T&T: 30 amp service vs. 50 amp service

[bob england]

I must be missing something again ! If your boat pulls more juice than 30 
amps with everything running you need a bigger service, like a 50 amp. If 
you are using two 30 amp cables, plugged into seperate 30 amp recepticles, 
you still only have a 30 amp service, not 60. and on a 50 amp service it's 
50 not 100 amps, it doesn't matter that it is protected by two 50 amp 
breakers, it's not cumulative or additive. Most 120/ 240 volt circuits are 
required to have a dual circuit breaker to drop out both legs in case of an 
overload. if either side sees an overload it should trip both legs. You 
could divide your load to better utilize your two 30 amp cables and eleviate 
a possible overload on one side, and it would also give you a lot more wire 
capacity and receptacle contact surface, but it won't give you 60 amps 
(unless you are pulling 30 amps on each side and adding them together, 
still, it's 30 amps) I may be over simplifying this but with a lot of years 
as an electrician, and installing 30, 50, 100 and 400 amp (and bigger) 
services to homes and commercial enterprises and oilfield work, I don't see 
that it's complicated. I you have a 30/50 splitter that plugs into a 50 amp 
receptacle then you are utilizing a 50 amp service, with a pair of 50 amp 
breakers tied together. after having used a 50A cable for awhile, I much 
prefer a splitter and two thirties tied into a 50 amp service.That 50 amp 
cord is like an python, and expensive !