We all end up running out of power and tripping breakers, especially when the AC is going, the water heater is on electric, the coffee pot is on and to top it off, DW needs to run the hair dryer.
As much as I would love it, my Outback is not set up for a second air conditioner, so it doesn't make sense to go to the expense to upgrade the electrical to 50A service, not to mention having to replace a PI EMS with a 50A version
This is a break-out box that plugs into 50A CG service and splits it into two 30A circuits. I'll add another Marinco power input with the existing inlet and I have a Blue Sea power distribution panel with a double pole 30A breaker and 5 branch circuits that I used in a Class B that I built a few years back. The idea is to take all of the electrical loads and balance them between the two circuits while leaving all of the inductive loads protected by the EMS. I also currently have an additional 20A service that I use to run space heaters so I'll probably keep that, just move it so I can have the new panel close to the inverter. Or, I may build an enclosure for it and put it on one of the shelves in the corner pantry. I'll do it in a way that minimizes the amount of wire splicing I'll need to do.
Details on the box.. I started with a 240V 4 wire dryer cord from Lowe's. it had the two hots of #6 wire and the neutral and ground are #8. I would have preferred to have the neutral also #6, but as short as the length of wiring is, it will probably be OK. All the components are available at Lowe's. You'll see a Camco 50A plug attached. That's because when I cut the dryer cord, I was planning on using boxes with 1/2" openings. BIG MISTAKE. The junction boxes with 1/2" openings are two shallow to allow the necessary flexing and bending of the #6 wire needed when you screw the outlets to the junction boxes.The #6 wire is already hard enough to work with. So, I switched to boxes with 3/4" openings and that worked. With careful planning and measuring before cutting the wires, the plug on the dryer cord would have worked fine.The 3/4" coupling coming from the 50A plug does not make a tight seal around the cable, so some silicone down in the coupling is going to be in order. I can tell you that working with #6 wire in those small spaces will test your faith more than a long sermon on a pretty Sunday.