navion ,
I wanted to connect it to the in-laws house while we visited.
I made a #6 wire 30 amp pigtail with a female plug  from home Depot
And the AC would try and start , however, after a couple tries it shut down .
I didn't trip the breaker , can someone explain what's different about this verses a camp site
 
ChasA said:
What are you plugging into at the house?
Click to expand...

X's 2

I just installed a RV plug at my MIL's home and everything works just fine.

I'm on a dedicated 30 amp breaker and the (10 gauge)wire run is less than 30 feet.

 
Welcome to the Forum!

SPECIAL NOTE:  RV 30A power is actually 120V, NOT 240V power.  Verify you are on a 120V circuit or many bad things can happen!

 
I'm playing im plugging in the cord that's factory built into the RV ,
So if the 30amp is 110 volts that's my problem , I set up for 240volts , I'm lucky I didn't damage any thing , I guess
 
Yes.  You don't use a second hot lead unless you're wiring a 120/240 4-wire outlet for a 50 amp RV.
 
And  to take it one step further,,  I'm  guessing now , but isn't there an adaptor for the 50amp service to my 30amp plug .
does that still only send 120 volts to my rv .
or should i never use the 50 amp service
 
You can buy an adapter to connect you0r 30 amp coach to a 50 amp receptacle at Wal-Mart. A 30 amp RV gets one 30 amp 120 volt line. A 50 amp RV gets two 50 amp lines at 120 volts each. The 50 amp to 30 amp adapter gives you one line at 50 amps, 120 volts. Your circuit breaker in your RV will limit it to 30 amps.
 
Steve AC guy said:
And  to take it one step further,,  I'm  guessing now , but isn't there an adaptor for the 50amp service to my 30amp plug .
does that still only send 120 volts to my rv .
or should i never use the 50 amp service
Click to expand...

You will notice the 30-50 adapter has a 4 "Pin" plug  and a 3 "Pin" outlet

So clearly one (of the hot wires) is not connected.  Just one leg neutral and safety ground 120 volts only at the outlet.  The adapters take care of all of it.

And yes you are lucky you did not blow your converter, Microwave, TV, Fridge, Water heater and the air conditioners. 

Consider a progressive industries HW-30C install As soon as you can. this is a device that will protect you should you do it again.

OH and don't feel bad.. I've read many many stories written by folks who hired a PROFESSIONAL ELECTRICIAN to "Do it right" and wound up with a 240 volt outlet.  Even prevented one such story from being written (Caught the electrician in the parts store before he messed iot up)
 
Summarizing (just to be clear), a Navion is a 30A/120v RV, with a three-wire power cord that terminates with a 3-pin plug. It has one 10 gauge hot, one 10 gauge neutral, plus one ground wire (10 or 12 gauge).

Looks like this one:

https://www.amazon.com/BougeRV-Receptacle-Electrical-Adapter-Handle/dp/B076MWYGPF/


It should only be plugged to a matching 3-wire receptacle that delivers 120v max.  However, there are adapters that will reduce a 50A/240v source to 120v (see ChasA reply).
 
I am amazed you did not fry any of your electronics in the RV by feeding them 240V, the usual outcome of these stories is thousands of dollars worth of fried electronics in the RV.
 
how did you set up for 240? did you make a 3 prong plug adapter? you would have either forgotten, neutral, ground, or 1 phase?

a 3 prong plug (30amp) plug uses a L1/N/G unless you didn't land a N or a G and just landed two phases of single phase would be the only reason you didn't fry your electrical system. if you made a 4 prong plug adapter? it would be easier to make a mistake like this. but at the end of the day, the number of prongs do not designate 30 amp vs 50 amp. the size of the breaker it is landed on in your distribution panel does. if I had a two pole 30 amp breaker installed in my panel, I could still wire it to a 4 prong plug, but it would only be rated for 30 amps. I hope that helps.

Steve AC guy said:
So ,it's one hot and one  neutral, and a ground?
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 1,515 (members: 22, guests: 1,493)

Forum statistics

Threads
131,974
Posts
1,388,533
Members
137,723
Latest member
CarlSpackler
Back
Top Bottom