Electrical nightmare!

[Tiller]

this is the only thing we have tried plugging into the receptacle . It is breakers at 50 amps and the shop has its own 200 amp service separate from the house.

[Tiller]

Very well could be, however, we did test it today and had 120v on each leg at the camper. Although we did not have a way to test it with a load on it.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by Tiller

this is the only thing we have tried plugging into the receptacle . It is breakers at 50 amps and the shop has its own 200 amp service separate from the house.

Well good luck. I may be misunderstanding but I thought you said it was a 30 amp receptacle. With an adaptor to go to 50 amp for the rv shore power cord

[chuckster57]

Originally Posted by jasin1

Well good luck. I may be misunderstanding but I thought you said it was a 30 amp receptacle. With an adaptor to go to 50 amp for the rv shore power cord

I thought it was a 30A outlet with a 30/50 adapter and 50A EMS.

[Tiller]

yes that is correct. I apologize as electrical is my kryptonite . From the building, it has a 50 amp breaker. From there, it goes to a 30amp receptacle, then to a 30 - 50 amp adapter and then to the camper.

[chuckster57]

I would pay for an electrician to wire in a dedicated 50A plug.

[Tiller]

ok, thanks for the help!

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by Tiller

yes that is correct. I apologize as electrical is my kryptonite . From the building, it has a 50 amp breaker. From there, it goes to a 30amp receptacle, then to a 30 - 50 amp adapter and then to the camper.

For the future I would change the breaker in the panel to match the circuit..also verify the wire size from the panel..30 amp circuit should ALWAYS have a 30 amp breaker max.
Make sure you run 3 wire with a ground and get rid of any adaptors…also check the condition of your plug ends…how old is the ems? Are the receptacle slots loose and worn out causing intermittent contact?

When you bring your electrician have him look over everything and not just the last break in the chain

[Tiller]

ok, thanks for the info and help!

[JRTJH]

Is the 50 amp circuit breaker that feeds the 30 amp plug a single pole or a double pole circuit breaker? It almost sounds like the outlet is wired incorrectly, although you said it's wired for 120 volts.

It should have the following wiring: If you read 120 VAC between the two blade connectors, you're OK, if you read 240VAC between those and 120VAC from ground to both, then the wiring at the plug is for a "dryer circuit" not for a "RV circuit"... If there's 2 tabs on the 50 amp breaker feeding that plug, I'd be very suspicious that it's wired for 240 VAC....

that would be my first troubleshooting step, to verify the 30 amp plug is wired correctly. Way too many electricians do not "think RV" when they see a 30 amp plug, they just "assume dryer/welder" and think 240 across the blade pins.

[Tiller]

That may be this issue. I did not know there was a difference and when we wired the building (years ago) it was with the intention of putting a welder in there. Therefore I'm going to assume that is the issue (for tonight) until I can look at it again in the daylight.

so, my next question , with that in mind is, if I ignorantly did that, how much damage could I have done?

[JRTJH]

Hopefully, if you have an EMS, it shut down power and did not let the "wrong voltage" get to the camper circuits. So, if that is the case, you should be OK once you get the wiring corrected....

Here's the difference between the two. You want a 120 volt 30 amp circuit (the left one)...

That said, if you have a double pole 50 amp breaker, you probably have 6 gauge ROMEX to the plug, so changing it out to a 50 amp RV plug should be a matter of just changing out the plug.... That said, if the ROMEX is 8 gauge or 10 gauge from the circuit breaker, you'll need to change out the wiring and the plug.

Here's the two wiring configurations, left is RV 120 VAC and right is 240 dryer/welder

[Tiller]

That is SOOO much help, thank you so much. I will look tomorrow. I do know that it is a double pole 50amp with a single piece of Romex to the receptacle but I do not know the gauge. Hopefully this will fix it, thank you so much! ill keep this thread updated once I replace this.

[chuckster57]

I’m thinking John has the right answer.

[jasin1]

I’d unplug it for now

[Tiller]

I did, thank y'all so much!

[JRTJH]

With a double pole 50 amp breaker (4 wires, red, black, white and bare) if it's the proper gauge (6 gauge) wire, then all you'd need to do is replace the plug if it will screw into the existing box.

This diagram shows the 30 amp (3 wire) plug wiring and the 50 amp (4 wire) plug wiring.... PAY ATTENTION TO POLARITY and make sure the white and bare are in the correct location. The red and black can be reversed, but for a "novice electrician" it's best to wire it EXACTLY like this diagram.

That said, on a 30 amp, you can't reverse any wires, that applies ONLY to the 50 amp plug red/black wires.

[CedarCreekWoody]

It certainly sounds like you are plugged into a 240 volt circuit. Certainly unplug until you get a properly wired outlet.

[rhagfo]

Originally Posted by chuckster57

Good. Now, is the outlet wired for RV?

Well as far as I know a 50 amp four wire outlet is the same for a range and RV.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by rhagfo

Well as far as I know a 50 amp four wire outlet is the same for a rang and RV.

Russ, the outlet in question is a 30 amp 3 pin outlet. He's using a 50/30 amp adapter on his 50 amp shore power cable. He is not certain if the 30 amp plug is wired for 120 VAC RV use or 240 VAC welder use. He says it's connected to a two pole 50 amp circuit breaker and is not sure whether there are 3 or 4 wires in the ROMEX from the circuit breaker to the plug.

So, it's not a 50 amp four wire outlet that's mounted on his wall. You're correct, a 50 amp RV outlet and a 50 amp range outlet are wired the same, but neither is in use here.

So, the question Chuck asked that you quoted is whether his 30 amp outlet is wired for an RV or a 240 volt appliance.