Dumb Questions (Electrical)

[Cudedog]

My van is set up to use 15 amp service, via heavy-duty extension cord (12 gauge, 15 amps, 1875 watts - it was expensive).

I also have an adapter so that I can plug this extension cord into 30 amp service.

Questions:

Do most/all campgrounds that have hookups offer at least 15 amp or 30 amp service?

Or are there some that only offer 50 amp service? Thus, should I also carry an adaptor for 50 amp service?

In choosing a 50 amp adaptor, do I understand the following correctly:

You have more than 50 amps total when hooked to a 50 amp service. This 50 amp service is 220 volt (2 X 110), but the service is actually split into two 110 volt sides....EACH with 50 amps.

So, in reality you have TWO (2) fifty amp lines supplying power to your trailer....or a total of 100 amps when connected this way.....or as some voltage monitors say L1 and L2. This is over three times as much as a 30 amp service.

Should I have a tester to test any outlet before I plug in? If yes, recommendations?

Should I have a surge protector? If yes, recommendations?

My main electrical needs will be these when not bookdocking:

a/c unit in the summer (15 amps,1725 watts)
oil-filled radiator type heater in the winter (10 amps, 1200 watts)
Dometic (CF-25) dc refrigerator with ac converter (.84 amps, 10.8 watts)

These I can do when the 15 amp device is not in use (either winter, or unplugged):

small bedside reading light
computer
tv (maybe - maybe not - haven't decided if tv is worth the hassle in my small space)

Thanks in advance!!

Anne

[dpf]

Most places we have camped have 50/30 and 15 at each site or at least 30 and 15.

[JudyJB]

I don't think I have ever seen a hookup with 50 amps that did not also have 30 and 20.

[Acadianmom]

The campground I just stayed at only had 30 at my site. That was a first for me. The lady that checked me in was discussing which sites had 30 and which had 50 with someone that worked there. Maybe the 50 amp sites only had 50. Most have boxes with all three.

Martha

[cpatinjones]

Most have all three that I have been to.

[FinallyTime]

I've been in two of RV Parks that only had 50 amp and I've seen a several without a working 15 amp. Also some of the time the 15 or 30 amp receptacle can bee pretty worn and you can't plug in tightly. It's cheap insurance to carry some adapters just in case. The 30 to 50 is wired to handle the needs of a 30 amp RV without worrying about how it works. You can step up in stages if you are using high quality adapters. (Not hocky puck style) You can plug your RV into a 15 to 30 then that into a 50 adapter. I use a portable surge guard for 30 amp that I bought at Camping World. I use the surge guard as an electrical tester. I plug it in first - if the polarity is wrong, it will trip. Then I push the test and reset buttons. If it all checks out ok, then I plug my coach into the surge guard.

[Bethers]

Moving this to maintenance.

Personally have only once been to a cg that had only 50 and wouldn't provide a free adaptor to those who needed it. Most have all at the sites of what they have. Have had many people working at cg's that have no idea what the sites really have. One told me I was at a 50 site, therefore couldn't use the 30 site ... got to the site it had all three.

I do have an adapter from 50 to 30 but for other purposes ... am using a cg one here, because the 30 amp plug tested with wrong polarity, so they brought me an adaptor (didn't tell them I had one) to use the 50 amp service which tested fine.

[Deeann]

I think it would help to have an understanding of electricity.

oops

[avalen]

good explanation Deeann

[Deeann]

I think it would help to have an understanding of electricity.

Amps are what you "pull" through the line. They are not "pushed" to you by the power pole. The amount of amps you pull is determined by what you are using: air conditioning, can opener, radio, etc. If you are plugged into a 15 amp service, it means that you can pull no more than 15 amps from the power pole. If you try to pull more than 15 amps you will pop the circuit breaker at the pole (which is rated to allow no more than 15 amps to pass through it).

The same applies to a 30 amp hookup. You can pull no more than 30 amps or you will pop the circuit breaker at the pole. Same applies to a 50 amp hookup.

It might help to think of amps as a flowing current (it's actually called current by electiricians). Your air conditioner pulls more current from the pole than your radio or a small lamp, etc.

