quote:
don't really care what the electrical code is "perfectly fine" with, if the camper or anything else is using more than 1800 watts then that recepticle is in jeopardy of failing.

He's not plugging the camper in to this. He asked if there was a device to measure usage on a circuit like his RV has.

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Posted by mdomingue

Lafayette, LA

Member since Nov 2010

43971 posts

Posted on 8/31/23 at 6:35 pm to Korkstand

quote:
quote:
Let's say you have several 15 amp outlets on a 20 amp breaker, what size wire would you need. It would seem to me that you would have to have wire appropriate for 20 amps or you'd burn up the wire before the breaker trips, right?
Correct, all wire on a 20amp circuit must be 12awg or larger. Breakers protect the wiring.
quote:
Is there a way to monitor the amperage (I'm going to get this terminology wrong) going through a circuit? I have a 30 amp RV and I use a surge protector. Last weekend while camping I noticed that my surge protector tells me the voltage and amperage being used at a given time. What if I wanted to do that on my 15 amp outlet at home?

You can use a Kill A Watt if you want to measure at just one receptacle, or to measure the whole circuit you can use a clamp-on multimeter inside the panel or get that Emporia device linked above to measure and record many circuits at once in real time.
quote:
I noticed that my 15 amp outlet and my adapter to plug into the outlet have developed dark spots. What would cause this rather than the breaker just tripping from being overloaded?
Well, it's a 15 amp outlet on a 20 amp circuit. If you're drawing near the limit of the receptacle for long periods, it will get hot long before the breaker trips. It could also be an old worn out receptacle making weak contact and overheating as a result.

Excellent breakdown, as usual.

I always tell people, the breaker (or fuse) on the power feed is to protect against fire meaning the wire.

Side note to the OP. On the 15 amp outlet, the expectation is that anything plugged into the outlet will have the appropriate plug.

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Posted by Korkstand

Member since Nov 2003

29074 posts

Posted on 8/31/23 at 6:56 pm to kengel2

quote:
He's not plugging the camper in to this.

I believe OP is using a 15amp to 30amp adapter "dongle" plug to power his camper.

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Posted by lsugrad35

Jambalaya capital of the world

Member since Feb 2007

3326 posts

Posted on 8/31/23 at 8:33 pm to Korkstand

Both of you are correct. I am looking for something to monitor the amp usage on that receptacle like my camper surge protector does on a 30 amp circuit and I do sometimes plug the camper into the receptacle to run, what I believe, is pulling less than 20 amps. However, I’m thinking it’s pulling between 15 (the receptacle rating) and 20 (the breaker) therefore overloading the receptacle while not tripping the breaker.

This post was edited on 8/31/23 at 8:34 pm

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Posted by AUstar

Member since Dec 2012

19463 posts

Posted on 8/31/23 at 11:00 pm to lsugrad35

quote:
However, I noticed that my 15 amp outlet and my adapter to plug into the outlet have developed dark spots. What would cause this rather than the breaker just tripping from being overloaded?

Can happen if there is not a solid connection between the plug and receptacle. Electricity "arcs" and the arcs are very hot (an arc is when electricity jumps through the air as it tries to complete a circuit). This is usually caused by either a worn out plug or worn out receptacle.

A standard breaker won't catch this because it is not really the result of an overcurrent (or if it is, it is too short for the breaker to notice). You would need an AFCI breaker which are now becoming code in many locations within a home.

Lots of people say AFCI's "nuisance trip" but that's pretty rare nowadays. What happens is they have faulty equipment and don't realize it.

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