SByer
'08 #383
No, this has been great. It's starting to feel like it wants to be shrunk down to a laminated credit-card sized cheat sheet.
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Those in the know think so much of this stuff is obvious, but for the non-electrician out there, seeing a NEMA14-50 socket with "50 amps" stamped right on it can be misleading.
Just because the plug fits in the socket doesn't guarantee it is going to work.
It probably would have been better if the socket manufacturers had stamped "50 amp" on the back so that electricians know it is certified for use with 50 amps max, but not to imply (on the front) that it is wired to support that.
It would be nice if all the NEMA14-50's out there had a little sticker on them showing what the wiring/breaker/circuit-protection can actually provide. e.g., 40 amps available, 32 amps available, 24 amps available, etc.
And those RV park "cheater" and "dogbone" adapters really should say "not for use with 240V equipment".
Hey, does anyone know the vendor for those yellow NEMA 14-50 plugs with the safety handle molded into the plug housing?
Thanks.
Thanks.
Noticed this one from your eBay search:
PowerMax 50 Amp RV Generator Adapter Cord NEMA Plug - eBay (item 120425705810 end time Jun-24-09 08:39:55 PDT)
Another case where a NEMA14-50 is presented but only meant to be used for 120V@30amp.
( Yet they describe it as a 50 amp cable!
)
In RV lingo "50 amp" means 120V@30amp over a NEMA14-50!
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PowerMax 50 Amp RV Generator Adapter Cord NEMA Plug - eBay (item 120425705810 end time Jun-24-09 08:39:55 PDT)
[FONT=Arial, helvetica, sans-serif]
Another case where a NEMA14-50 is presented but only meant to be used for 120V@30amp.
( Yet they describe it as a 50 amp cable!
)In RV lingo "50 amp" means 120V@30amp over a NEMA14-50!
[/FONT]
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Good find, Doug. Just to be clear - what he is showing makes it easier to unplug a NEMA14-50, but doesn't do anything to help know the capability of the circuit (which is the main topic of this thread).
Well I suppose it is called "how much can you pull" :wink:
Well I suppose it is called "how much can you pull" :wink:
Noticed this one from your eBay search:
PowerMax 50 Amp RV Generator Adapter Cord NEMA Plug - eBay (item 120425705810 end time Jun-24-09 08:39:55 PDT)
( Yet they describe it as a 50 amp cable!
In RV lingo "50 amp" means 120V@30amp over a NEMA14-50!
But what is it? We know the the female "S" Socket side is a NEMA 14-50 which is a 220V 50 amp connector but what ids the other side?
What do they mean by a "10/4 30" The digram next to it is not even a 14-50 shown in the photograph so that puts the other one in doubt. It's a male so it should have a "P" for Plug and if clearrly a Locking plud so it should have an "L" designate as well. The "4" might be pin-count but the picture is not clear.
The 10 designate says it's an old style
It's too whack to buy.
That one was different from the TT-30 to NEMA14-50 "dog bone" cables used to plug "so called" 50amp RVs into 120V@30amp TT-30 trailer sockets.
The one I just showed on ebay is used to plug a "50amp" (NEMA14-50 based) RV into a 120V@30 amp generator socket. Just like with the "dog bone" it doesn't provide a full 120V@50amp to the RV so you have to be careful you don't overload the generator by turning on too much in the RV.
Unlike the TT-30 (found at Campgrounds) the L14-30P is a circular type found on generators:
Again it is just another "cheater" cable that lets you take a 120V@30amp source and present it on a NEMA14-50 socket that is risky because many NEMA14-50 devices expect to draw 40+ amps, and many expect to find true 240V on the NEMA14-50, but so many of the RV & Generator cheater cables only provide 120V@30A.
There are generators with full NEMA14-50 240V@40amps available, but the cables we are talking about let you use smaller, cheaper 120V@30amp generators and power your RV OK as long as you are careful not to turn on too many things at once.
There are a whole lot of different NEMA plug and sockets, but I have been trying to stick to the most common ones.
There are those circular orientation twist-lock versions of many of the sockets.
The one I just showed on ebay is used to plug a "50amp" (NEMA14-50 based) RV into a 120V@30 amp generator socket. Just like with the "dog bone" it doesn't provide a full 120V@50amp to the RV so you have to be careful you don't overload the generator by turning on too much in the RV.
Unlike the TT-30 (found at Campgrounds) the L14-30P is a circular type found on generators:
Again it is just another "cheater" cable that lets you take a 120V@30amp source and present it on a NEMA14-50 socket that is risky because many NEMA14-50 devices expect to draw 40+ amps, and many expect to find true 240V on the NEMA14-50, but so many of the RV & Generator cheater cables only provide 120V@30A.
There are generators with full NEMA14-50 240V@40amps available, but the cables we are talking about let you use smaller, cheaper 120V@30amp generators and power your RV OK as long as you are careful not to turn on too many things at once.
There are a whole lot of different NEMA plug and sockets, but I have been trying to stick to the most common ones.
There are those circular orientation twist-lock versions of many of the sockets.
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By the way, I had been meaning to say - I had said be careful with the Roadster foundry set not to jam the NEMA 10-30 plug into a campground trailer/park TT-30 receptacle, but that isn't the really bad scenario. The bad scenario is when someone takes their TT-30 plugged trailer or RV and jams that plug into a NEMA10-30 recepticle. The round ground pin on the TT-30 plug has an easier time fitting into the L-shaped neutral hole on the 10-30 recipticle, and when you do that you send 240V to all your appliances in the RV/trailer that are designed to expect 120V.
(poof!)
VFX, I went back and looked at that eBay ad again. It includes this:
So it uses a NEMA L14-30P...
Locking Plugs for Generator Receptacles - Jacks Small Engines
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That 10/4 stuff they had in there was for the wire - 10 gauge, 4 conductor.
So it uses a NEMA L14-30P...
Locking Plugs for Generator Receptacles - Jacks Small Engines
[FONT=Arial, helvetica, sans-serif]L14-30P
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