15amp service OK for 30amp Bigfoot?

[Alben]

Are you sure it is just a 15 Amp outlet? Or is it a 20 Amp outlet? A 15A and 20A outlet look nearly the same, except the 20A outlet has a little side notch on one of the prongs. 20A outlets are pretty common.

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by Alben

Are you sure it is just a 15 Amp outlet? Or is it a 20 Amp outlet? A 15A and 20A outlet look nearly the same, except the 20A outlet has a little side notch on one of the prongs. 20A outlets are pretty common.

We have seen the 20 amp at campgrounds. Can you safely plug a 15amp cord into the 20 amp? What would be the consequences of doing this? We've used our 30amp to 15amp pigtail when 30amp wasn't available and only run the lights and fridge.

[Daniel A.]

Originally Posted by Jann Todd

We have seen the 20 amp at campgrounds. Can you safely plug a 15amp cord into the 20 amp? What would be the consequences of doing this? We've used our 30amp to 15amp pigtail when 30amp wasn't available and only run the lights and fridge.

The 15 amp cord could run hot may very well run hot, light duty would be 14 or 16 gauge.
20 amp cord is 10 gauge I would not run a 14 or 16 gauge cord to 20 amp service. Running your 30 amp cord to 15 amp service is fine the cord will not have a problem with the load.

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Jann Todd

.. Can you safely plug a 15amp cord into the 20 amp? What would be the consequences of doing this? We've used our 30amp to 15amp pigtail when 30amp wasn't available and only run the lights and fridge.

With caution, you can use the 20 amp outlet the same as a 15. A 15 amp plug goes into a 20 amp outlet but a 20 amp plug does not go into a 15 amp outlet. Using a 20 amp outlet, the breaker will allow more current than a 15 amp outlet so its more important to monitor your power draw IF using a adapter that is only rated at 15 amps. Assuming no extension cord use, again I say the adapter is what is at risk. Being the lowest rated item, it is the "weak link" in the system.

As I mentioned, I run my A/C on a dedicated 20 amp outlet using a 20 to 30 adapter. This makes the entire system of power pole, adapter, shore power cord and camper all rated to 20 amps. Inside the camper, the A/C has a 20 amp circuit that actually gets up to 20 amps assuming I don't use anything else at the same time. The branch circuits on their own breakers are still at 15 of course but the entire camper can use 20 amps. And using additional extension cord(s) reduces the amount of power you can safely use. How much depends on length, gauge, etc.

A few notes.. putting a 15 amp main breaker in your camper will prevent overloading a 15 to 30 adapter on a 20 amp circuit (were you to actually use over 15 amps for too long). But it will also prevent you from taking advantage of the the extra five amps if using a 20 amp outlet and 20 to 30 adapter. Thats a vote against the 15 amp main breaker if you might have access to 20 amp outlets. Also you have no control over the campground power supply so don't be surprised if you get less than the rating of the outlet and breaker.

The 20 to 30 adapter is not very common and I would be careful to avoid fakes with insufficient power handling capacity. This is the one I go and it appears to be of good quality:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003I2RZRS
(Ignore the reference to generator in the description)

And I have a 15 to 30 adapter for 15 amp outlets, as well as a few other assorted adapters for other situations.

[Joe MacDonald]

THE "T-slot" receptacle is now the standard receptacle installed in Kitchens In Ontario
is is indeed a 20 amp receptacle, fused at 20 amps(or breaker), the reason being that most kitchen counter plugs are within reach of the sink and must be protected by a GFCI. Trying to do this with the split circuit plugs that used to be used is very expensive because you needed a 2 pole GFI breaker, with the T-slot, a single pole 20 suffices.
Why a 20? because typically in a kitchen, more than one device is used at a time (kettle, toaster, rotisserie, lean machine, cappuccino maker etc) when two of these devices are used together they often draw more than 15 amps, but generally less than 20.
Feel your toaster or Kettle cord after use , it will be hot.
If the cordset feeding your trailer matches your main breaker, it really doesn't matter if you plug into something that is rated at the same current as your plug or less, you are fine. if you have an adapter to go from 50-30, or 30-15, make sure it is not a cheap one, and it contains a fuse or mini breaker rated for the lower current plug. then you are also golden. if you are going the other way, 30 or 50 amp to 15 or 30, you are also golden as the cordset on the trailer is already rated at a higher current than what you are plugging in to

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Joe MacDonald

... if you have an adapter to go from 50-30, or 30-15, make sure it is not a cheap one, and it contains a fuse or mini breaker rated for the lower current plug. ..

Sounds good but I have not seen an adapter with built in over current protection. Any links?

[Joe MacDonald]

go figure, when I got mine I was falling over them, now- not so much
Heres a link to a 50-15 fused, but it doesn't say if it is a replaceable fuse
https://www.rona.ca/en/range-adaptor

[Ev in Oregon]

I always like to report back on solutions (or not) to problems or issues I've had, and this is the best outcome I could have hoped for.


Briefly, I was given the opportunity to move to a larger space in the RV park where I live, but instead of 30-amp service, the service there was 15-amp. I was concerned about whether that'd work or not.
Well, the park owner has had 30-amp service installed at the larger site, which turns out to be a win-win for us both. I get a larger site, and with the 30-amp installed now, he can develop 2 new sites in that area of the park.
Once again, thank you all for the great advice.

[Paul O.]

Congratulations and thanks for reporting on the good outcome!