RV 50 amp services

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Cavie

Cavie

Senior Member
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SW Florida
Since I retired I have been hanging out on some RV forums. Something that comes up a lot is the phrase ''50 amp service (100 amps available)''. In my 50 year career I never heard that phrase. As any one here ever heard that in a non RV environment? It drives me nuts.​
 
My first thought is that because RVs are all 120V loads, they are doing some math to advertise that you can drive 100A worth of 120V devices on your coach, which is basically a big MWBC.

But, yeah, that would drive me nuts, too.
 
MAC702 said:
My first thought is that because RVs are all 120V loads, they are doing some math to advertise that you can drive 100A worth of 120V devices on your coach, which is basically a big MWBC.

But, yeah, that would drive me nuts, too.
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My thought as well.

It is 12,000 VA either way. You still have two 6000VA components to the supply and need to watch how you connect the loads.
 
That's the logic I'm hearing from them but they fail to realize the newbies to RV's have 0 knowledge of electricity. It's very hard to make them understand a 50 amp 240 service from a 30 amp 120 volts service much less how to get 100 amps from a 50 amp service. I try to keep it to electricity 101 on those forums.
 
The same folks will tell you they have a 400 amp service at home.. a 2 pole 200 amp breaker :D
 
Cavie said:
... I try to keep it to Electricity 101 on those forums.
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That's probably the best approach, lighting a single candle at a time amidst the darkness. (but holy smokes, is there ever a lot of darkness out there!)
Just remember not to burn yourself out.

duty_calls.png
 
augie47 said:
The same folks will tell you they have a 400 amp service at home.. a 2 pole 200 amp breaker :D
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It would be a rare house that had only 120V loads, but if it did, someone would advertise it that way because, well, you can power 400A worth of 120V loads if you balance them on the panel. An RV is already a well-balanced panel inside, so some shrewd guy is advertising the math, probably correctly thinking it will get him a few people to pick his park over another one.

I find it a far less egregious statement than the misuse of horsepower.
 
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