hook-up options for a 50 amp service

[nyulman]

Hello All,

My company has a new custom airstream (25' international shell) on the way(!) that is equipped with a single 50 amp service. Previously we've used nearly identical trailers with two 30 amp connections feeding separate circuits. 50 amps will be fine for our power needs but I am somewhat concerned about the availability of 50 amp outlets at the sites we'll be working from(we use it as a travelling recording studio). In the past, it has been easy enough to get two 30 amp connections or at least two dedicated 20s but I'm guessing that most places will not have a 50 amp outlet hard-wired.

My questions is whether it is possible/safe/legal to sum two lower output outlets into one 50 amp connection and whether there is equipment on the market to achieve this (splitter box or some such). If anyone has any insights into this and thoughts on potential problems it would mount, I would like to do a little preemptive trouble shooting before hitting the road.

Many Thanks
Nick

[markdoane]

I can't think of a reason why you couldn't run two 30amp plugs on a 50 amp 3W+G cable.

You might need to pay extra at the campground for using two receptacles.

[rickandsandi]

Originally Posted by nyulman

My questions is whether it is possible/safe/legal to sum two lower output outlets into one 50 amp connection and whether there is equipment on the market to achieve this (splitter box or some such). If anyone has any insights into this and thoughts on potential problems it would mount, I would like to do a little preemptive trouble shooting before hitting the road.

Many Thanks
Nick

Nick- Oh oh! If I am reading your post correctly, you find youself on location, not a campgrounds, and you have in the past had two power feeds into the unit, both 30A. With two 30A feeds you have enough power to run your equipment. The new rig will have only a 50A feed. So far I think I got you. You are asking, can you take two 30A (most likely 20A) feeds and tie them together to the 50A service? NO! Electricity does not flow the same as water, two 2" pipes feed to a 4" pipe and the pressure remains equal. You can plug your 50A feed with an adaptor into a 30A line but that all you are going to get, one 30A (20A) feed. You re going to need to install an additional feed if you need the additional amps. Let us know how you make out!

[markdoane]

Originally Posted by markdoane

I can't think of a reason why you couldn't run two 30amp plugs on a 50 amp 3W+G cable.

I thought of a possible problem. If both the 30a receptacles are the same phase, you could possibly have more than 50amps coming back through the neutral.

Best to build a cheater box, and put a 50amp breaker on the neutral. You will need to use full size 50 amp, 3 wire cord with a separate ground. One of the 30a plugs goes to the black leg, the other to the red leg, and both the 30a neutrals connect to the white, which is protected by the 50a breaker.

[nilesrob]

I may misunderstand the issue, but here goes. Because we have 2 A/C units, our Airstream has 50 amp service. We often go to campgrounds where there is only 30 amp service. This is no problem for us - we have a pigtail (generally available at RV places) that converts our 50 amp cord to 30 amp.

Now, when we only have 30 amps available we do not run both A/C units. All you need is this pagtail - probably sells for $20-30 - just can't remember.