Can you plug in your 30 amp RV into your 30 amp house dryer plug?

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dombodals

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Joined
Dec 30, 2011
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My dryer at my house is 30 amp.  My rv is 30 amp.  When the rig is parked at the house can I unplug the dryer and plug the rv into that outlet safely.

Years ago someone told me not to use the 30 amp dryer outlet for my rv but didn't elaborate why.  Anyone know?

Thanks,
Donna.
 
No, you can't. The dryer outlet is a 240 volt, and the 30 amp RV plug is a special 120 Volt outlet.
 
Donna

The plugs are different so the RV one won't fit.  Besides, as noted upthread, the voltages are different.

If you have an electric range, you may find that the outlet it plugs into is the same as a 50A RV outlet.  If it has 4 blades then it is the same, while the older 3-blade style is not.  There are 50A to 30A adapter plugs that would allow you to connect your RV to the 4-blade style, possibly using a 30A extension cord.  Unlike dryer outlets, range outlets have both voltages present.

I have installed special RV outlets in my garage and at my storage location, something that many RV owners do.
 
Can you plug it in? Depends on the dryer plug, some will accept a TT-30,

SHOULD YOU.

Well, let me put it this way, If you do you will be sorry as you fork out hundreds of dollars for a new converter, Microwave, TV, possibly the fridge, water heater and air conditioners.

In short, DO NOT DO IT.

Can was the wrong quesiton.. SHOULD is the right question and the answer is NO.

I might add... You are smarter than many.. You asked FIRST.. Far too often we read "I plugged in and now....." from someone not smart enough to ask first.

THEY,  Are forking over the big bucks

You.. Not so much.

NOTE: If you no longer have the dryer, A compentent electrician (Kind of a rare beast where TT-30 is concerned) can modify and replace for you.

Heck, I could do it. Only involves moving two wires.

 
If it is the old style 30a/240v 3-wire outlet, you CANNOT USE IT.  However, IF IT IS A 30a/240v 4-wire outlet, YOU CAN use it for your RV ... IF ...you create the correct converter/pigtail.  Treat it like a 50a/240v connection, buy a 30a/240v 4-wire dryer pigtail, buy a 50a/240v outlet, wire the outlet to the end of the 4-wire pigtail, TEST THE OUTLET WITH A MULTI-METER for correct wiring, and if all tests correct you can then use the connection (if you don't know what to test for, DON'T mess with this). You will have two 30a power legs for a total of 60a rather than the normal 100a that a standard 50a RV outlet provides, but you would be able to run pretty much all you normally run in a 50a RV.  IF YOU RV IS WIRED FOR 30a ONLY, simply plug a 50a to 30a pigtail into the 50a outlet on the adaptor you made, and you will have a normal 30a/120v connection to your RV.
 
If you really need to use 30 amp while parked at home, the ONLY SAFE WAY is to have an electrician install a 30 amp, 120 volt plug and dedicated circuit and breaker for your RV in the stick house panel.
Too much potential for fire and damage as others have noted. 
Never mess with Mr. 240!
 
If it is the old style 30a/240v 3-wire outlet, you CANNOT USE IT.  However, IF IT IS A 30a/240v 4-wire outlet, YOU CAN use it for your RV ... IF ...you create the correct converter/pigtail.  Treat it like a 50a/240v connection, buy a 30a/240v 4-wire dryer pigtail, buy a 50a/240v outlet, wire the outlet to the end of the 4-wire pigtail, TEST THE OUTLET WITH A MULTI-METER for correct wiring, and if all tests correct you can then use the connection (if you don't know what to test for, DON'T mess with this). You will have two 30a power legs for a total of 60a rather than the normal 100a that a standard 50a RV outlet provides, but you would be able to run pretty much all you normally run in a 50a RV.  IF YOU RV IS WIRED FOR 30a ONLY, simply plug a 50a to 30a pigtail into the 50a outlet on the adaptor you made, and you will have a normal 30a/120v connection to your RV.

This is mostly correct but you are wrong about current. You can not get 120V/60 A out of a 30 A dryer circuit.

A four wire dryer circuit has two hots, a neutral and a ground. There is 240 V between the two hots and 120V between each hot and the neutral (and ground).

You could use a 240V/30A circuit to power two different 120V/30A RV outlets but you can not get 120V/60A on a single outlet from that circuit.

If you plug in 120V/50A in to a dryer circuit, it will trip at 30 A. If you really want a 50 A circuit you need a new 50 A circuit breaker. You could wire to a 40 A/240V four wire stove circuit, but the breaker would still trip at 40 A.

The fire hazard and danger is if you have a 240V / 30 A three wire circuit. This has two hots with 240 V between them.  There  will be 120 V between those hot  wires and ground, but the ground wire is not meant to carry the 30 A current.  When you plug in a 120 V / 30 A load and try to use the ground wire as a neutral, it will overheat without tripping the breaker, causing the hazard.

