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Old 11-15-2018, 01:31 PM   #1
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Making Outlet Box for 30 AMP

Electrical stuff is not my strong suite. I have a question. Is it possible to purchase a 30AMP extension cord (25ft), cut off the female plug and wire it to an outlet box with one or two 15AMP receptacles? I was thinking of creating this extension cord with outlets so I could plug in some appliances (slow cooker, coffee pot, hotplate, etc - not all at once) on a table outside of the trailer. Plugging it into the campsite 30AMP receptacle. I searched he forums but could not find anything.

Any ideas, suggestions or words of wisdom welcome.
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Old 11-15-2018, 02:21 PM   #2
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Google 30A to 15A adaptor.
There are many.
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Old 11-15-2018, 02:39 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mythbuster88 View Post
Google 30A to 15A adaptor.
There are many.
So for example, you could use this Camco PowerGrip 30A Male 15A Female adapter with a standard extension cord for your 120V appliances. No wiring required
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Old 11-15-2018, 03:11 PM   #4
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Hi

If you want to go *from* a 30A circuit *to* a 15A circuit, you will need to have breakers or fuses involved. The 30A breaker on the 30A circuit will not protect the wiring on a 15A circuit. You can go *from* 15A up *to* 30A with no problem. The 15A breaker will protect a 30A wire.

So simple (or maybe not so simple) approach is to get a small electrical panel box at your local big box store and put the breakers in it. Then mount the outlet(s) as you see fit. There is still a basic issue that the boxes normally are not watertight. Getting that part of it taken care of would require a bit more work.

Bob
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Old 11-15-2018, 03:57 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kpm View Post
So for example, you could use this Camco PowerGrip 30A Male 15A Female adapter with a standard extension cord for your 120V appliances. No wiring required
Whoops my mistake. Bob is right. If you use this adapter, you would have to protect the 15A side with a circuit breaker or fused extension cord.
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Old 11-15-2018, 06:02 PM   #6
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Why not get a heavy duty extension cord and plug it into the outside outlet on the trailer or the 15 amp outlet on the post at the campground?
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Old 11-15-2018, 07:11 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kpm View Post
Whoops my mistake. Bob is right. If you use this adapter, you would have to protect the 15A side with a circuit breaker or fused extension cord.
Hi

The other 99.9% of my posts are telling people they are going to crazy with fuses ....

Bob
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Old 11-15-2018, 09:23 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by azflycaster View Post
Why not get a heavy duty extension cord and plug it into the outside outlet on the trailer or the 15 amp outlet on the post at the campground?
I was fearful of overloading the outlet on the trailer.
The last campground where we stayed only had a 50 and 30 AMP outlets. No 15.
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Old 11-15-2018, 09:25 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kpm View Post
Whoops my mistake. Bob is right. If you use this adapter, you would have to protect the 15A side with a circuit breaker or fused extension cord.
So if I use the adapter and this extension cord it should work.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Over-Load-G...reaker/1135905
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Old 11-16-2018, 06:19 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by garypilot55 View Post
So if I use the adapter and this extension cord it should work.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Over-Load-G...reaker/1135905
Yep this one should work. The 15A breaker on the cord matches with the 15A rating of the adapter.
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Old 11-16-2018, 07:30 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by garypilot55 View Post
So if I use the adapter and this extension cord it should work.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Over-Load-G...reaker/1135905
It will work. But, it depends on the appliance that is connected to determine if it will be satisfactory for its intended use. A 15 amp circuit is good for a little less than 1,500 watts (assuming ~80% continuous load).

~120v x 15 amps = ~1,800 watts max peak load
1,800 watts x 80% = 1,440 watts max continuous load

If voltage is higher or lower also affects this number.
Voltage will vary. (other users use, distance from source, utility's norm, etc.)

ps:
The 12 gauge wire is good for ~20 amps. Use the same math to determine suitability.
The coffee pot and hot plate at the same time might be a no go.

ps2:
When you use an extension cord this way, you might want to consider shock hazard. Ground fault protection is needed.
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Old 11-16-2018, 07:53 AM   #12
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Originally Posted by garypilot55 View Post
So if I use the adapter and this extension cord it should work.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Over-Load-G...reaker/1135905
Hi

It might work for a while. My experience with similar devices has been in the "not good" category.

=====

The 15A outlet on your trailer already has everything done right for supplying power. Unless you have a bunch of stuff turned on (like the AC) you are not going to overload things or create an issue. Making sure the trailer is power down is pretty easy ....

