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Old 01-18-2017, 06:01 AM   #1
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1976 31' Sovereign
Springfield , South Carolina
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Adapter 240V receptacle to 120 30 Amp 76 Sovereign

First off I understand about the AS 3 prong shore line looking exactly like a 240 dryer plug and plugging into AS directly to 240 is a disaster waiting.

Also I have a Champion generator with 30AMP RV plug in place but it is NIB and stored away as I have other generators I would like to use first that have 4 prong L1420 outlets for 240V. Honda EZ3500, Powerback 5250 etc

As I understand it generators are generally wired for two 120V legs or strictly for 120V as is the Champion I got at Camper World.

I was in a Camper World several days ago and saw they had what appear to be adapter plugs to go from either 3 prong or 4 prong to the 30 AMP RV plugs and I am just wondering if these are just a simple plug in with one hot leg not attached or do both hot legs go to the 30AMP hot leg on the RV end?

My Honda EZ3500 has wheels installed and is easily moved so I was thinking of using it first though the tank has to be refilled every two hours and 7 minutes.

I tried to run a Minnie Winnie AC on one of the 120 plugs and the breaker tripped on the Honda within seconds and was just wondering if one of the Camper World adapters would give me twice the amps into 120V?

I seem to recall reading somewhere that this may not be the case.
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Old 01-18-2017, 11:37 AM   #2
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Paralleling two breakers may be a problem. It would depend on the alternator winding. If the winding are out of phase then it would not work.

You could measure between the two circuit breaker hot leads (right side of the receptacle when the ground is down). It should be zero volts. If that works measure from one receptacle hot lead to the others common lead and vise versus to see how closely match the winding are.

I would not do this because you are using the alternator in a way it was not setup for. If the builder had it setup for this they could have provided a receptacle for it.
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Old 01-18-2017, 12:46 PM   #3
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Thanks for the input Sir. I went to town this morning and on a lark I stopped by Home Depot and went to the generator section and they had multiple adapters that go from this to that.
I found one marked "20Amp to 30Amp RV" It goes on to say "120/240V 20Amp Nema L14-20P" and "120v 30 Amp Nema TT-30R" and out the door only 14.01 w/ tax.

Got it home and pulled it out and subjected it to a Greenlee DM60 multimeter evaluation.

Looking at the 4 prong plug from the end with the locking spur located at 12:00, the only prong that connects with the "hot leg" of the 30Amp RV side is at the 3:00 o'clock.
position.

The 12 o'clock leg with the locking spur connects directly with the D shaped hole on the 30 AMP Plug.

Still looking at the plug as above the 6:00 prong connects with the ground at 4:00 o'clock.

The last prong located at 9:00 does not connect with anything on either end.

I am therefore assuming if this thing is going to deliver 30 amp capability it will be from the internal windings at one take off point????

Guess I need to crank up the EZ3500 and see what one receptacle will run electric heaters and light bulbs. I don't recall the methodology I used before as I remember I had loaded it to like 3084 watts and it ran fine. I added one more 60 watt bulb and it started lugging immediately. It only has one 4 prong round receptacle for the L1420P and one breaker for everything.

I got it from a friend who got it to power up a pressure washer and it would not do it so I got it with like a couple hours on it and I put a hour meter on it for my use. It has been a very good little unit and the only thing negative I can say is the gas tank at like 1.6 gal capacity and 2hr 7 min of run time topped off.
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Old 01-18-2017, 06:19 PM   #4
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The RV outlet and plug are NOT the same as a dryer outlet.
There is a specific outlet intended to be used in RV service.
Be careful what you buy and use.
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Old 01-18-2017, 06:25 PM   #5
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Yes they just look similar. Now I have to find a RV plug to wire up to a receptacle.
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Old 01-19-2017, 03:26 AM   #6
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I guess the best thing about the one I got was I went from a standard two vertical small prongs with a ground that tends to get loose quick and replaced it with a healthy 4 prong round plug with a locking mechanism.

The one I got was located in a bin right under the generators and has a green background on the wrapper. There are like five different colors that do different things and of course they have the one most folks find at camper stores described above.

This is the adapter I got that fits the EZ3500 and is a Devilbliss Powerback (5200 Watt run load) but discontinued several years back. It is far to heavy to hoss around with a camper even though it has wheels. I hook that one to the house in ice storms/power failures. http://www.homedepot.com/p/PowerFit-...2011/203213227. This plug/adapter is much heavier construction than the normal ones I got before and of course locks into generator.

This is the 30AMP RV plug which should be on isle 2 in the normal electrical section.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Leviton-3...-00T/202077649

This is the one I went to find but was not in stock.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/30-Amp-Ge...V30F/202510179 Note: This one is for bigger generators with 30 amp plugs it needs to be ordered on line. It will not pull up on the store computer unless you give them the number for some reason. I was told they list stuff on line they do not carry in stores but will send to you or you can pick it up in store.

Guess this all boils down to I might need the Champion with the 30AMP RV plug and strictly 120 volt for long term use where I need 30 amps.