The only safe way to do this is have a four wire 240V/30A branch circuit with properly sized hot, neutral and ground wires all the way back to the 30 A circuit breaker. For example if you see two #8 hot wires (red and black) out of your 30 A breaker and a smaller #10 (white) then it's not safe. I don't think romex/loomex ever sold 8/3 wire like this but if your house has conduit there's a chance they cheaped out on the neutral wire.

If you have a properly wired dryer circuit, all you need is a dryer cord, an RV outlet and a properly sized electrical box and some bare copper ground wire for the box. Connect the green ground wire and white neutral wire according to the outlet markings and then connect *either* the red or black hot wire but not both to the RV outlet. Take the remaining hot wire and put a wire nut or tape it with electrical tape and tuck it out of the way so it doesn't short. Put it all together and check that you have 120 V and that the outlet polarity is correct (hot and neutral aren't swapped). Inside the RV, one of those plug in testers will tell you if it's properly wired too.

If you wire this up correctly you probably have less risk to your equipment and safety than by using a 120 V 15 A circuit, RV adapter plug and undersized extension cords. Low voltages can damage equipment and overheated extension cords and 15 A branch circuits are a fire hazard too.
 
I newer 4 wire 30 amp dryer plug. Can be used but you will need a adapter.    It's something what will need to be made up as noone sells one
 
John From Detroit said:
Can you plug it in? Depends on the dryer plug, some will accept a TT-30,

SHOULD YOU.

Well, let me put it this way, If you do you will be sorry as you fork out hundreds of dollars for a new converter, Microwave, TV, possibly the fridge, water heater and air conditioners.

In short, DO NOT DO IT.

Can was the wrong quesiton.. SHOULD is the right question and the answer is NO.

I might add... You are smarter than many.. You asked FIRST.. Far too often we read "I plugged in and now....." from someone not smart enough to ask first.

THEY,  Are forking over the big bucks

You.. Not so much.

NOTE: If you no longer have the dryer, A compentent electrician (Kind of a rare beast where TT-30 is concerned) can modify and replace for you.

Heck, I could do it. Only involves moving two wires.

That'll be a No then? :eek:
 
Dougie Brown said:
That'll be a No then? :eek:

Ignoring all the non-essential rhetoric, the answer to the original question is definitely no.  Since the OP hasn't been back here for over 2 years, it's all irrelevant as he got his answer a long time ago.
 
Ned said:
Ignoring all the non-essential rhetoric, the answer to the original question is definitely no.  Since the OP hasn't been back here for over 2 years, it's all irrelevant as he got his answer a long time ago.

Hah - true enough. :D
 
Hate to rehash this old thread - but I was going to spend some time at a buddies in Texas, where he has a 4 prong 30A in the garage.  Technically, couldn't I install a 50A plug in that receptacle temporarily and plug in the motorhome?  It would seem I would be using 30A 240VAC to feed a 50A 240VAC, or two pole to two pole.  I would only have 30A on each leg, but it would work wouldn't it?
 

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Mile High said:
Hate to rehash this old thread - but I was going to spend some time at a buddies in Texas, where he has a 4 prong 30A in the garage.  Technically, couldn't I install a 50A plug in that receptacle temporarily and plug in the motorhome?  It would seem I would be using 30A 240VAC to feed a 50A 240VAC, or two pole to two pole.  I would only have 30A on each leg, but it would work wouldn't it?

That might work, it depends on the integrity of the neutral line.  Stoves and dryers are mainly 240 volt loads with only things like the oven light and timer using 120 volts, so it's possible for a less than knowledgeable installer to skimp on the size of the neutral or take other shortcuts with it.

RVs need a full size neutral since they have exclusively 120 volt loads.

The outlet that gets people in trouble is the older NEMA 10-30r dryer outlet.  It's 240 volts, 30 amps and is identical to the 120 volt TT-30 outlet except for the shape of the ground pin.  Ignore that and force a 120 volt RV plug into a NEMA 10-30 outlet (or try and make an adapter) and you'll get nothing but 240 volts inside the RV.
 
In the old days (Say 1960s) dryer plugs were 3 prong and the answer was one great big NO
But today I'm seeing 4-Prong dryer cords (Safer after all, I have a war story but not tonight)

So long as
1: The plug fits and
2: You have 120 volt side to center, zero top to bottom and 240 side to side...

Then all you need to do is check to make sure the neutral wire is up to the same size as the HOT wires.. The round pin is the safety ground.. It may be smaller.. The other 3 wires should be the same size.

IF everything checks,, You are good.
 
If you have a 4 prong dryer outlet. Common in homes built after 2010 you can with the right adapter.    However I don't know of any company making that appapter at the moment
 
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