By Mike Sokol
Dear Mike,
Referring to your comment on your post “RV Electricity – An easy way to measure 50-amp outlets”:
Speaking of 50-amp service, I am looking to purchase an EMS surge protector for my new
Grand Design, when I pick it up in a few weeks. Since we will have two air conditioners, we will most often be hooked up to a 50-amp service.
My question is: When we don’t have access to 50-amp service, and use a 30-amp connection, will the 50-amp EMS still work? I think that I understand the basics of the unit, I’m just unclear about how it would work if it is hooked up to a 30-amp connection.
Thanks, and I learned a lot from your presentation in Hershey, last year. —Tom Herd
Dear Tom,
Thanks for attending my seminar in Hershey. Looks like I’ll be doing 5 more seminars there in 2019, but you’ll need to get to the show early since there’s a LONG LINE to get in, and my seminars start at 9 a.m. sharp. Here’s a link to my 2019 seminar schedule so far.
Back to your question. There’s a really simple answer which I’ll expand on a bit here. The proper way to think about this is you want to select the proper Surge Protector for your RV’s shore power cord-set (30- or 50-amp), then use a 15- or 30-amp adapter on the pedestal or home outlet that has a 50-amp female outlet to plug into your RV. I’m showing it in this diagram with a portable surge protector, but the same rules also apply for any of you with an internally mounted surge protector.
Of course, your total power available in watts won’t increase beyond whatever the 20- or 30-amp outlet can supply. But with the proper dog-bone adapter the power will be split between the two hot legs of your 50-amp cordset, so everything in your RV will receive power. Just remember that with a 20- or 30-amp service there won’t be enough amperage to run both air conditioners at the same time.
So buy the 50-amp Advanced/EMS surge protector from Surge Guard or Progressive, then add a 30-amp to 50-amp adapter for when you’re plugging into a 30-amp pedestal, and a 15-amp to 50-amp adapter for when you’re plugging into a 15- or 20-amp outlet at a house. Then you’ll be all set. I’ve talked to Progressive Industries and Southwire/Surge Guard about this, and both of their engineering departments agree with me.
Also, I’m not confused when I talk about a 15-amp adapter plugged into a 20-amp outlet. The difference is that while the contacts in all 15-amp plugs and outlets are actually rated for 20 amps of current, the 15-amp version is keyed with two vertical slots and the 20-amp outlet is keyed with one vertical and one horizontal T-shaped slot.
A 15-amp plug can be inserted into either a 15- or 20-amp outlet, while a 20-amp plug can only be inserted in a 20-amp outlet, not a 15-amp outlet. But both the 15- and 20-amp outlets are typically wired with 20-amp circuit breakers, so either one will supply 20 amps of current. That’s why we generally use 15-amp plugs in 20-amp outlets, and all is well. Clear as mud, right?
Let’s play safe out there….
Mike Sokol is an electrical and professional sound expert with 40+ years in the industry. His excellent book RV Electrical Safety is available at Amazon.com. For more info on Mike’s qualifications as an electrical expert, click here.
Hey Mike,
I’m new to this. I need some advice. Do I have this configuration correct? I’m getting a new RV next week. I’ll be plugging into a 15/20 amp in my shed. My rv is 30 amp. Is this setup correct in the order I’m listing below, starting from the rv’s own power cord and out. Rv power cord plugged into a 30 amp female to 15 amp male dogbone, into a 100 ft 10 gauge, 15 amp extension cord into a 15 female/ 30 male small (purple) adapter into a 30 amp surge protector, into a 30 amp female to 15 amp male dogbone then into the outlet?
😂
Sorry…idk if that made sense or if it’s overkill or what but thanks for any advice
Deb
30A RV cord into the 30A surge protector into 30A F 15A M connector to 15A heavy duty contractor power cord to 15A outlet. May want to cover the surge protector and its plug ins. Don’t use A/C because of the long distance. You can install a 30A RV outlet and a 30A extension cord if you want to use your A/C.
Hey Mike – I appreciate you sharing your expertise. I’ve seen a number of articles on this question. Mine is kind of the opposite. I’ve got a 30 amp rig, and a Progressive EMS-PT30X RV Surge Protector. And, of course, a 50-to-30 amp dog-bone converter. When plugged into a KOA 50amp (all they had available) with my dog-bone, I went ahead and plugged my 30 amp surge protector into the dog-bone, then my unit into the surge protector. Does that in any way put my 30 amp surge protector at risk? And do I need a 50 amp surge protector for those situations? The unit seemed to work fine – but I had some concerns.
Thanks again!! My kind regards,
Joe
Surge protector needs to match the RV power draw. If connecting to a lower power pedestal the pedestal breaker protects you from too much current draw.
Thanks again for the detailed response. Somewhat along the same line, I’ve heard stories of an EMS being stolen from the post at night or when the owner is gone. Some choose to lock it to the post in order to secure it. I’m considering another option and looking for an opinion.
What would you think of using a 50-amp cord between the pedistal and the EMS. Then a cord from the EMS to the trailer. I’m thinking that the water line access hole, in the floor of the storage compartment, might be large enough for the plugs to fit through and, if not, another hole could be cut in the floor of the storage area. That hole would be covered when not in use, to deny access to small critters.
The EMS would be secured, inside the storage compartment, protected from the weather, and still be portable if you wanted to use it elsewhere.
I understand that you would like to keep the cord run as short as possible, so I’m not sure if the trade-off of the longer cord would be worth the added security for the EMS.
I avoided this whole issue by installing the hard wired version of my EMS. Not a difficult task for those that are mechanically/electrically inclined/knowledgeable.
Tom,
Actually, running a 50-amp extension cord from the pedestal to the portable surge protector stashed in a storage compartment is a good idea. Just get a short cordset to go from the surge protector in your storage compartment to the RV shore power inlet. You don’t want your extension cords or cordset to be any longer than necessary. The advantage of a portable surge protector is that you can carry it to the campsite to test the pedestal BEFORE you pull your RV into the spot. That way you can refuse the campsite due to poor power and ask for another campsite.