Electrical adapters - Good? Bad? Safe? Dangerous?
Jun 21, 2017 19:05:28 GMT -6
by ADMIN in Tech Tips
Post by ADMIN on Jun 21, 2017 19:05:28 GMT -6
This thread was transferred from the old forum
Posted by: tnchuck100 On: Tue May 06, 2014 6:41 am
Post subject: Electrical adapters - Good? Bad? Safe? Dangerous?
There are times when you need to use an electric adapter to power your camper. There are many opinions on the pro's and con's of using these devices. Some are lawyer-driven warnings from RV manufacturers covering there legal butts. Some are the "this is what I heard" type and are usually baseless. Others are just a lack of electrical understanding.
There are two types of adapters available.
The "hockey puck" and the "dogbone"
The dogbone is the better of the two types. When heavily loaded the hockey puck tends to generate more heat. Heat = lost power/voltage drop.
If you are connecting to a standard 110V 15 or 20 amp outlet and are only running your refrigerator you could use the hockey puck style without a problem. Running an air conditioner that way would be ill advised.
Adapters come in almost all conceivable configurations. 50/30 amp, 30/15 amp, generator (twist lock), male/female, female/male.
The use of these adapters is NOT unsafe as long as you use them as they are intended and are aware of the limitations of each.
Suppose you are at a campground and find the 30 amp connector is loose and worn and the 50 amp connector is in much better shape. In this case the use of a 50 amp male to a 30 amp female dogbone is a wise choice.
Posted by: tnchuck100 On: Tue May 06, 2014 6:41 am
Post subject: Electrical adapters - Good? Bad? Safe? Dangerous?
There are times when you need to use an electric adapter to power your camper. There are many opinions on the pro's and con's of using these devices. Some are lawyer-driven warnings from RV manufacturers covering there legal butts. Some are the "this is what I heard" type and are usually baseless. Others are just a lack of electrical understanding.
There are two types of adapters available.
The "hockey puck" and the "dogbone"
The dogbone is the better of the two types. When heavily loaded the hockey puck tends to generate more heat. Heat = lost power/voltage drop.
If you are connecting to a standard 110V 15 or 20 amp outlet and are only running your refrigerator you could use the hockey puck style without a problem. Running an air conditioner that way would be ill advised.
Adapters come in almost all conceivable configurations. 50/30 amp, 30/15 amp, generator (twist lock), male/female, female/male.
The use of these adapters is NOT unsafe as long as you use them as they are intended and are aware of the limitations of each.
Suppose you are at a campground and find the 30 amp connector is loose and worn and the 50 amp connector is in much better shape. In this case the use of a 50 amp male to a 30 amp female dogbone is a wise choice.