Quote:
Originally Posted by simidrm
They will work in a pinch for battery charging and lights but I would not try to use it and try to run your a/c coffee pot or microwave chances are it would trip the breaker anyway but those items require more amps then the adapter will give and the adapter will get very hot and possibly cause damage to your a/c units.
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Let's 'understand' electrical usage, when it comes to Volts and Amps, as
several of these statements are certainly misleading and not from experience...
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dogbone or puck 'adapters' are nothing more than a way to connect your shore cord to a smaller or different outlet... it has nothing to do with 'working in a pinch' as this still provides the exact SAME 120v of power as any other connection, whether 50amp, 30amp, 20amp, 15amp, or anything in between.
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adapters don't 'give' amps, they simply pass along 120v of power - no different than any other outlet or connection. The adapter has NOTHING to do with amps. Amps are how 'much' 120 volts of power you are using at the same time between several appliances or devices. The BREAKER controls amps, not the adapter.
- how in the world using an adapter would have anything to do with 'causing damage to your air conditioner' is beyond me.
This topic of using a simple adapter has nothing to do with your air conditioner, or any other appliance or device in your RV. Some folks have 'heard' that using anything less than full '50amp' service, or '30amp' service can somehow lead to some type of damage to their air conditioner, but that is simply bunk. Using an adapter has NOTHING to do with 120 volts of power.
Can a campground, or rv park, or your home even, have a voltage that drops below the 120volt range, that could effective the startup of the compressor of an air conditioner? Sure, it happens all the time.
But, this is not in itself a reason to 'assume' that just because you use an adapter that you are somehow contributing to that. The adapter has nothing to do with whether the power is 120v or anything else, only that you can plug into an outlet that has a different style of plug.
While I understand the reaction that some have when it comes to whether certain electrical devices, adapters, or hookup styles can create issues while you are camping,
the reality is that 120v of service is 120v of service, no matter 'how' you connect to it. The subject of AMPS, though, is a totally different one, though many times confused with the 'type' or 'size' of outlet or plug that you are using - amps are related to 'how much power I am trying to use all at the same time', NOT the type or size or style of 'plug' or 'outlet' that I am using to get that power.
The BREAKER will provide the protection for amps, but the style of plug really has nothing to do with that, only the size of the breaker itself.
If you TRIP a breaker, whether one in your RV, or the one where you are plugged in,
it is simply telling you that you are trying to power more things at the same time than the BREAKER is designed to handle. It doesnt' 'hurt' anything when a breaker trips, no more than when you simply turn a light switch OFF - it just stops the power from flowing.
What it DOES tell you is that you are trying to use more power than the wires at the power source are designed to handle... A 15amp extension cord or outlet has much smaller wires than a 30amp outlet, and much, much less than a 50amp outlet. Larger wires can handle more heat, and therefore more power 'flow'.
If your 15amp household type outlet trips, then you just have to pair back on what appliances or devices you are trying to power.
Sometimes, also, your Battery Charger or electric Water Heater are silent users of large amounts of power, and can easily contribute to TRIPPING of breakers when you don't realize they are actually ON.
Turning off the Charger and Water Heater while on 15amp power goes a long way in allowing that 'dogbone' or 'adapter' to give you most all of the power you need, even to run your air conditioner.
Don't be 'afraid' of how you connect to shore power, or what adapter(s) you use to make that happen, as all you are doing is providing a simple method for your 'larger' Shore Cord to adapt to a 'smaller' outlet - nothing more. The power is simply the same.
Plug in! Enjoy! : )
Duly noted... 
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