Which Power Inlet Type Should I Get?

[Miriam C.]

That Wiremold JPDU-A is slick... it essentially is a two-circuit distribution panel and a bunch of outlets (divided among the two circuits) all in one ready-made box. I'm sure do-it-yourself would be cheaper...

I don't know where you people are finding 20A outlets, but around here is a campsite has anything more than 15A power, it has 30A and/or 50A. If an RV here needs more than 15A, it might as well have 30A.

It is slick but it is the same thing as running breakers. You still only get 15amps on each. Just cost more. If you want to run all electric get a box and breakers. Use a more than one GFCI (one for each breaker).

You can get a 20 amp breaker on one side for the stove and 15 for the others. Don't load more than 80%.

You can also hard wire the cord to the panel. If a strip is ok this will be so much better.

You can also use two strips But if they have breakers and GFCI's, and they should, it will cost about the same.

[BPFox]

Oops, I missed the electric burners. A 30A circuit will be required if he wants to use the burner and have his electric fridge plugged in too. The problem with the 30A is that campgrounds are the only place that you'll find them. I bet he doesn't have one in his garage so any propane savings will go to the electrician if he wants to plug in at home. He also won't be able to pick up an extra extension cord easily or cheaply if he needs one ( I forget things at home a lot). He'll also need an a pretty big RV generator if he wants to do any boondocking, since most generators don't have a 120V, 30A receptacle. If campgrounds with electric service is the ONLY place you camp, the 30A is fine. If you want maximum flexibility, the 20A is a much better choice.

Bruce

I doubt he will do much camping in his driveway. Yes, it is true that the 120 V 30 amp plug is pretty unique to the RV industry, buy I don't understand why that is a problem. If he does want to plug in at home he only needs to adapt down to the standard plug for that purpose. (you can put 20 amps of power through a 30 amp cord with no problem. Just don't try to do it the other way around.) Adapters are available in every RV supply house I have ever been in. Just keep in mind one thing, every electrical system is only as strong as it's weakest link. For safety's sake, you shouldn't draw more than 80% of what a circuit is capable of delivering. Remember, you are drawing power through an extension cord an that is why you need that safety factor. When hooked to a 20 amp circuit with a 12 gauge extension cord you should't be drawing more than 16 amps. With the two burner stove pulling it's maximum of 12.2 amps, that doesn't leave a lot left for the coffee pot, refrigerator, microwave, curling iron, tv, battery charger, electric blanket, etc., etc., etc. The bottom line here is this simple fact. The campground charges you the same amount for the electric regardless of which plug you use. It's there, you paid for it, go ahead and use it. I'm not suggesting you waste it, but if you like electric stuff, make sure your trailer is equipped to handle it. Peace.

Also, please don't confuse 30 amp 120 volt plugs with 30 amp 240 volts plugs. They might look similar but they are very very different. By today's standard 240 volt plugs will have 4 prongs. That has not always been the case and there are some 240 volt plugs out there that do look an awful lot alike the 30 amp 120 volt plugs. Mix them up and you are going to need a fire extinguisher.

[bdosborn]

Also, please don't confuse 30 amp 120 volt plugs with 30 amp 240 volts plugs. They might look similar but they are very very different. By today's standard 240 volt plugs will have 4 prongs. That has not always been the case and there are some 240 volt plugs out there that do look an awful lot alike the 30 amp 120 volt plugs. Mix them up and you are going to need a fire extinguisher.

That's another problem that you'll never have with a 20A plug. But I can see your point that an all electric trailer would require a 30A circuit. Forum members have compiled a 120V, 20A wiring diagram that includes properly sized wire, overcurrent protection and personnel protection. Maybe you could post a wiring diagram so we can work out the details for a 30A circuit and make it a sticky note?
Bruce
P.S. I camp in the drive way all the time. I bet you will too when you get a teardrop.

[Miriam C.]

P.S. I camp in the drive way all the time. I bet you will too when you get a teardrop.

Great place to take a nap or read a book. Especially in winter.

