30 amp cord question

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I've encountered it here and there, often in older parks, and it always made me wonder how they had survived so long with that inconvenience.

 

[Wino]

I'm sorry if my post is out of place, but you need to be careful with 15A rated units on 30A feeds. I am speaking generically, but putting any 15A rated device on a 30A feed is a no-no. Basically, the amperage squared determines the heat generated. If you double the current, the heat goes up by a factor of 4. By using a 15A unit with only 30A of protection, you can have overheating problems.

I think the extension cord idea would be much better than 30 to 15 to 30A adapters. Putting your hands on the connections and conductors after an hour or so of use will give you an idea if this is a real problem, or merely nerdy over caution. If it feels hot, then you should probably re-configure your connections.

 

[SeilerBird]

I'm sorry if my post is out of place, but you need to be careful with 15A rated units on 30A feeds. I am speaking generically, but putting any 15A rated device on a 30A feed is a no-no. Basically, the amperage squared determines the heat generated. If you double the current, the heat goes up by a factor of 4. By using a 15A unit with only 30A of protection, you can have overheating problems.

It is impossible to have an overheating problem by running a 15 amp unit with only 30 amps of protection. Your TV is a about a two amp load on a 15 amp circuit and it causes no problems. Same thing with just about everything in your house.

 

[Wino]

I'm sorry if I was unclear. I was talking about rating, not load. If you put something with a 15A rating on a source that is rated for 30A, you can have problems. Of course, using 15A on a 30A rated source is not a problem.

I apologize for the unclear wording in my original post.

Best regards,
Wino

 

[RLSharp]

I was talking about rating, not load. If you put something with a 15A rating on a source that is rated for 30A, you can have problems. Of course, using 15A on a 30A rated source is not a problem.

That sure doesn't clear it up for me.

R

 

[Wino]

Let me explain. If you have an adapter that is rated for 15A, then you should put no more than 15A through it. The original post had a 30A to 15A to 30A conversion on his adapters.

Therefore, the 30 to 15A adapter is only rated at 15A. If you put more than 15A on that link, the link can get hot, to the point of melting or fire. The protection (source) is 30A. This means you could easily put 25A on that connection with nothing tripping off and nothing protecting you. At 25A, a 15A link will have nearly 2X the rated current/heat.

I hope this clarifies my point.

Best regards,
Wino

 

[mdbass]

They make an adaptor for that-Amazon and others carry them. Still, the park should fix it.