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Old 06-04-2013, 05:17 PM   #1
FireMech
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50 to 15 amp?

I will be staying at a campground that has 15 amp service but my 5th wheel is 50 amp. Is it worth buying a 50 to 15 amp adapter cord for $80? I have a 50 to 30 amp adapter and one of those cheap 30 amp to 15 amp adapters but read these are not safe. Any advice is appreciated.
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Old 06-04-2013, 05:29 PM   #2
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no problems here. we Use a 50-30-15
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Old 06-04-2013, 05:37 PM   #3
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Can you run your AC on 15 amp?
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Old 06-04-2013, 05:45 PM   #4
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Can you run your AC on 15 amp?
If that's the ONLY thing he runs, probably. And if that's all the capacity available then that's what he has to learn to live with.
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Old 06-04-2013, 06:20 PM   #5
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Plugging a 15 amp cord into a 50 amp outlet has safety issues. Going the other way and plugging a 50 amp cord into a 15 amp outlet shouldn't be a safety issue. You will be limited to running one appliance at a time. One AC (maybe), One WH... It should keep your batteries charged and your lights on.
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Old 06-04-2013, 06:33 PM   #6
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There are no safety issues as long as the 15A cord is protected by a 15A breaker. The 50A plug is not going to try to "force 50A into the circuit.
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Old 06-04-2013, 06:47 PM   #7
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I will be staying at a campground that has 15 amp service but my 5th wheel is 50 amp. Is it worth buying a 50 to 15 amp adapter cord for $80? I have a 50 to 30 amp adapter and one of those cheap 30 amp to 15 amp adapters but read these are not safe. Any advice is appreciated.
I have used a 30A to 15A adapter for many years with no problems. Never heard of any safety issues with them.
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Old 06-04-2013, 07:02 PM   #8
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I would like to add that if you use a 15amp extension cord make is as heavy gauge as you can find, hopefully at least 12 gauge, and as short as possible. Short adapters are better. I have a 15 to 30 adapter similar to this;

http://www.rvupgradestore.com/3015-A...-p/55-6905.htm
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Old 06-04-2013, 07:45 PM   #9
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Thanks for all the great info. This is my first time using campground electricity - I always camp in remote areas and rely only on my generator/batteries.
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Old 06-05-2013, 01:03 AM   #10
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I have a buddy who is in the RV repair business, he loves folks who run their air conditioners on 15 amp service...
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Old 06-05-2013, 02:04 AM   #11
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Amazon has the 50 amp twist-lock to 15 amp for $54.00. I purchase one last week. Very well made.

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Old 06-05-2013, 04:07 AM   #12
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I have a buddy who is in the RV repair business, he loves folks who run their air conditioners on 15 amp service...
What kind of problems does he see that is attributed to that. As long as the cord is properly sized and feeds a 15A breaker, it is going to be fine. A 15A cord doesn't even have to be 12g a, 14g a is standard for 15A wiring. A 15K BTU unit will likely try to draw up to the limit, but if it exceeds it, the breaker will trip.
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Old 06-05-2013, 04:32 AM   #13
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What kind of problems does he see that is attributed to that. As long as the cord is properly sized and feeds a 15A breaker, it is going to be fine. A 15A cord doesn't even have to be 12g a, 14g a is standard for 15A wiring. A 15K BTU unit will likely try to draw up to the limit, but if it exceeds it, the breaker will trip.
burns up the starters in the compressor motors.. it ain't the running that's the problem... it's the starting.. A lot of the storage lots around Waco provide 15A service and he gets a lot of business from their customers... He also has a storage lot and he does provide the 15A service but tells everyone NOT to run the A/C... those that don't listen become repair customers before the summer is out..
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Old 06-05-2013, 05:57 AM   #14
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I have a 50 Amp on our camper. I use to go from 50 to 15 because of power limitations at the house plug. I could not run one AC off the 15 Amp. I could run lights or TV though. I finally ran a 30 Amp outside. Now I can run only one AC which is enough to cool the unit while loading it.

