Need More Amperage

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Electrical Code Since 2014.

Article 551.71  RV Parks ? Type Receptacles Provided. As we know, every recreational vehicle site with electricity supplied to it must have at least one 20-ampere, 125-volt receptacle to supply the RV unit, conforming to the configuration as identified in Figure 551.46(C)(1). At least 20% of these sites must have one 50-ampere 125/250-volt receptacle conforming to the configuration as identified in Figure 551.46(C)(1). This change goes one step further and says that every site supplied with the 50-ampere 125/250-volt receptacle must also be supplied with a 30-ampere, 125-volt receptacle, conforming to the configuration as identified in Figure 551.46(C)(1). This change came about in order to eliminate the various types of ?adapters? that have been on the market, which never take into consideration the ampacity of the RV-supply circuit that was being connected. So now if your RV is meant to have a 30-ampere supply, the proper receptacle should be there. And it is also worth mentioning that all125-volt, single-phase, 15- and 20-ampere receptacles shall have GFCI protection; this is not new.
 
It is hard to use 30 amps all at once.
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LOL! If only that were true! Many people find it very easy to exceed 30A. When we worked in RV parks, I had to explain the limitations of 30A power to somebody a couple times each week.  Air conditioner, water heater, electric fridge, hair dryer or curling iron, coffee maker, microwave, etc. etc. etc.
 
Note: If on a 50 amnp site and you use a standard 30-50 Dogbone... When you try to draw 35 will will trip a breaker, but it will be the one IN your RV so you do not have to go out and reset it, you go in and reset it..

But many folks have Eva Gabore syndrom (From TV show Green Acres, where Oliver labeled everythign and told her "Do not plug in more than # (i think it was six) but she kept plugging in way more and blowing the generator.
 
SeilerBird said:
As an electrician I choke when I read this. Back feeding is stupid, dangerous and against the code.
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I read that a couple of times before I understood...  Now I will admit I know how to do what the O/P wants to do and do it safely, in fact. I do it safely.. Yes I have a hard wired outlet that runs off a separate 20 amp feed.. It is a 20 amp outlet and has absolutly NOTHING in common with the rest of the RV save the wall it is mounted in,, NO connection between this outlet and the other outlets in the RV,  NO backfeeding,,  In fact the best way to think of this outlet is::::: the outlet end of an extension cord.

For that is what is basically is.. Just hard wire.. Not extension cord.

I have a second one that IS an extension cord end..  And cord,,, And plug,,, As well.
 
John From Detroit said:
I do it safely.. Yes I have a hard wired outlet that runs off a separate 20 amp feed.. It is a 20 amp outlet and has absolutly NOTHING in common with the rest of the RV save the wall it is mounted in,, NO connection between this outlet and the other outlets in the RV,  NO backfeeding,,  In fact the best way to think of this outlet is::::: the outlet end of an extension cord.

For that is what is basically is.. Just hard wire.. Not extension cord.

I have a second one that IS an extension cord end..  And cord,,, And plug,,, As well.
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That is what I am talking about. I am turning the bedroom into an office, well... "office" is a stretch, workspace is more like it, and would like to run the whole sha-bang separate from the rv as described in quote.  I agree with whoever about the laser printer being a power hog... Mine pulls 4 amps.  That damn coffee pot... 7.5A, i just cannot get over it using that much power! My laptops only pull 2.5A each.  I trip the pole almost daily, sometimes multiple times per day.

What i got from that section of code (thank you btw), is that i don't really need to look at a 50A site to know there are multiple outlets. I will go look anyway while seeing what sites are available to choose from.
 
Anything with an electric heater in it (coffee pot, laser printer, hair dryer, fridge or water in AC mode, etc) is going to be a power hog. One way you can use the available amps more effectively is to power the fridge and water heater with propane. That will leave a whole bunch of amps for other purposes. The water heater uses 12 amps whenever the thermostat kicks on, and the fridge about 3A.

Your coffee pot probably switches to a warming mode after the brew cycle completes and is probably drawing less than the full 7.5A. Maybe more like 2.0, but that's a guess. If you are curious, buy a Kill-O-Watt and measure the actual consumption. It is not expensive and can be very enlightening!
http://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Electricity-Usage-Monitor/dp/B00009MDBU
 
Thanks Gary, I had to replace the fridge so it no longer runs on propane but the water heater is a thought.  I currently keep it turned off until i need it but never knew how much power it uses. good to know and i have been planning to get a tank of gas to use for cooking instead of toaster oven (1300W/10.8A) and cooktop (750W/6.25A). I also have one of those NuWave cooktops that is 1800W at full power... I do not even plug that in, can only use it on low settings so i don't use it at all.

Coffee cup warmer, lights, circulation fans.... it all adds up fast.
 
Living well electrically (as the old tv ads used to advise) is not really practical on just 30A. What you really need is to upgrade that rig to 50A. You are trying to utilize power like you would in a stick home that typically has 150-200 amps available, but you only have 30.

Using a toaster oven and other high amp heating devices is just plain impractical with that limited amount of power.
 
About how much would it cost to upgrade it to 50A?
I am not a rich man. The VA pays me enuff to live one step above a tent.
  :-\
 
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