TT-30 Plug to 3 Wire Pigtail (120)

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.

Mark A

New member
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Posts
2
First Post on this site....I have a Champion 3500 generator with TT-30 RV receptacle.  I want to come off of this receptacle and convert it to 110 outlets for my house in the event of an emergency.  I am not an electrician, but I can follow simple directions.  Can anyone help or am I at the wrong site?  Thanks!
 
Try using the Search button, and you'll find a number of prior discussions on this subject. One big caveat is that you need a foolproof way of ensuring that your house stays disconnected from incoming power lines, otherwise you might have some nasty results. The most serious of these could be killing an unsuspecting lineman.
 
First. that outlet may be 30 amp, 120 volt, or 30 amp 240 volt. Please use a meter and CHECK it first..... (pays to be sure)

now, how to hook it up

On the house have an electrician install a proper Generator Transfer Box with a proper inlet... This inlet will normally be a 30 amp 4-wire 250 volt TWIST LOCK "plug" in a housing

now, you will need

A 30 amp RV power cord, Male plug, tinned leads on the other end (Bare wire)

One 30 amp twist-lock outlet matching the inlet (Must mate with inlet)

Hook up as follows

Green wire to green screw

Black wire to copper screws (Marked normally L-1 and L-2 and you connect this wire to BOTH of these screws)

White wire to Silver color screw (Marked W on many plug bodies)

And that is all there is to it.

If the outlet is 240 volt.. then there is somethign different.

DO NOT FORGET THE TRANSFER SWITCH BOX

You do NOT want to back feed the neighborhod or the mains.
 
Thank you guys for the answers.  My intentions were not to hook up the generator to my house breaker box, but to use it only in emergency power outages.  I wanted to know if I could come out of the rv TT-30 outlet and use it to power my refrigerator in the house.  Can you purchase an extension cord that has the TT-30 twist plug on one end and 110 receptacles on the opposite end?  Please keep in mind that my question may be hard to understand due to my lack of knowing how to phrase the electrical terms.  The generator would be a stand alone source of power not in anyway connected to the main breaker box, only to appliances within the home.  Thanks
 
Yes, if your generator has a 30A outlet, you can make an extension with a 30A male plug on one end and 20A outlets on the other.  Be sure to use a sufficiently large wire size for the extension cord to handle a maximum of 30A.
 
It may not be worth your time and trouble unless you experience long power outages. We have frequent outages but usually not long in duration, so buy leaving the frig closed during theses times its not a problem. ( your 3500 wont provide you with much any way.)>>>Dan
 
Ned's solution will allow you to make use of more of the generators capacity than a simple 30amp to 20AMP "Dogbone".

Use 30amp capable components and a duplex 20amp receptacle.
 
I did as someone else suggested.. Only my outlet box (on the end of the 30 amp cord) has FOUR 20 amp duplex outlets on it (Easier than using an outlet multiplier)

This was the "power system" in my original trailer

I recommend doing the generator transfer switch thing anyway, Here is why

With the extension cord system you have to leave doors or windows unlocked so as to let the cord in.. This is a security issue and in today's world there is no safe neighborhod.

With the proper transfer switch and inlet method.. No security issues.
 
Back
Top Bottom