Your Ac may be different than mine but for some reason I cannot run one AC off 15 Amps. Granted it may have been the cheezy power cord running to the camper but that was my experience with 50 Amp to 15 Amp
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Old 06-05-2013, 06:15 AM   #15
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burns up the starters in the compressor motors.. it ain't the running that's the problem... it's the starting.. A lot of the storage lots around Waco provide 15A service and he gets a lot of business from their customers... He also has a storage lot and he does provide the 15A service but tells everyone NOT to run the A/C... those that don't listen become repair customers before the summer is out..
Kinda hard to buy into that one. Compressors do not have "starter Motors". It's one single phase motor that uses a start relay and capacitor or in the case of a rotary compressor, probably what we call a start assist. The amp draw at startup is less than a sec on, and as long as the power course is able to supply the needed voltage it will do fine. If it runs on low AC for an extended period, the compressor itself can burn up from the increased current draw.

My storage facility also provides 115V and they tell us not to run the AC, but that's because they run multiple spaces from a single breaker and their electrical system is not set up to provide the needed power to run multiple circuits, but that is a shortfall of the electrical system and not a fault of the air conditioners. The 15K BTU units may struggle with 15A circuits depending on the condition of everything, but anything smaller does fine on it. My 16KBTU units run on 20A circuits, everything smaller runs on 15A and they do very well. I have marine customers that do it every single day.
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Old 06-05-2013, 06:26 AM   #16
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Kinda hard to buy into that one. Compressors do not have "starter Motors". It's one single phase motor that uses a start relay and capacitor or in the case of a rotary compressor, probably what we call a start assist. The amp draw at startup is less than a sec on, and as long as the power course is able to supply the needed voltage it will do fine. If it runs on low AC for an extended period, the compressor itself can burn up from the increased current draw.

My storage facility also provides 115V and they tell us not to run the AC, but that's because they run multiple spaces from a single breaker and their electrical system is not set up to provide the needed power to run multiple circuits, but that is a shortfall of the electrical system and not a fault of the air conditioners. The 15K BTU units may struggle with 15A circuits depending on the condition of everything, but anything smaller does fine on it. My 16KBTU units run on 20A circuits, everything smaller runs on 15A and they do very well. I have marine customers that do it every single day.
Doesn't really matter much to me one way or the other... I won't attempt to run my A/C on 15A anyway...

As for what the service guy said... I repeated his words to me... I'm pretty sure he used starter in place of capacitor to simplify. He started the conversation because he saw the 30A to 15A dog bone in my trailer tool box and cautioned me not to use it to run my A/C....

You can have his phone number so you can correct him if you want... just pm me and I'll be happy to supply it...
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Old 06-05-2013, 10:58 AM   #17
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I have a meter that plugs into my 110 outlet it measures what I able to use as long as the needle is in the green all is good. I have a 50 amp plug and I am currently plugged into a 50 amp service I can turn everything on including both Ac's, But when plugged into a 30 amp one ac and most everything else. I would try my 13500 btu ac on 15 amp as long as the meter is in the green I am cool.
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Old 06-05-2013, 01:41 PM   #18
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I have a meter that plugs into my 110 outlet it measures what I able to use as long as the needle is in the green all is good. I have a 50 amp plug and I am currently plugged into a 50 amp service I can turn everything on including both Ac's, But when plugged into a 30 amp one ac and most everything else. I would try my 13500 btu ac on 15 amp as long as the meter is in the green I am cool.
Literally!
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Old 06-06-2013, 12:47 PM   #19
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I have a buddy who is in the RV repair business, he loves folks who run their air conditioners on 15 amp service...
Yup just picked up a class C with a TOASTED AC unit people were quoted $1000 for a new one. $28 for new hard start cap and it's back in the cooling business
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Old 06-06-2013, 02:21 PM   #20
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Yup just picked up a class C with a TOASTED AC unit people were quoted $1000 for a new one. $28 for new hard start cap and it's back in the cooling business
Yeah and even though my buddy is a nice guy he has to make a living... I think his flat rater is about $125 an hour... so that starter would have cost the customer about $176, I've never known him to charge for work that didn't need doing... although I can't say the same for other RV service folks I've dealt with over the years.. Had a guy charge me $650 for a $100 powerglide transmission out of a wreaked car one time just cause he knew I was trapped... and that was with me pulling it and installing it myself on the side of the road... He did give me a lift back to the truck... about a 3 mile round trip...
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