Electrical Question

**Country Campers** · 11-29-2018, 06:32 PM

Would it be ok to back feed electric thru the outlet by the nautilus panel?
I was thinking if this was ok I would not have to buy an adaptor RO go from 50 amp to 15 amp-110 plug.
I would only use this to keep battery topped off and maybe run some light thru the inverter.
Just get tired of getting out the big 50 cord at home when not needed.

Hoping for the electrical geniuses to give there 2 watts worth.

Thanks
Brian

**Jerryr** · 11-29-2018, 06:41 PM

Originally Posted by Country Campers

Would it be ok to back feed electric thru the outlet by the nautilus panel?
I was thinking if this was ok I would not have to buy an adaptor RO go from 50 amp to 15 amp-110 plug.
I would only use this to keep battery topped off and maybe run some light thru the inverter.
Just get tired of getting out the big 50 cord at home when not needed.

Hoping for the electrical geniuses to give there 2 watts worth.

Thanks
Brian

NO. To connect to an 15 amp outlet you would need a cord with male plugs on both ends. That’s very risky to have a live male spades exposed. That’s called a suicide cord.

I use this https://www.amazon.com/ABN-15A-50A-P...dp/B01L2BLV9E/ on the trailer input and just Plug in a standard 15 amp cord to the trailer. I use it at the storage facility and at home when loading for a trip and to cool down the refrigerator before loading food. No need to pull out the heavy 50 amp cord.

The pictures below are actual pictures of our Reflection plugged into a standard 15 amp receptical at our storage facility. It keeps the battery charged and we can run slides, TV, fridge, etc. everything except the high current draw items like they AC, water heater on electric or fireplace heater.

**gbkims** · 11-29-2018, 07:10 PM

I'd recommend the adapter, $30.

If you did that with a suicide cord, I'd trip the main breaker to keep voltage off the incoming 50A inlet contacts.
The outlet would need to be on same leg(L1 or L2) as the converter is.
That outlet is probably feed by the GFCI outlet Load terminals. Back feeding would be like miswiring the GFCI Line/Load terminals.
I read it'll work backwards, just doesn't work as intended - https://www.ecmweb.com/content/think-gfci

**JColeman** · 11-29-2018, 07:14 PM

A 50amp female to 15amp male with a 90* strain relief.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

**ncitro** · 11-29-2018, 07:45 PM

I just took an old 30 amp extension and wired the trailer side 50 amp cord end onto it. Its way lighter than the big 50 amp 4 wire shore cord, and perfect for plugging it in to just top off the batteries or even if I am camping without A/C.

**andrewssteve** · 11-29-2018, 08:17 PM

Originally Posted by Country Campers

Would it be ok to back feed electric thru the outlet by the nautilus panel?
I was thinking if this was ok I would not have to buy an adaptor RO go from 50 amp to 15 amp-110 plug.
I would only use this to keep battery topped off and maybe run some light thru the inverter.
Just get tired of getting out the big 50 cord at home when not needed.

Hoping for the electrical geniuses to give there 2 watts worth.

Thanks
Brian

Mystified by the thread title, "Electrical Question."

**dennysbabe** · 11-29-2018, 08:59 PM

Thanks for the link Jerry. My husband has been looking for a short 30A-50A adapter so we're ordering it along with a 30A cord. It's gonna be nice not having to carry the heavy 50A cord when we travel and don't need the AC.

**ncitro** · 11-29-2018, 10:01 PM

Originally Posted by dennysbabe

Thanks for the link Jerry. My husband has been looking for a short 30A-50A adapter so we're ordering it along with a 30A cord. It's gonna be nice not having to carry the heavy 50A cord when we travel and don't need the AC.

I don't like extra connections, if you're interested in the lighter cord and don't feel comfortable making your own like I did, here's one for sale. No adapter needed then. Conntek 14435 RV Power Cord, RV 30-Amp to 50 Amp Locking (25 Feet) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00269HEKM..._fpmaCb94AVEX7

**Cate&Rob** · 11-30-2018, 07:21 AM

Originally Posted by JColeman

A 50amp female to 15amp male with a 90* strain relief.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Just a caution on 90* adapters . . . others on this forum have had problems with these if they happen to not be an exact 90* drop when twist locked into the trailer. The weight of the cord can work to loosed the connection. I would go with the straight in adapter in Jerry’s pictures.

Rob

**JColeman** · 11-30-2018, 07:47 AM

Originally Posted by Cate&Rob

Just a caution on 90* adapters . . . others on this forum have had problems with these if they happen to not be an exact 90* drop when twist locked into the trailer. The weight of the cord can work to loosed the connection. I would go with the straight in adapter in Jerry’s pictures.

Rob

I di notice it does not sit at exactly 90*. I was able to tighten the twist lock so that it stays put but if I run into any trouble I'll replace it. Thanks for the heads up.

-jeff