Successfully Charging with TWO 30amp 120v outlets, for 240v power, at a campground...

[hturnerfamily]

I'm plugged in and successfully charging, with 240v power, with a state park campground's TWO 30amp Outlets, via a 'combiner' adapter...

I acknowledge that this is a somewhat INFREQUENT solution to charging, as most campgrounds don't provide TWO 30amp RV outlets at each site, normally it's only ONE, and maybe a 20amp household GFCI outlet next to it. While many rv parks and other campgrounds might now give you full 240v power thru a 50amp 4-prong Outlet, many State Parks, especially older ones, do not, or have yet to 'remodel' the campground to provide a larger power source.

The success here is two fold:

First) you must have not only access to TWO 30amp outlets, which are each 120volts, but they also must be from the two different 'sides' of power, from the originating power source( the main electrical panel where their power lines originate from ). If Two outlets are provided, and each on their own breaker, then you have the possibility of receiving 240v power.

Second) you need to have the correct adapter, or 'combiner', to allow you to plug into BOTH 30amp outlets, and then plug your EVSE power cord's 4-prong 50amp into it's other end, which is a NEMA 14-50 female outlet. This adapter simply 'combines' the two incoming 30amp power into a single outlet that you can then use just like you do at home.

Notes:
There are several things that could prevent this option from working, such as weak or bad breakers, or the two breakers not originating from different 'sides' of the main panel(some call this out-of-phase or 'split phase')...

I also have an ADJUSTABLE EVSE for travel, since it can be dialed DOWN from 32 amps to 24, 20, 16 or 12amps, at 240volts, and I used that adjustment today, to change it down from 32, which could overtax the 30amp breakers, to 24amps, and it's working just fine. I'm also at the same time using ProPower onboard to power the CAMPER, from the truck, and WHILE it's Charging. Nice. : )

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[hturnerfamily]

by the way,

I just climbed up the mountain to the state park, in far, far N Georgia, which is 3,600ft in elevation,
from about 2,000ft at the start, and from several days ago at home at about 500'... these several days have proven to me that the truck does NOT care, it just goes!

 

[Firestop]

Which adjustable portable EVSE and combiner-adapter are you using?

 

[hturnerfamily]

MaxGreen Adjustable 240v EVSE, the adapter is easy to find too...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JB9FLBK?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

https://www.walmart.com/ip/GoGreen-...50-Amp-125v-14-51R-Female-Connector/912451565

 

[wighty]

MaxGreen Adjustable 240v EVSE, the adapter is easy to find too...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JB9FLBK?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

Be careful with this one and similarly priced EVSEs on Amazon, there have been more than a few reports of melting ports and issues with them.

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

Thanks for sharing! We use adapters like this (different plugs/receptacles) on boats all the time to go from twin 120v 30a to single 240v/50a.

The ones we use are "smart" - in that they will not energize unless the adapter is getting 250v, and keep the prongs dead in case you plug into a reverse polarity situation.

 

[FlasherZ]

I'll second V8BoatBuilder here - if you insist on using one of these combiners, be sure you're getting the expected power, either through testing that the combiners do, or you're properly tesitng the voltage. You might get 208V from a 208W120 service.

Also note those combiners violate the NEC and may result in insurance failing to pay a claim should anything go wrong.

Also, be sure it is plugged in to both sources before turning on the power - homegrown adapters plugged into one of the receptacles can energize the opposite plug with a load plugged in.

I don't recommend using these, but there are people who insist - be safe if you do.

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

208v Is OK for the truck - I charge on it daily!

I have three-phase at my shop, so two hot legs together is 208v. Both my Lightning and my Leaf charge fine.

The only issue I ever had was the EVSE that came included with the Leaf. It would error out on 208v.

So far, the Ford Mobile Charger and my Clipper Creek 40a are fine. Will be installing the Ford Power Station Pro to let everyone know how that goes, but I believe it is rated for it.

I have a 6-50 receptacle for my welder wired through a boost transfer to give me true 230v. One day, I'll see if the wattage difference between 240 at my house, 230v through the transformer or 208 raw at the shop make a big difference in charging... One day.

 

[FlasherZ]

208v Is OK for the truck - I charge on it daily!

I have three-phase at my shop, so two hot legs together is 208v. Both my Lightning and my Leaf charge fine.

The only issue I ever had was the EVSE that came included with the Leaf. It would error out on 208v.

So far, the Ford Mobile Charger and my Clipper Creek 40a are fine. Will be installing the Ford Power Station Pro to let everyone know how that goes, but I believe it is rated for it.

