Y adapter - 2 15 amps to 1 30 RV plug

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Wigpro

Wigpro

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 23, 2012
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Montana in Summer - S CA this winter
Back in my boating days I had a locking 30 amp cord from the boat and I had an adapter where I could run two 15 amp standard plugs to supply my 30 amp boat plug.

I have been looking for a similar one for my RV so I can supply from two 15 amp standard plugs to my 30 amp RV cord.

I have searched all over the internet and can't find the proper configuration.

Any ideas??

Thanks in advance

Jim
 
I haven't seen one, but it certainly doesn't mean they aren't around.  However, they won't help much unless the 15/20 amp outlets are on separate circuits.  In other words, don't plan on gaining anything by plugging the two 15A plugs into a duplex outlet.

Edit: Additionally, one would have to ensure the two outlets were in phase if two separate outlets are connected to the 'Y' adapter.
 
Molaker said:
I haven't seen one, but it certainly doesn't mean they aren't around.  However, they won't help much unless the 15/20 amp outlets are on separate circuits.  In other words, don't plan on gaining anything by plugging the two 15A plugs into a duplex outlet.
Click to expand...

I understand that - the total from a duplex outlet would still be 15 or 20 amps. I was thinking of being able to run from two separate circuits. I guess that is probably why nobody makes them because people would plug them in a single duplex outlet and think they all of a sudden have 30 amps of service.

I will keep looking it is not do or die, just nice to have in my adapter sets for when I need more power and no 30 amp receptacle.


Jim
 
Wigpro said:
I understand that - the total from a duplex outlet would still be 15 or 20 amps. I was thinking of being able to run from two separate circuits. I guess that is probably why nobody makes them because people would plug them in a single duplex outlet and think they all of a sudden have 30 amps of service.

I will keep looking it is not do or die, just nice to have in my adapter sets for when I need more power and no 30 amp receptacle.


Jim
Click to expand...
Did you read my last edit?  You'll have to make sure the two outlest are in phase.
 
On top of the phasing issue, there would always be some fool that would try to use it as a straight 15/30 adapter, leaving the other plug live and swinging in the breeze. I can't imagine any manufacturer would want to take on that much liability.
 
sounds like playing with fire. your standard house wiring has 2 seperate 110  volt power supplies going to your panel, one supplying each side. unless your wiring has a feed from each side of the panel you will not get 220 volts that will run anything. i have seen where people have tried to wire 220 electric heaters or hot water tanks and put the breaker in the wrong location in the panel. you will still get 110 at each wire but it will not run a 220 appliance. the breaker has to be located across the breaker bar so that each side of the 220 breaker is accessing both sides of the panel box. highly unlikely you would encounter wiring that has been hooked up the  way you describe  unless it was an electrician or an experience person who has done this on purpose. if that was the case i think they would have just put a 30 amp outlet there in the first place.
 
The problem with your desire.

If you have two outlets, both on the same leg of the 120/240 volt service and the total resistance (Which includes wire resistance, contact resistance and such) is IDENTICAL, your plan will work.

Odds of that happening are roughly 1 in... How many grains of sand are there on the sea shore anyway?.  (In short, right close to zero).

But if your first outlet is from L-1 and the other is from L-2.. Well, that's known as a direct SHORT at 240 volts.. Could be quite.... Amusing.. To on-lookrs.

In sort, don't try it.

Now, There is a box called a "power maximizer" and in fact  I thin if you add www and com a couple of periods and drop a space you might just have the URL.  It is designed to use both halves of a duplex.

Another issue: By code, less grandfathered, outdoor outlets are supposed to be GFCI (15/20 amp, 30 is exempt in most places still)  and your dual connection system.. Is what we call a click-0-matic on a GFCI, it will trip it.
 
I am about to give up on this...it is not something I really need, I just recalled that on my sailboat I had an adapter that would take two separate 115 volt and merge it into my 30 amp cord. Later when I added  A/C I put in a 50 amp service and had a cord that could take two 30's and make a 50. But keep in mind that my panel in the boat could reverse polarity and all kinds of other things, had meters and guages to measure volts, polarity, amperage draw and I could switch from shore power to my generator with the flip of a switch. Much more sophisticated system.

Maybe I should install a marine panel in my RV, it would make more sense and be much more flexible. But the waterproof connectors are different.

Thanks everyone...

Jim
 
Not only is it a bad idea, there are very, very few times you would be able to use such an adapter.
 
I have a 50A cheater box (see previous message) and it can plug to two 30's or two 15's or even a 30 and a 15 when I add 30/15 adapter(s) to the twin 30A plugs. As others have stated, it won't work on a GFCI protected circuit, though. The GFCI trips because of the shared neutral.  I use mine 3-4 times a year, so it does have some value if you travel to the right (wrong?) sort of places.

You could easily make up your own Y connector to feed a 30A female from two 15A outlets, but always check before plugging it into the two outlets, cause if one of them has hot & neutral reversed, it causes a direct short!
 
Molaker said:
Whew!  Now we can quit worrying about you. ;)
Click to expand...


Yea you can stop worrying...I just thought it would be nice...to have a little more power when I am on a standard outlet. Which is rare, but it happens from time to time...if I get real desperate I crank up my 3500 watt generator to a 30 amp RV plug on the generator, then I can run everything with no worries.

Thanks all

Jim
 
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