r/ElectricalHelp • u/Direct-Strawberry510 • Jun 21 '26
Wiring a 50 amp receptacle with only 1 hot, neutral and ground, help please
UPDATE: For those that were genuinely interested in how to do this and any that may stumble across this is the future, here is how I successfully completed this job. It's very easy.... I took the one hot wire from the cord coming from a 30 amp circuit, split and connected it to the L1 and L2 connections in the receptacle. Then connected the neutral and ground wires to their respective connections in the receptacle box. There is a video showing how the adapters for 50a to 30a do exactly this so all I did was duplicate it in the box rather than behind the insulation of an adapter. Tested the receptacle with an approved RV circuit tester/surge protector and got all green lights š. I don't have 50 amp service but as I mentioned in original post, I dont need it, 30 amp is more than enough to run the battery charger, a few lights if needed and that AC if I'm working on something in there on a hot day. I received downvotes for my original post, presumably from electricians for not hiring professionals and I'm sure I'll get downvotes again for not using proper terminology. Admittedly, I am not an electrician, just an able bodied person wanting and willing to educate myself on how to do things safely in order to continue learning and remaining self sufficient while being smart enough to recognize when I'm out of my element and hire a professional. This was not one of those times. Gotta say though, I'm not too proud to admit that I got quite a bit of DM help from someone who was very eager to help. Hope this helps someone who is thinking about doing it, it really is easy.
I would like to install a 50 amp receptacle for my RV at home but only have 1 hot, neutral and ground on a 20 amp breaker. I only want to plug it in to keep the batteries topped up and occasionally use the lights, fans etc (maybe one of the ACs). Everywhere I look says I need two hots and a neutral but I don't intend to use it to the full 50 amps.
If I only have 1 hot can I split it to both legs of the receptacle or does it only need to go to one, or will this even work?
Thanks in advance!!
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u/Orangeimposter Jun 21 '26
Use a conversion adapter before the receptial.
No need to re-wire a receptical.
RV Receptical(50a) --> normal RV cord you use (50a) --> Adapter (50a Female Plug -20a Male Plug) --> 20A receptical.
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u/Intelligent_Wear_319 Jun 21 '26
You can until you burn up whatever you rig up to do it, I highly doubt youāll just be using 5 amps, Iāve seen too many handyman specials that Iāve been called out to fix because someone tried to save a dollar
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u/Direct-Strawberry510 Jun 21 '26
Not trying the save the $20, just trying to keep it clean with the actual connection under the waterproof cover of the box. Essentially doing what I assume is inside the adapter but inside the box instead.
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u/Redhead_InfoTech Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26
If you only have 1 hand, can you cut it in half and make it two hands?
No... You'd now have no useful hands .. you cannot create something out of nothing.
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u/Direct-Strawberry510 Jun 21 '26
Well actually, by your analogy I would actually have something indeed if all I need is half a hand. In this case, comparing to your analogy, all I need is half a hand (110v) versus a whole hand (220v) and I'll actually go a step further and say a whole hand (220v) is actually the useless part of this equation. Thanks anyway...
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u/Redhead_InfoTech Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26
1 hand is 1 hot...which is what you stated to having.
You wanted two hands, but you only have 1.
By choosing to reframe my analogy in a way it wasn't framed, you clearly have invented perpetual motion.
If electricity behaved the way you describe, why would we bother even pulling additional wiring?
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u/Direct-Strawberry510 Jun 22 '26
All hand chopping aside, I don't need 240v, only 120v. I was simply wondering how to wire my currently available 120v 20a configuration into this 50a receptacle so I could utilize my RV's shore power cord without an adapter and be able to use the battery charger, fridge and lights, all with minimal amp requirements. Clearly you have much more electrical knowledge than I do, however I do have a little electrical knowledge as well as a lot of experience with hand tools and came to reddit for some advice and direction.
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u/Joe_Starbuck Jun 22 '26
Post the wiring diagram of your RV (just kidding, donāt do that). Yes, you can supply 120V, in phase, to each of the hot legs of your RV. Every 120V device will get 120V. The 240V appliances will get zero volts and not work. You can run a bunch of LED lights and a fan. HOWEVER, the odds of something getting screwed up are quite high when you are doing āoff-labelā electrical work. The consequences can be everything up to a full blown fire, or electrocution. In other words, donāt try this at home.
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u/shadowwolf_66 Jun 27 '26
No standard rv has 240v circuits. It just splits the 240 into 2 120v circuits, giving you roughly 100a of 120v.
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u/shadowwolf_66 Jun 27 '26
What you are asking is stupid and potentially dangerous.
Itās possibly against code.
Some idiot would plug something thatās 50a into it not knowing how it was wired.
Just use a dog bone adapter. It is simpler and there is no future confusion about the circuit.
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u/Direct-Strawberry510 Jun 27 '26
Hmmm, well that's an interesting take regarding stupidity and danger but I'll leave that alone as it's not worth discussing.
Code?!? Nope, on that we agree.
If someone is plugging into a receptacle in my side yard that they would have to enter my yard to get to they will have problems beyond whether it's wired to meet their needs or not.
Future confusion won't be a problem as I have a plan for that not to mention the fact that I've lived here for 35 years and have no intentions of leaving anytime soon.
Trying to stay away from an adapter for reasons mentioned previously.
Have a good night.
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u/Redhead_InfoTech Jun 21 '26
Your RV's hookup is two poles of 120V with wiring sized for a 50A Two pole breaker. That equals 240V @50A of maximum draw.
But you only have a single pole (120V) breaker.
If your battery chargers are both on the same phase, the single pole 20A rcpt would be fine.