[BPFox]

I suspect that if the price of gas keeps going up, more and more of us will be doing plenty of driveway camping.

bdosborn, Wiring for a single 15 or 20 amp 120 volt circuit is what most small trailers will use and it will work just fine. If you plan on using 120 volts most of the time and you plan on using some higher draw devices, then it makes sence to go with 30 amps. What you would not do is have a single 30 amp circuit. What you would do is have multiple circuits. In my case, I will have one circuit for Airconditioning and Heat. I can get away with one circuit for both since they will never be on at the same time. The second circuit will be for everything else. In sladezero's case, he would want to have one circuit for his two burner electric stove and one circuit for everything else. It doesn't matter if you have one or multiple circuits, the same rules apply. Wire size must match the size of the circuit. In my case, the ac/heat circuit will be wired with #12 wire and protected with a 20 amp circuit breaker. My other circuit will also be wired with #12 wire (mostly because I don't want to invest in two sizes of wire) and be protected with a 20 amp breaker and a GFCI. I haven't yet decided on the number of plugs. At this point I'm thinking 5. Perhaps this is overkill but I'm thinking two in the cabin, two in the galley and one outside plug. I know I could use the galley plugs for this purpose but I don't want to clutter up the galley area with extension cords. Just like in your home, most of the wiring is for convienence. That is, it's there to be used but most of the time it isn't. Setting up the wiring is pretty easy. Think about what you plan on using and where you might use it. Put a plug there. Then add some just in case plugs. For instance. In the cabin there will be a plug for the tv and dvd player. Then there will be one more plug, just in case. In the galley there will be a plug for the coffee maker and toaster, then another one just in case. The outside plug is there, just in case. (the outside plug could be used for lights around the dining fly, or for a small aircompressor to air up bike tires or beach toys, that kind of thing) The most important part is to keep it simple and clean, that's the best way. I'm not a big fan of extension cords and power strips. Nothing wrong with using them, I just prefer the clean look of built in plugs. I know this is more than you asked for, but it's late, for some reason I can't sleep, and I felt like talking. Hopefully I will be starting my build sometime in the next couple of months and you can follow the progress, including the wiring, on these pages. Peace.

[brian_bp]

I like having an outside outlet on a travel trailer. If nothing else, it means the trailer and its power supply cord act like a big extension cord, getting power closer to where you need it. In a campsite, there may only be one outlet (or only one usable at a time), so once you've plugged in the trailer you need outlets on the trailer to plug in anything outside.

[brian_bp]

Also, please don't confuse 30 amp 120 volt plugs with 30 amp 240 volts plugs. They might look similar but they are very very different...

That's another problem that you'll never have with a 20A plug...

I don't think you'll have it with a 30 A plug, either. "Similar" and "plugs together" are two quite different things: I've never heard of anyone plugging a 30A 120V RV cord into a 30A 240V appliance socket... because they won't mate.

"Similar" just means check to make sure you're buying the right ones. Buy one part (plug, or socket, or adapter) at an RV supply store and it will be the right one; buy any other parts to match.

[brian_bp]

That Wiremold JPDU-A is slick... it essentially is a two-circuit distribution panel and a bunch of outlets (divided among the two circuits) all in one ready-made box. I'm sure do-it-yourself would be cheaper...

It is slick but it is the same thing as running breakers. You still only get 15amps on each. Just cost more. If you want to run all electric get a box and breakers. Use a more than one GFCI (one for each breaker).

You can get a 20 amp breaker on one side for the stove and 15 for the others. Don't load more than 80%...

I agree that "get a box and breakers" is the best (rather than most convenient) answer... that's what I meant by "do-it-yourself".

I don't see any need to make any of the circuits 20A. The cooktop is designed and intended for operation on a 15A circuit; give it one all to itself and I think it's setup properly; remember it only uses 12.5 amps, so there's already a margin to the 15A level.

[BPFox]

Also, please don't confuse 30 amp 120 volt plugs with 30 amp 240 volts plugs. They might look similar but they are very very different...

That's another problem that you'll never have with a 20A plug...

I don't think you'll have it with a 30 A plug, either. "Similar" and "plugs together" are two quite different things: I've never heard of anyone plugging a 30A 120V RV cord into a 30A 240V appliance socket... because they won't mate.

"Similar" just means check to make sure you're buying the right ones. Buy one part (plug, or socket, or adapter) at an RV supply store and it will be the right one; buy any other parts to match.