On my military generators I have them wired with 30 Amp plugs and 10 ga wire even though they are only 5KW but will take a overload so I upgraded the plugs/line to reduce line loss.
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Old 01-19-2017, 03:10 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hummer View Post
First off I understand about the AS 3 prong shore line looking exactly like a 240 dryer plug and plugging into AS directly to 240 is a disaster waiting.

Also I have a Champion generator with 30AMP RV plug in place but it is NIB and stored away as I have other generators I would like to use first that have 4 prong L1420 outlets for 240V. Honda EZ3500, Powerback 5250 etc

As I understand it generators are generally wired for two 120V legs or strictly for 120V as is the Champion I got at Camper World.

I was in a Camper World several days ago and saw they had what appear to be adapter plugs to go from either 3 prong or 4 prong to the 30 AMP RV plugs and I am just wondering if these are just a simple plug in with one hot leg not attached or do both hot legs go to the 30AMP hot leg on the RV end?

My Honda EZ3500 has wheels installed and is easily moved so I was thinking of using it first though the tank has to be refilled every two hours and 7 minutes.

I tried to run a Minnie Winnie AC on one of the 120 plugs and the breaker tripped on the Honda within seconds and was just wondering if one of the Camper World adapters would give me twice the amps into 120V?

I seem to recall reading somewhere that this may not be the case.
I believe that the Camping World adapter feeds off of one leg only to provide 30 Amp.
If it was miswired and fed from both legs, it would blow a fuse/CB rapidly due to the two legs being out of phase.
In that brief moment, much damage to your electrical system is possible.

There is an advantage to using a 50/30 adapter in a busy campground:
Most of the RVs are 30 amp, drawing 30 amp, from the campground supply. This can result in a lower line voltage to your rig, especially in the summer when airconditioners are in use. Many campgrounds are overloaded when this happens.
Where-as there are not that many 50 Amp rigs, and therefore the supply would be less stressed, resulting in more 'grunt' going to your RV.

Trailer Trash waiting for that time........"
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Old 01-20-2017, 02:40 AM   #8
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Good idea, many thanks.
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Old 02-14-2017, 09:31 AM   #9
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Check marine hardware too.
I'd swear the 30 amp RV side of the cord is the same as a 30 amp boat plug. Three prong twist lock.

Keep in mind that in the RV world, 30 amp is one 30 amp 120 volt service, while 50 amp is two 50 amp 120 volt services. (not 240).

so 50 amps is much more than the jump from 30 to 50.
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Old 02-14-2017, 10:49 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mollysdad View Post
...
Keep in mind that in the RV world, 30 amp is one 30 amp 120 volt service, while 50 amp is two 50 amp 120 volt services. (not 240).

so 50 amps is much more than the jump from 30 to 50.
Regarding the "(not 240)" I had seen that information posted on here, repeated it once, and was told no, that was not true. The two 120 legs of a 50 amp service are, in fact, the two hot sides of a 240 volt service with a neutral. Among many resources, see:

http://www.myrv.us/electric/Pg/50amp_Service.htm

Regarding it being much more, that is true, with respect to capacity. 50A service supports a combination 240 volt and 120V loads as long as the total power draw does not exceed 50 amps on a leg, up to 12,000 watts. Some larger units have 240V loads like residential stoves, dryers, etc. Airstream trailers with 50A service, AFAIK, have only 120V loads split into two main circuits, one on each phase. 30A service is 30 amps at 120V, or only 3600 watts.

Al
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Old 02-24-2017, 10:07 PM   #11
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Regarding the "(not 240)" I had seen that information posted on here, repeated it once, and was told no, that was not true.
Let me clarify. In the RV, there are no 240 circuits. (that I've seen).
However, the pedestal plug is wired exactly like 240v. stove plugs, two hots, an neutral, and a ground. The RV wiring takes that configuration and takes one side hot to neutral, the other side hot to neutral as the two separate busses. You never take hot to hot in an RV, which would be 240v. Am I correct?
(I just posted this question elsewhere before I saw this, as a friend was wiring a RV power post at his house and I realized there was only one way to do it.)
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Old 02-24-2017, 10:49 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by Mollysdad View Post
Let me clarify. In the RV, there are no 240 circuits. (that I've seen).
However, the pedestal plug is wired exactly like 240v. stove plugs, two hots, an neutral, and a ground. The RV wiring takes that configuration and takes one side hot to neutral, the other side hot to neutral as the two separate busses. You never take hot to hot in an RV, which would be 240v. Am I correct?
(I just posted this question elsewhere before I saw this, as a friend was wiring a RV power post at his house and I realized there was only one way to do it.)
Correct, at least in our (stock) Airstreams. Some RVs have residential stoves and other appliances that actually use the 240V leg to leg voltage.

Al
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Old 02-25-2017, 07:54 AM   #13
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house gen to 30a trailer connection

I have this configuration, I travel with my 4400w house genset and with the adapter it works great with our AS Limited.
The adapter would be recommended by the generator manuf for use with 30a rv connection (CW also have the same). cost $30 or less no fuss, no head scratching and no worries. They are wired right.... unless someone reworked your trailer.
When you plug in to the generator check the other end for:
1 hot leg, 1 ground leg and 1 neutral leg.
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