Bob
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Old 11-16-2018, 08:03 AM   #13
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another option
connect a 15 or 20A line from the house to a new external box, add the std 30A socket with a weather proof cap

i would wire the box to an inside GFI outlet

You will now have a 30A plug, BUT with only 15/20 capability on a share inside breaker

all long as you are aware of this limitation, you can use your standard chord set at home, without having to add a new 30 A circuit to the home breaker panel
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Old 11-16-2018, 10:41 AM   #14
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Perhaps I missed something, but I'm confused.


With the 30A extension that you make up plugged into the 30A receptacle in the campsite pedestal, where are you going to plug in your trailer?



Is your trailer 50A? If so, what will you do when you go to a campground that deosn't have 50A?





Greg
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Old 11-16-2018, 01:40 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by greghoro View Post
Perhaps I missed something, but I'm confused.


With the 30A extension that you make up plugged into the 30A receptacle in the campsite pedestal, where are you going to plug in your trailer?

Is your trailer 50A? If so, what will you do when you go to a campground that deosn't have 50A?

Greg

I still would plug my trailer into the pedestal outlet. This was to use as an extra extension cord for outside appliances if needed when there is an additional 30A receptacle. Sorry for the confusion.
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Old 11-16-2018, 01:44 PM   #16
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Thanks for everyone's insight and knowledge. That's what makes this forum great. I've decided to utilize the trailer receptacle and see if it works okay. If I encounter any issues or need an additional plug, I'll get the 30A to 15A adapter and use an extension cord with a circuit breaker to protect the appliances.
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Old 11-17-2018, 07:12 AM   #17
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Hi

Consider that most pedestals have a single feed to them. Running full capacity, it will handle the 50A socket. Plug in a full 50A load and a full 30A load .... you trip that up steam breaker. Since the 30A is on one side or the other of the 50A's circuit, the fact that you get 100A at 120V from the 50A outlet does not help as much in this case.

Bob
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Old 11-17-2018, 07:33 AM   #18
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Check your breakers in the trailer, you may have 20A capacity. Mine does. However, the outside receptacle is only rated for 15A (it doesn't have that T opening for the 20A plug) which is easily replaced.


Ace hardware has a Black Friday 50% off coupon at the door for one non-sale item $30 or less. You can pick up a nice 12 gauge 25' extension cord for a bargain. Or a heavy duty 3 way adapter. I'm not aware that they track these (maybe if you use an Ace rewards card), so multiple visits throughout the day can result in some great buys.




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Old 11-17-2018, 08:08 AM   #19
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This is a great site for learning on how to overdo simple things.
I'm guilty too.
However, in this case you just are looking for an extension cord to get from the 30 amp pedestal to a couple of 15 amp outlets.
So what you propose is fine.
Buy a 30 amp cord and replace the 30 amp female with a dual 15 box. Or buy a really stout 15 amp contractor's cord and replace the 15 amp male with a 30 amp male. (my choice)
Everyone doesn't put circuit breakers in extension cords.
It will be hard to melt a 10 ga, 25' cord with a couple of 15 amp appliances.
How about:
https://www.amazon.com/ProStar-Condu...D7T5BFKEHKKN8H
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Old 11-17-2018, 08:23 AM   #20
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Originally Posted by Mollysdad View Post
This is a great site for learning on how to overdo simple things.
I'm guilty too.
However, in this case you just are looking for an extension cord to get from the 30 amp pedestal to a couple of 15 amp outlets.
So what you propose is fine.
Buy a 30 amp cord and replace the 30 amp female with a dual 15 box. Or buy a really stout 15 amp contractor's cord and replace the 15 amp male with a 30 amp male. (my choice)
Everyone doesn't put circuit breakers in extension cords.
It will be hard to melt a 10 ga, 25' cord with a couple of 15 amp appliances.
How about:
https://www.amazon.com/ProStar-Condu...D7T5BFKEHKKN8H
Hi

Once you go to number 10 wire in the cord, you are legit for 30A (if it's copper, I'd bet at least a six pack that it's cheap / crap aluminum). The gotcha then becomes the connectors. Indeed I *have* seen those melt. You also have a risk in the cord that runs to the appliance its self. By far the most likely failure is when somebody crushes a cord by dropping something on it ... been there ... done that ... a 30A circuit sparks a lot ....

How big a deal is any of this? It's way past most of the "put another fuse here / breaker there" debates. It also is (very much to your point) not something that is likely to cause massive destruction any time soon. Carefully done once a year for 15 minutes, mighty low risk. Better to worry about a meteor strike ....

Bob
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