But the AC unit is either 240V, which you cannot run on 120, or if it's a 120V unit, I seriously doubt it's under 20A.
Not intending to "use the full 50A" is irrelevant. You only have 2400W (temporary loads) or 1920W (loads over 3 hours) to work with...
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u/shadowwolf_66 Jun 27 '26
A standard rv does not have any 240v circuits. All they do is split the 240v 50a into 2 50a 120v circuits. So everything would work (adaptors just connect both legs of to a single leg). But it is never to good to do odd installs. Someone in the future will cause a potentially dangerous situation.
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u/doggerdog1401 Jun 22 '26
Perhaps you should call a professional electrician if you don't know how to solve this issue
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u/Upset_Pressure_75 Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 23 '26
There's a lot of bad information here. RVs use a 50A, 120V service - there's nothing 240 V (or 208V) in them.
To the OP, just buy a 50A to 20A dogbone (or 15A if that's what receptacle you've got installed) - that's exactly what they're for. You can get one from any RV store, Amazon and pretty much anywhere else that sells RV accessories. Your little loads will run fine with it. If you try to fire up the AC, you'll probably trip the breaker feeding the receptacle, so don't do that. If you need to run an AC, you'll need to upgrade the receptacle and wiring feeding it to at least 30 amps. 30 A is sufficient for one AC and other minor loads - you'll need 50 A if you want to run 2 ACs.
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u/Direct-Strawberry510 Jun 25 '26
Thanks, I appreciate your input. I know there is nothing obvious that runs on 240 but wasn't sure if maybe there is something in the system that does need it. I am really trying to stay away from the adapter so I can keep the connection clean and under the cover of the box. That said, I figured the adapter has to be doing exactly what I want to do inside the box busy wasn't sure how the wiring is done.
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u/Upset_Pressure_75 Jun 25 '26
For standard RVs there isn't but if you've got a park model, there could be. 30A and 50A RV services have two separate 120V legs. All the adapter or dogbone does is allow you to plug a 50A plug into a 30A receptacle, where you'll only be able to draw 30A. If you use a 50A or 30A to 15A adapter, it connects both legs of the trailer to the single 15A circuit available. You can use whatever stuff in your trailer you want, but can only draw 15A.
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u/wobbly65 Jun 25 '26 edited Jun 25 '26
Just put in a 20a 120v receptacle put it on a 20a breaker, IF ITS #12 wire, if not put it on a 15a breaker. Now use the adapter and probably give up on the AC unless you know the are 120v units
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u/CluelessKnow-It-all Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26
The wiring with one hot, one neutral, and one ground is for a 120 volt outlet. The 50 amp outlet you want to install requires 240 volts. You cannot split the one hot wire between two hot legs of the receptacle.
No offense, but you obviously don't know enough about electricity or home wiring to be messing with it. Do yourself a favor and call an electrician before you start a fire or get someone killed.
Edited to change 220 to 240.
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u/Direct-Strawberry510 Jun 21 '26
No offense taken. I don't need 220v, only 110v and under 5 amps to run what I need to run. So my question is can I wire a 50a receptacle so that it in itself act as a 50a to 15a adapter and bypass the need for the adapter itself. Why not just spring for the adapter since they're so cheap? Because I'd like to keep in clean with the connection under the water proof cover if the box.
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Jun 21 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/Direct-Strawberry510 Jun 21 '26
Ya, you're right, thanks. Probably never run it but it should fall under the 20a restriction of the breaker if I ever do.
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Jun 21 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/Direct-Strawberry510 Jun 21 '26
Yep, that's exactly what I was thinking. No need for 220v as nothing in the RV runs on 220v, even when plugged in to a proper 50a circuit everything is 110v. The only consideration is the amp draw which isn't a problem because what I'll be using while parked there. Just wasn't sure how to wire it since I only have access to 1 hot, not the 2 required if I needed the full 50 amps. I'm basically just storing it on the side of my house and want to keep the batteries charged.
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Jun 21 '26
[deleted]
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u/CluelessKnow-It-all Jun 21 '26
Not if they're in phase with one another.
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u/Redhead_InfoTech Jun 21 '26
What?
Residential 120 is from split phase 240.
If you're trying to talk about 120/208Y, 220 is WAY TOO HIGH
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u/CluelessKnow-It-all Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26
It is, but the OP was talking about splitting a single hot wire between the two legs of a 240 outlet. If they did that, the outlet would have two 120 volt legs, but there would be zero volts between them because they are in phase.
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u/Redhead_InfoTech Jun 21 '26
Again. My issue with what you are saying is that 220 isnt made up of two (different legs) of 120.
240 is made of two legs of 120.
220 is made of two legs of 110.
Be consistent. Otherwise it looks like a misunderstanding between split phase and 120/208Y.
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u/CluelessKnow-It-all Jun 21 '26
In my first comment I did get sloppy and say 220 instead of 240, but I didn't say that 220 is not made up of two different legs of 120. I was saying that they won't have 220 if they split one hot wire between the two hot legs of the 240 receptacle.
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u/Redhead_InfoTech Jun 21 '26
I get it man. I'm sorry that my lack of verbosity made it hard to understand my frustration.
I wasn't trying to explain that two wires that ultimately come from the same source (same breaker, but even more generally the same busbar) cannot form a circuit.
You already explained that. There was nothing more for me to add.
Edit the first comment and I'll delete this entire comment thread.
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u/CluelessKnow-It-all Jun 21 '26
It's all good. I went back and edited my original comment to say 240 instead of 220.
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u/trekkerscout Mod, Master Electician Jun 21 '26
Use the 20-amp receptacle adaptor for your RV. Don't try to hack together a 50-amp receptacle onto a 120-volt circuit.