Can 50 amp 240= 100 amps 120?

[rhagfo]

So this came up in another thread " 50 Amp to 30 Amp", if connected to a 50 and 240 volt plug and your trailer has a Standard (not High end) breaker panel are you limited to 50 amps total, and are you limited to 120 volt devices or can you get 240 volts?

My feeling is that with a 50 amp 240 volt service you have two circuits of 120 volts and 50 amps. This means if you balance the loads correctly you could pull 50 amps at 120 volts from each side/leg for a total load of 100 amps.

Also with the correct Quad Tandem Circuit Breaker you can get 1 circuit of 240 volt service up to about 30 amps. I have this currently running my RV Comfort Systems "Cheap Heat" system.

[Bill-2020]

Wasn't this already covered in a closed thread

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by Bill-2020

Wasn't this already covered in a closed thread

Yes it was.

[bobbecky]

Whether it's been covered before, 30 amp RV service is strictly one hotleg of 120 volts only. Put 240 volts into a 30 amp trailer and you WILL burn up most of your electrical. Almost all 50 amp RV services are two 120 volt hotlegs which can be made either from a 120/240 volt transformer from the utility or can also be made from a 120 volt/208 volt transformer, and you will have two 50 amp hotlegs for a total of 100 amps from either source.

[xrated]

Originally Posted by bobbecky

Whether it's been covered before, 30 amp RV service is strictly one hotleg of 120 volts only. Put 240 volts into a 30 amp trailer and you WILL burn up most of your electrical. Almost all 50 amp RV services are two 120 volt hotlegs which can be made either from a 120/240 volt transformer from the utility or can also be made from a 120 volt/208 volt transformer, and you will have two 50 amp hotlegs for a total of 100 amps from either source.

Every 50A RV service has 240V coming into it. It is the same type service that comes into your house...two 120VAC hot legs, a neutral, and a ground. The difference is in the breaker panel that is in the RV. Those are made in such a manner that the two 120V hot legs coming into the panel are hooked up to a 50A double pole breaker that is located in the center of the panel....and by center, I'm saying left to right...or top to bottom. The circuits on the left side or the top (depending on the way the panel was made) are all 120VAC and all of those circuits are fed by let's say Phase A. The other side of the panel...the right side or the bottom (again, depending on how the panel was made) are also all 120VAC circuits that are being fed by Phase B.

In you home panels, Phase A and Phase B alternate in the slots. That is why in a home style breaker panel you can install a two pole breaker anywhere on the slots and get 240VAC from it. If you would install a two pole breaker in an RV panel on one side or the other, the voltage from either one of the breakers to neutral would be the same phase of the 120VAC.

The total amperage from this type of setup is Phase A can provide 50 amps and Phase B can provide 50 amps, for a total of 100 ams of 120VAC....or 12,000 watts if you prefer.....6000 on each phase.

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by sourdough

Yes it was.

And you can do so with this one before it goes any further. Nuffs enuff!

[Brantel]

If anyone is a visual type person, I have attached my pdf file to this thread as well. It progressively explains how a 50amp RV can have 12,000 watts of power available.

[jasin1]

Now I know two things not to say at a party...”

can I tow it with this truck?”

And “ can you get 240v from an rv?”

Unless you want a fight

This topic is like wack -a-mole

[xrated]

Originally Posted by jasin1

Now I know two things not to say at a party...”

can I tow it with this truck?”

And “ can you get 240v from an rv?”

Unless you want a fight

This topic is like wack -a-mole

I've been a Journeyman Electrician for 40+ years. Read my description in Post #5 for an explanation of facts about the RV 120VAC electrical system.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by xrated

I've been a Journeyman Electrician for 40+ years. Read my description in Post #5 for an explanation of facts about the RV 120VAC electrical system.

Oh I meant no disrespect... I have my master electrical for hvac also... ( had to take the same test for hvac that the regular electricians take but limited to adding line voltage to new hvac systems..because it’s not my primary buisness ) ..electrical contractors generally do not like competition ).. it’s just that certain topics are very polarizing...
And it was funny that one thread closed and it popped up again...life is short ..I like to laugh

[Javi]

RV electrical is a lot like tow vehicle weight ratings, projectile trajectory, gas laws and physics.... there are people to which they don't apply...

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by jasin1

Now I know two things not to say at a party...”

can I tow it with this truck?”

And “ can you get 240v from an rv?”

Unless you want a fight

This topic is like wack -a-mole

^^^^ NOW you're talking! First time I ever saw wack-a-mole was back in the early 70s at Billy Bob's in Ft. Worth TX. First time to Billy Bob's, first time for wack-a-mole with my best friend and our wives. Drinking beer, playing pool, eating oysters......and playing wack-a-mole laughing our tails off. Great time and great memories!! Don't remember if they had 120 or 240 anywhere in there......