I have a 6-50 receptacle for my welder wired through a boost transfer to give me true 230v. One day, I'll see if the wattage difference between 240 at my house, 230v through the transformer or 208 raw at the shop make a big difference in charging... One day.

Yes, the truck and both Ford EVSE's are fine on 208V.

The only reason I say it is that some people could get confused because they combined two 120V circuits and only got... 208?

On modern campgrounds it would be pretty rare as they tend to use distributed 240V transformers nowadays.

As for the 240 vs 230 vs 208, it makes a big difference especially if you have losses due to long runs. When we park at the airport, the voltage drop due to the long, long run means charging is at 199V, and at 3.2 kW it can take quite a while to get recharged.

 

[jefro]

Guess I have to mention that using two 120VAC breakers that are not mechanically connected could be dangerous. Is there no 50A dedicated RV spots?

 

[hturnerfamily]

it's not 'mechanically dangerous' - if one of the breakers trips, or does not work properly, the EVSE sees NO 240v power, and simply does not work. I cannot operate in 120v mode.
If you had a 120v/240v EVSE, then it might still work, with this 'combiner' adapter, and one breaker not working properly, but then it would only be providing the acceptable 120v power to the EVSE.
The adapter, itself, doesn't care.

 

[FlasherZ]

it's not 'mechanically dangerous' - if one of the breakers trips, or does not work properly, the EVSE sees NO 240v power, and simply does not work. I cannot operate in 120v mode.
If you had a 120v/240v EVSE, then it might still work, with this 'combiner' adapter, and one breaker not working properly, but then it would only be providing the acceptable 120v power to the EVSE.
The adapter, itself, doesn't care.

In this case, as long as all the plugs are plugged in properly, one side being tripped shouldn't cause a problem.

However, it's important to note that these combiner boxes can indeed introduce dangers if one side is energized and a load is connected. For example, take the simplest of combiners where you have 120V connector #1 (120-1) and 120V connector #2 (120-2) and a 14-50 (240). Connect 120-1's "hot" to 240's "A", and 120-2's "hot" to 240's "B", tie neutrals together and tie grounds together. Plug 120-1 into a 120V receptacle that works and plug a 240V load into the 14-50, but don't plug 120-2 in. By doing so, you've just energized the "hot" prong of 120-2 at a voltage to be determined by the voltage drop of the load connected on the 240V.

And here's the important thing - these combiners can't be used with GFCI's because they will trip the GFCI (power returns to the transformer via the other 120V leg, not via the neutral, which will trip the GFCI receptacle. Because you can only connect them to non-ground-fault-protected circuits, you can get a good shock from 120-2's hot prong.

Some of these combiners are better than others and use contactors to ensure that voltage is present on both poles before anything is activated, so that they don't create a problem like this. All of them violate some specific rules of the NEC, but some are safer than others and if you insist upon using them, please be careful.

A lot of people only have the basic grasp of 120+120=240 (or 208), but don't possess enough electrical knowledge to consider fault cases - broken neutrals, ground loops, leakage voltage through loads, etc. Most people don't think about failure scenarios and where electricity goes in case of a failure, and that unfortunately gets people hurt.

 

[hturnerfamily]

this is the more typical FULL Hookup power pedestal at a campground or rv park.
50amp 240v on the left
30amp 120v in the middle
20amp dual-household GFCI on the right

I'm charging the Lightning with the 50amp 240v outlet, but what you see is an extension cord, since many times when you back into a campground with a camper, you're going to find that because the electrical might be set well back of the site, your normal length EVSE won't reach on it's own.

I'm running the camper from the 30amp 120v outlet

I'm running a 'hottrod' electrical water heater insert from the 20amp outlet


It's hot, the air conditioner is running, the truck is pulling 31 or so amps, and everything is just fine.

 

[djteotancolis]

by the way,

I just climbed up the mountain to the state park, in far, far N Georgia, which is 3,600ft in elevation,
from about 2,000ft at the start, and from several days ago at home at about 500'... these several days have proven to me that the truck does NOT care, it just goes!

Where in Georgia did you go?

I am planning my first camping to Stone Mountain.

 

[hturnerfamily]

Black Rock Mountain state park in Mountain City GA, just N of Clayton... two 30's at this campground.

I'm now at Whitewater RV Park, off the Ocoee River, in Benton TN, between Murphy NC and Cleveland/CHattanooga TN... full hookups here.

I also have one of my 4 sons in between, and heading toward another son just N of Huntsville AL

I'll be staying at CLOUDLAND CANYON state park in Trenton GA, in the very tip top corner of GA, tomorrow - with 50amp power... then on to my sons RV site, where he has a 50amp we installed there, also.

STONE MOUNTAIN should have the full hookups at every site.

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