The problem with "Similar" is when the novice looks at the old dryer plug in the garage, thinks it the same, and makes up their own cord matching the female plug in the garage with one they picked up at Lowes. I mean, the breaker says 30 on it so everything should be ok.....Not!

[bdosborn]

In my case, the ac/heat circuit will be wired with #12 wire and protected with a 20 amp circuit breaker. My other circuit will also be wired with #12 wire (mostly because I don't want to invest in two sizes of wire) and be protected with a 20 amp breaker and a GFCI

The problem with this approach is that you don't have a circuit breaker that will protect the 30a cord from overload other than the campground circuit breaker. Its unlikely that you would overload it but the wire would be unprotected if someone used a 50A to 30A adapter to plug in. You could use two 15A circuit breakers instead of two 20A circuit breakers to protect the 30A wire but a 15A isn't big enough to power the 12.2A electric burner and stay below the 80% rating of molded case circuit breakers (and code requirements as well). I can't think of anyway to get around this other then a load center with a 30A main circuit breaker. Once again, it would be a pretty rare instance that would be a problem but it could happen.
Bruce

[BPFox]

A second 30 amp breaker is not needed. The whole reason to upgrade to the 10 ga 30 amp cord is to eliminate the concern with overload. The two 20 amp breakers in the trailer are there for one reason, and one reason only, to protect the wires in the trailer. Even if I were to plug my 30 amp cord into the 50 amp socket (something I would never do) I would feel 100% confident there would be no problem with my cord. Why? It's simple, I could plug everthing I had in and turn everything on and it would not come close to 30 amps. It would very much tax a 20 amp cord and that's the reason the upgrade is a smart move. It eliminates all worries about having a problem. Now are 20 amp circuits overkill, probably. But I will use them because I will be wiring with 12 ga wire and I already have the commercial grade plugs. I prefer them because it is a pain to wire 12 ga stranded around the screws. Besides, we wire all commercial plugs with 12 ga wire and I should be able to wire my whole trailer with the left overs on the spools that are too short for commercial use but will be more than long enough for the trailer. Now I know I only need one 20 amp circuit, but the whole trailer will be wired in 12 ga, so what the heck, why not make the second circuit 20 amp as well. I especially like the idea of having my outside outlets on a 20 amp circuit.

[wlooper89]

I am late to this topic but found it very interesting. I went with the 30A power inlet and cord. Even though it might be more amps than needed right away, they might be needed later. Please consider:

1000W microwave 8 amps
Electric blanket several amps
1500W heater 12.5 amps
25A converter 4.5 amps A/C
Coffee maker 8 amps
Galley and porch lights .5 amps (5 amps D/C)
PetCool 6 amps
AV Center .5 (5 amps D/C)
Electric table fan 2 amps

Anyway, it is a matter of personal choice. Not everyone would want all these items.

It is easier and less expensive to set up for 30A than to go back and upgrade it later. It could be done with just a 30A power cord, 30A inlet and 30A circuit breaker. From that point split into two 20A circuits, each with its own CB and GFCI. After the 30A power inlet & CB all the components could be 20A. I would use #10 wire for the brief 30A run and #12 wire for the two 20A circuits.

Another concern expressed in this topic was to be able to use the power cord with a 15 or 20A outlet. This is easily handled by having an adapter costing less than $5. I use my 30A cord at home to charge the trailer battery routinely with this adapter.

Bill

[Lgboro]

I am planning on a 1 burner electric and a pet cool in my build. I have yet to find a electric breaker box suitable for a tear. I would like to have the surface unit and the pet cool on separate circuits and a third for electric lights and plugs. Anyone here know of a source for a small lightweight breaker box suitable for a tear?

[Miriam C.]

I am planning on a 1 burner electric and a pet cool in my build. I have yet to find a electric breaker box suitable for a tear. I would like to have the surface unit and the pet cool on separate circuits and a third for electric lights and plugs. Anyone here know of a source for a small lightweight breaker box suitable for a tear?

So why do you want to run on separate circuits. The pet cool is going to run 6 amps and if you use two 15 amp breakers you have 11 on that breaker left for lights. Should be more than enough!

[john]

I got a small one at Lowes that had room for only two breakers.


The breakers are located between the ovals and dimmer switches in the pic below.




In this pic the breaker switches are hidden behind the clock/thermometer.