2013 Era , Shore power question

wbnjr · 07-25-2021, 07:41 AM

We are new to our new to us 7OA, I have 50 amp service at our home. Can I use a 50 amp to 30 amp adapter for shore power to my ERA.

TIA

DavidM · 07-25-2021, 09:51 AM

Yes.

David

**creativepart** · 07-25-2021, 10:27 AM

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not fully knowledgeable about home wiring and receptacles. But David sounds sure so maybe that's enough.

Before I answered I'd want to know what kind of 50 amp service? Be careful if it's 240v 50amp service. Nothing on your Era is set up for 240v.

I'm in dangerous territory on this topic. I "think" I know that some home receptacles are dangerous to RVs. But I don't usually contradict David on electricity (just motorhome brands... jk).

DavidM · 07-25-2021, 11:55 AM

OK, let me expand on my somewhat flippant answer. I have used a 50A/110V/220V 4 prong RV adapter to 30A/110V 3 prong and it worked fine. I used it to plug into a residential outlet box. All RV parks AFAIK have 20A/110V, 30A/110V and usually 50A/110V/220V outlets.

RVs for the most part (maybe all for all I know) do not use any 220V power. The 30A shore power plug on small to medium size Class B, Cs and some As is only 110V and the shore power cord has a 3 prong male plug on the end. The adapter used to plug into 50A takes one of the hot legs of the 50A source which will produce 110V to neutral (you only get 220V across both legs) and adapts it to 30A/110V that your RV needs.

I got my adapter on Amazon. Here is a very inexpensive "dog bone" adapter: https://www.amazon.com/Female-Dogbon...%2C175&sr=1-11

David

wbnjr · 07-25-2021, 01:55 PM

Thx David, that is the adapter I bought. Was concerned when it said something on the ERA and 30 amp a sped 110. I had used my 50 amp for a 45 ft Tiffin and have only recently downsized to the ERA. Just wanted to double check before plugging it in. Thx again

Morich · 07-25-2021, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidM

OK, let me expand on my somewhat flippant answer. I have used a 50A/110V/220V 4 prong RV adapter to 30A/110V 3 prong and it worked fine. I used it to plug into a residential outlet box. All RV parks AFAIK have 20A/110V, 30A/110V and usually 50A/110V/220V outlets.

RVs for the most part (maybe all for all I know) do not use any 220V power. The 30A shore power plug on small to medium size Class B, Cs and some As is only 110V and the shore power cord has a 3 prong male plug on the end. The adapter used to plug into 50A takes one of the hot legs of the 50A source which will produce 110V to neutral (you only get 220V across both legs) and adapts it to 30A/110V that your RV needs.

I got my adapter on Amazon. Here is a very inexpensive "dog bone" adapter: https://www.amazon.com/Female-Dogbon...%2C175&sr=1-11

David

Agree with this fully!!!

Too many do not understand that the 50 amp 220 volt plug has an extra prong and that prong CAN make the voltage 220 but only IF we use that extra connection, so when we get an adapter, we often get lots of answers warning about plugging into 220! They forget that it is only 110 if you only plug in the connections that make it half of the 220!

You COULD make up an adapter that would be bad if it connected too many wires together, but if you stick to one that is made for this, it is very likely to be correct.....

Bo Walker · 08-05-2021, 02:25 AM

Is wbnjr saying the shore power is 30 amps or 50 amps. When I sold my 30 amp motor home and purchased a 50 amp motor home, I used a dog bone made opposite of the one shown in the recommended site. My 50 amp shore cord plugged into the adapter and the adapter plugged into the 30 amp shore power. So the adapters (dog bones) are made either way depending on the need.

wbnjr · 08-06-2021, 07:00 AM

Bo, my shore power is 50amp and the 50 to 30:dog one recommended is working fine. Another question is there any downside to keeping it plugged into shore power while parked in our driveway? Thx

Morich · 08-06-2021, 08:14 AM

There are good and bad points to leaving an Rv plugged in all the time and how we each deal with that is often personal choice. On the newer Rv like you have the converter is likely to be a much better design than older like before 2000.

The design issue comes into play on how the charging voltager is higher at the start to get the charge done quicker but in newer design converters, the voltage then reduces as the battery voltage comes up to near where we want it to "float". High enough to maintain that fully charged level but not so high it boils the water off?
Knowing how YOUR specific charging system handles this question takes some close watching to spot how your RV is acting.

If it is charging at some voltage above 13.5 or so, and stays at that high level after a day or so, it is probably not good to keep it charging full time as water loss is one certain way to kill even a new battery!

But if you are watching the voltage, see it low when first brought home, plug it in and see something 13.5 or above, that is normal as you are seeing the output of the charger, not the real battery charge. Good for getting the batteries back quicker, but then you DO want to see that voltage taper off to more like 12.8 or so as the battery charge reaches full charge. At that point, you only want the voltage high enough to maintain the charge as it offsets the parasitic drains that most all RV have.

Several ways are out there to decide what to do if you have an older RV and find it is overcharging the battery but you really want to leave it plugged full time.

One way to prevent damage is to really keep a close eye on the batteries and when they reach full charge cut off the converter at the breaker, turn it back on when the battery gets low again and all the time watch the water levels to avoid letting it get low enough to damage the batteries. A real time consuming idea and not going to work if the RV is stored away from the house!

If one works at it and gives it some thought, we can avoid some of that if we "invent" a bit. Timers are handy to turn the power on/off but a weekly timer may not be handy to find and more than needed, so "invent" the timer you need by using two of the cheap 24 hours timers working in series!

Your numbers will vary as all RV are different but if you find you need to run the charger three hours every four days to keep things charged, try plugging a simple timer into another timer, and set each to only operate for the amount of time you want.
This does take some watching and care to be sure you are not running too close to boiling the batteries and certainly watch the water to get a feel for what it is doing, but you can set things to reduce the labor a whole bunch if you find it is needed.