Been following you for a long time and appreciate your knowledge and insight. But this article and your explanation is concerning when it comes to the 50 Amp portion. A 50-amp service has 12,000 watts available because there are actually two separate 50-amp conductors in a “50-amp” shore power outlet. I understand your explanation, but, I have yet to see a 100A outlet in a campground and you may be creating an issue. By saying it can handle 100 amps, some folks might be putting in a 100A breaker to a 50 amp connector or worst yet, overloading a marginal 50A cable.
Charlie, I appreciate your concern but here’s what I wrote…
I did note that there’s a pair of 50-amp conductors which adds up to 100-amperes of total available current at 120 volts. Is there a better way I could say this?
Here are the quick calculations:
If you multiply 20 amps times 120 volts you get 2,400 watts.
And 30 amps times 120 volts equals 3,600 watts.
But how does 50 amps times 120 volts equal 12,000 watts and not just 6,000 watts?
A 50-amp service has 12,000 watts available because there are actually two separate 50-amp conductors in a “50-amp” shore power outlet. It probably should be called a 100-amp outlet, since that’s how much amperage at 120 volts is actually available.
Been following you for a long time and appreciate your knowledge and insight. But this article and your explanation is concerning when it comes to the 50 Amp portion. A 50-amp service has 12,000 watts available because there are actually two separate 50-amp conductors in a “50-amp” shore power outlet. I understand your explanation, but, I have yet to see a 100A outlet in a campground and you may be creating an issue. By saying it can handle 100 amps, some folks might be putting in a 100A breaker to a 50 amp connector or worst yet, overloading a marginal 50A cable.
Charlie, I appreciate your concern but here’s what I wrote…
I did note that there’s a pair of 50-amp conductors which adds up to 100-amperes of total available current at 120 volts. Is there a better way I could say this?
Here are the quick calculations:
If you multiply 20 amps times 120 volts you get 2,400 watts.
And 30 amps times 120 volts equals 3,600 watts.
But how does 50 amps times 120 volts equal 12,000 watts and not just 6,000 watts?
A 50-amp service has 12,000 watts available because there are actually two separate 50-amp conductors in a “50-amp” shore power outlet. It probably should be called a 100-amp outlet, since that’s how much amperage at 120 volts is actually available.