Now, all 3 of these services: 15, 30 and 50 amps each have a different plug. The reason for this is so that you can't hook up a light weight cable to an outlet that will deliver too much current. A 50 amp cable is big with big copper wires in it. A 30 amp cable is a bit smaller with smaller copper wires. A 15 amp cable is the smallest and has even smaller copper wires in it. Copper wires are rated by how much current (amps) they can carry without burning up, melting and catching fire. If you try to pull 25 amps of current through a cable that is only rated to carry 15 amps you will burn up the copper wires in the cable and you could cause a fire. To prevent people from doing stupid things like this, circuit breakers are put on the lines to protect the wiring. If the wiring can carry no more than 15 amps there will be a 15 amp circuit breaker on the line. If the wiring can carry 30 amps then there will be a 30 amp circuit breaker on the line to protect it. Etc.

You said that your van has a 15 amp hookup. You can buy an adapter to put on the end of your power cord that will allow you to plug it into a 30 amp outlet. This means that the outlet will supply you with up to 30 amps. If you try to pull more than that the breaker at the pole will trip. BUT, more importantly, your van is only rated to carry a maximum of 15 amps. You don't want the power pole to allow you to pull more than 15 amps because doing so will damage or burn up your power converter. To prevent this, your power converter will have it's own circuit breakers. If you are plugged into a 30 amp outlet and try to pull more than 15 amps through your converter, the breaker in your converter should pop.

Now, all parks will have 15 amp hookups, as well as 30 amp hookups. 15 and 30 amp stuff has been around forever so all campgrounds will have both. When the manufacturers started making these huge rv's they had to bump them up to 50 amp services in order to power up all the appliances on the big rv's. So, lots of campgrounds had to rewire their power poles and add 50 amp outlets. Newer campgrounds included them when they were built. It's not as easy as it sounds to do this. Older campgrounds had to dig trenches and install new, heavier cables to accomodate the 50 amp requirements of the big rigs.

A 15 amp hookup has an ordinary looking 3-prong plug on the cable. You simply plug this into the ordinary looking outlet on the pole. The outlet looks the same as the ones in your house. You should not need any kind of adapter since all campgrounds will have regular outlets to plug into. The only time you need an adapter is to go from a higher amp hookup to a lower amp outlet. If your van had a 30 amp cable and you wanted to plug it in at your house then you would need an adapter to convert your 30 amp plug to a 15 amp plug. Don't worry about 50 amp hookups, you won't be needing to fiddle with any of that stuff.

So, your 15 amp cable will hook up at any campground. You should not need any adapters.

Does all this make sense?

[Deeann]

By the way, NO question is a dumb question. Lots of people will read my reply to you and have a better understanding of their electrical hookups. Your question has helped you and lots of others. So it was a GOOD question.

[Cudedog]

So, your 15 amp cable will hook up at any campground. You should not need any adapters.

Does all this make sense?

Your post was most informative. Thank you very much for taking the time to reply.

But. . . um. . . so far I have stayed at two RV parks, total. The first one had both 30 amp and 15 amp service on the pole (Redding, Ca.). The second one had only 30 amp service on the pole (McCloud, Ca.), so I purchased an adapter when I got home.

Thanks again!

Anne

[Cudedog]

The 30 to 50 is wired to handle the needs of a 30 amp RV without worrying about how it works. You can step up in stages if you are using high quality adapters. (Not hocky puck style) You can plug your RV into a 15 to 30 then that into a 50 adapter. I use a portable surge guard for 30 amp that I bought at Camping World. I use the surge guard as an electrical tester. I plug it in first - if the polarity is wrong, it will trip. Then I push the test and reset buttons. If it all checks out ok, then I plug my coach into the surge guard.

Would it be possible for you to please post some links to high quality adapters? I suspect that I have the hocky puck type.

Thanks.

Anne

[Deeann]

That's an odd park that doesn't have 15 amp hook ups. The regular outlet is used for lots of things: electric grills, heat tape, battery chargers for boats, heaters for diesel engines, etc. They could easily add a 15 amp outlet if they wanted to. They would need a 15 amp breaker and an outlet. Then they would just wire it in off of the 30 amp outlet. I'm really dumbfounded that they don't have them. I think they're cheaping you out on the electricity. They don't want anyone plugging any extra items in and using anymore electricity than absolutely necessary. They certainly are not customer minded. Oh well......

[Bethers]

Deeann, up until a year or so ago I'd agree about the parks without the 15 amp connection, but I'm seeing more and more of them now ... probably as more upgrade to 50 amp.