Wiring 50amp outlet, but only 3 wires run to the disconnect

[Rrands1]

I have an existing but unused 50A disconnect on the side of the house. It had been connected to an AC unit that got replaced. It has just 3 wires run to it - hot, hot, and ground. I want to repurpose it for an RV hookup, using a Nema 14-50R receptacle. However, that receptacle requires a neutral, which is not present in the disconnect. I know my RV also does not really use 220, but just 110, so a neutral will be required.

my question is: at the receptacle enclosure, can I tie the ground and neutral together, using the ground as a neutral as well?

if not, is it possible to “repurpose” one of the hot wires into a neutral, and just have this be a 110 circuit? (At which point I would use a TT-30 R receptacle). At the service panel, I would change to a single pole breaker, and move the old hot wire to the neutral bus. But if that is allowed, since the wire color is different, should I wrap it in white tape or something? And would it matter if it were the red or black wire at that point?

for other reasons, I really prefer the 14-50R outlet if that is possible!


thanks for the help!

 

[Megawatt]

I have an existing but unused 50A disconnect on the side of the house. It had been connected to an AC unit that got replaced. It has just 3 wires run to it - hot, hot, and ground. I want to repurpose it for an RV hookup, using a Nema 14-50R receptacle. However, that receptacle requires a neutral, which is not present in the disconnect. I know my RV also does not really use 220, but just 110, so a neutral will be required.

my question is: at the receptacle enclosure, can I tie the ground and neutral together, using the ground as a neutral as well?

if not, is it possible to “repurpose” one of the hot wires into a neutral, and just have this be a 110 circuit? (At which point I would use a TT-30 R receptacle). At the service panel, I would change to a single pole breaker, and move the old hot wire to the neutral bus. But if that is allowed, since the wire color is different, should I wrap it in white tape or something? And would it matter if it were the red or black wire at that point?

for other reasons, I really prefer the 14-50R outlet if that is possible!


thanks for the help!

If all you really want is 120vac then yes you can use the red or black and tape it white to be your neutral. As far as the 240vac you would need to pull a neutral or white wire. Good luck

 

[Rrands1]

If all you really want is 120vac then yes you can use the red or black and tape it white to be your neutral. As far as the 240vac you would need to pull a neutral or white wire. Good luck

Thank you, I appreciate it! I think I will just run the neutral - extra work, but helps future proof, too...

 

[norcal]

Thank you, I appreciate it! I think I will just run the neutral - extra work, but helps future proof, too...

If the feed is NM cable "Romex®" you will need to pull a new cable from panel, if is in pipe it might be possible to add a neutral but might not be easy, just running a neutral by it's self will not be code compliant.

 

[Rrands1]

If the feed is NM cable "Romex®" you will need to pull a new cable from panel, if is in pipe it might be possible to add a neutral but might not be easy, just running a neutral by it's self will not be code compliant.

thanks, all - I ended up pulling the 3 wires back out of the conduit, adding a 4th (neutral) and re-pulling - works great!