[xrated]

Originally Posted by xrated

I've been a Journeyman Electrician for 40+ years. Read my description in Post #5 for an explanation of facts about the RV 120VAC electrical system.

It's all good, I didn't view it as disrespectful. I just wanted to add an accurate and factual description of the RV 120V electrical system for anyone that needed or wanted the facts.

[xrated]

Originally Posted by Javi

RV electrical is a lot like tow vehicle weight ratings, projectile trajectory, gas laws and physics.... there are people to which they don't apply...

LOL, except when you break the electrical rules, many times you end up letting the smoke out....and sometimes, the use of a fire extinguisher is needed.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by sourdough

^^^^ NOW you're talking! First time I ever saw wack-a-mole was back in the early 70s at Billy Bob's in Ft. Worth TX. First time to Billy Bob's, first time for wack-a-mole with my best friend and our wives. Drinking beer, playing pool, eating oysters......and playing wack-a-mole laughing our tails off. Great time and great memories!! Don't remember if they had 120 or 240 anywhere in there......

Mine was on the Ocean City MD boardwalk... I had about $10 to last me all day when my grandparents dropped me off.. spent most of it the 1st hour in the arcade...tried to save enough for a slice of pizza at Tony’s pizza around 1st st on the boardwalk... spent the rest of day wondering thru tshirt shops smelling the fumes and trying to decide which tshirt would be my summer vacation shirt I was allowed to choose....then waiting for grandpop in his old rambler to screech to a halt and yell “get in!” so he didn’t have to put a quarter in the meter .....good times..... the 70s certainly seemed like a simpler time but it could just be my rose colored memories
Fleetwood Mac Don’t stop just came on the radio and took me right back there...today is gonna be a good day

[dutchmensport]

I went back and read the additional posts after my post on the original thread. I suppose all this 110/120 - 210/220 --- even the 221 whatever is confusing. I suppose that's why, when I put in my first 2 thirty amp RV outlets, I had no problem. Wiring was just about like a normal outlet. But when I switched one of them out and had my 50 amp box installed, that had 20/30/50 outlets, I hired an electrician. Because, when it came to THAT, I didn't have the foggiest what I was doing.

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by jasin1

Mine was on the Ocean City MD boardwalk... I had about $10 to last me all day when my grandparents dropped me off.. spent most of it the 1st hour in the arcade...tried to save enough for a slice of pizza at Tony’s pizza around 1st st on the boardwalk... spent the rest of day wondering thru tshirt shops smelling the fumes and trying to decide which tshirt would be my summer vacation shirt I was allowed to choose....then waiting for grandpop in his old rambler to screech to a halt and yell “get in!” so he didn’t have to put a quarter in the meter .....good times..... the 70s certainly seemed like a simpler time but it could just be my rose colored memories
Fleetwood Mac Don’t stop just came on the radio and took me right back there...today is gonna be a good day

Now you.re stirring memories. When our girls were small we would take them to the Deleware SP beach for the day then down to thje OC boardwalk for them to play in the arcade. I was a good shot and could get that shooting gallery rolling. Afer a few quarters I'd have a small crowd watching kme.

Then Tony's for dinner, walk across to Thrasher's for fries and some Dunser's ice cream. Pack the DW and DDs in the Dodge conversion van and head noth. I'd be the only person awake after crossing the 91 st street until we got home.

[cavie]

Originally Posted by rhagfo

So this came up in another thread " 50 Amp to 30 Amp", if connected to a 50 and 240 volt plug and your trailer has a Standard (not High end) breaker panel are you limited to 50 amps total, and are you limited to 120 volt devices or can you get 240 volts?

My feeling is that with a 50 amp 240 volt service you have two circuits of 120 volts and 50 amps. This means if you balance the loads correctly you could pull 50 amps at 120 volts from each side/leg for a total load of 100 amps.

Also with the correct Quad Tandem Circuit Breaker you can get 1 circuit of 240 volt service up to about 30 amps. I have this currently running my RV Comfort Systems "Cheap Heat" system.

You have 240 volts to a standard 50 amps main breaker RV service but you can not access 240 volts from it. I'm gonna leave that right there.

[rhagfo]

Originally Posted by cavie

You have 240 volts to a standard 50 amps main breaker RV service but you can not access 240 volts from it. I'm gonna leave that right there.

Well replace the 50 amp main with this 30/50 amp tandem quat breaker and you have a 50 amp main and a 30 amp 240 volt circuit available.

[notanlines]

Are we about to coin a new phrase, something like the 'amp-officers?' Maybe the 'volt vultures?' Okay, I'll let it go at that.