30 amp 120 or 240

[KSH]

The trailer is at the yard and I haven't gone to look, but I have a 2015 Springdale 240bhwe. I know it needs a 30 amp receptacle but is it 120 or 240 volts?

[Tbristol]

120

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

[KSH]

Are the 50 amp trailers 120 or 240? I'm assuming the 50s are only dual phase, right?

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

[chuckster57]

Yes, simple answer is All RV's are wired for 120VAC, and the 50 amp is just two "legs" of 120VAC

[cw3jason]

Yes. 30amp single pole breaker=120v. Black wire is hot. White wire is neutral and bare copper is ground. Do not use a 30amp dryer vent or the 30amp dryer circuit breaker as this is 30amp 2pole 2 hots 1 black and 1 red, white neutral and bare copper is ground.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[KSH]

Understood. I figured 30/120 is a single pole. I was curious about the 50. It's that still 120, or is it 240.

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

[SteveC7010]

Originally Posted by KSH

Understood. I figured 30/120 is a single pole. I was curious about the 50. It's that still 120, or is it 240.

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

120. Both legs of the 240 are fed to the rv breaker panel separately. One leg feeds an a/c and some of the 120 outlets. The other leg feeds the rest of the 120 stuff and, if installed, the second a/c. If you look at your breaker panel, the main is in the middle with breakers on either side. That's a fair representation of two 120 vac legs.

If you use a 50 to 30 adapter to run the rv from a 30 amp source, the rv's legs are jumpered together in the adapter. It still feeds 120 to both sides of the breaker box, but the total is limited to 30 amp capacity which is why you can't run a second a/c from a 30 amp source. (I tested my 50 to 30 dogbone to verify the jumpering.)

Your whole rv is a 120 vac system that can be fed from 50, 30, 20, and even 15 amp sources. The lower current sources will limit or even eliminate use of high draw items like a/c, hair dryers, microwaves, the electric side of the water heater, and a clothes dryer.

There are some true 220/240 vac rv's, but I don't believe any of the Keystones fall into that category.

[KSH]

Ok, thanks.

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

[Bob Landry]

The 50A service coming into the trailer is 240V. It consists of two hot wires, each providing 120v, but it's still 240 coming in. It goes to two sides of the power distribution center and at that point it is two 120V legs feeding multiple circuits. Both 120 and 240 volt service is single phase. When one side of the 50A line is at the high peak, the other leg is at the bottom of the cycle, but there is no phase shift between voltage and current.

[chuckster57]

Originally Posted by SteveC7010

There are some true 220/240 vac rv's, but I don't believe any of the Keystones fall into that category.

Out of curiosity can you tell me which ones?

[SteveC7010]

Originally Posted by chuckster57

Out of curiosity can you tell me which ones?

I believe that I read some specs about some of the high end ($500K and up) motorhomes that are actually 220/240. I could be mistaken on that, it has been a while since I saw that article.

I think the real point here is that while it is 220/240 coming into the RV, it never gets used as such on any of the rigs that we talk about here. Each 110/120 leg feeds a separate buss bar and breakers in the breaker box which, in turn feed their own set of appliances and circuits. The wiring from the Marinco connector to the breaker box is all 220/240 and could support a 220/240 appliance. But, since normally no appliance is ever connected to both legs, in effect, it becomes two 110/120 circuits at the breaker box, each feeding different areas of the trailer.

I find it less confusing to think of these rigs as 110/120 powered units that can utilize a 220/240 source when available. Others might have a different outlook.

[KSH]

on thr 30amp recpticel, do the ground and neutral both go to the ground bar in the panel? I have a sub panel with 2 hots and a ground. No neutral bus bar.

[bobbecky]

Once the electric service enters your home's electric panel, with two hots and one neutral, the ground is established using a ground electrode, either driven into the ground or by using a rebar in a concrete slab, or on older homes, the metal water pipe. In the main panel, the neutral is connected to the ground, and from that point out, the ground and the neutral are isolated from each other. The neutral is a current carrying conductor, and the ground does not carry current. If you have a sub-panel, with two hot legs, there should, by code, be two bus bars, one for the ground and one for the neutral. On a 30 amp dryer outlet, there are two hots and a neutral. On an RV 30 amp outlet, there is one hot, one neutral, and one ground. You cannot use a dryer outlet to power an RV. On a 50 amp RV outlet, there are two hots, one neutral, and one ground. Also, something that was not mentioned, do not always expect 240 volts between the two hots on a 50 amp RV outlet. There are some RV parks that are powered with a commercial service that provides 120 volt legs, but the voltage between the hot legs is 208 volts. Your rig will not see anything wrong with this, and your protective devices will not have any problem with this voltage.

[KSH]

I only have 2 hots coming into this main metered panel from the street and a ground bus bar that is connected to a ground bar and my copper water line. I do have another meter coming in from the street which is full and I don't see 2 bus bars in there either.

[cw3jason]

Ksh. Yes the neutral can be connected to the ground bus bar in the panel.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[bobbecky]

Yes, one neutral/ground bus bar in a main meter service entrance panel. Beyond the main panel, and to any sub-panels, the ground and neutral conductors are both run from the main panel, along with the hot conductors. This is just like on an RV 50 amp service cable, the cable has four conductors, as you will find in the pedestals in RV parks.