European Electric Hook Up ...
Could anyoine advise me on what hook up is needed as when looking on line some pitches say access to 6 amp other mention 10 amp and im totally confused as to whats needed ...?
Comments
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At a few sites in France you will need an adaptor, otherwise the normal blue plug will fit. The number of amps is the amount of power they are supplying you with. Details on the Club website's overseas advice section.
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The two pin to blue plug adaptor is readily available from caravan dealers as is an adaptor to correct reversed polarity.The latter can be checked with a polarity tester as it is sometimes encountered on French campsites.I always check for this and rectify
it with my adaptor.Others have a more liberal view about the risk from reversed polarity but I do not share their opinion.0 -
BB is correct.On 6A get into the habit of switching off appliances before turning on others to avoid tripping the supply.Our GE 4.Truma will run on one bar setting at 6A but we turn it off before running other appliances like kettles/toaster/electric hob.The
electric Teppanyaki will not run on 6A nor will our microwave but you may well be offered the option of 6/ 10 amperes so if you wish to run such items then opt for the higher amperage.ACSI pricing is at 6A but some sites do have more as standard or may charge
extra for the 10A option.it depends upon what you want/need to run on electricity which is personal choice.0 -
The CC handbook has a guide to amp consumption of various bits of kit. We have managed quite easily on 4 amps which is quite common in Italy. BUT you have to turn off items not being used; for example, when using kettle turn off water heater.
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Hi PXC 69
If you look on p.651 at the back of the Sites Directory and Handbook there is some useful info but basically Watts (of appliance) divided by Volts equals Amps so a 2000 watt fan heater divided by 240 volts in UK = around 8 amps being pulled through - throw
in a kettle and a water heater and fridge and .... etc and you can soon run out of amps and trip the power out! Then you're Mr Popular especially if its cold and dark.Some electric hook ups in France still have the old 2 pin sockets and one of these can be useful.
http://www.towsure.com/continental-mains-to-caravan-electric-adaptor
Happy camping.
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The two pin to blue plug adaptor is readily available from caravan dealers as is an adaptor to correct reversed polarity.The latter can be checked with a polarity tester as it is sometimes encountered on French campsites.I always check for this and rectify
it with my adaptor.Others have a more liberal view about the risk from reversed polarity but I do not share their opinion.This is why so many thousands of Europeans die from electocution in their vans each year
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This is why so many thousands of Europeans die from electocution in their vans each year
Interesting fact that! Where do you get your figures from to prove it?
Exactly. Over the years, I've more jolts from a mains supply than I care to remember and I'm still here to write this reply.
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The two pin to blue plug adaptor is readily available from caravan dealers as is an adaptor to correct reversed polarity.The latter can be checked with a polarity tester as it is sometimes encountered on French campsites.I always check for this and rectify it with my adaptor.Others have a more liberal view about the risk from reversed polarity but I do not share their opinion.
This is why so many thousands of Europeans die from electocution in their vans each year
Interesting fact that! Where do you get your figures from to prove it?
You can't buy reverse polarity adaptors from Caravan Dealers - or not reputable ones at any rate!
We have a 'relaxed attitude' to reverse polarity, and if we needed reverse polarity adaptors we'd probably require one for each and every plug socket in our French house - so we don't bother either at home, or in the caravan!
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Generally speaking, our blue coloured CEE adaptors are fine.
A few sites have a two pin system, so an adaptor is needed.
Some Swiss sites have a three pin system, so again a different adaptor is needed. These sites however are in the minority and on the two occasions we have been on such sites, the sites have loaned us an adaptor.
My blog article might help you and has a couple of pics.
Russ
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The two pin to blue plug adaptor is readily available from caravan dealers as is an adaptor to correct reversed polarity.The latter can be checked with a polarity tester as it is sometimes encountered on French campsites.I always check for this and rectify
it with my adaptor.Others have a more liberal view about the risk from reversed polarity but I do not share their opinion.This is why so many thousands of Europeans die from electocution in their vans each year
Your statement is total and utter rubbish and scaremongering of the worst kind. Reverse polarity is of no consequence in continental vans and the power supply can be connected either way around because all the switches are two pole and totally isolate the
whole supply. In fact this is also true of many UK vans and the risks of reverse polarity are much overstated (albeit there are some small risks which is why the Club recommend correcting reverse polarity).As to the general standard of electrical installations both on sites and in caravans, it is sometimes true that the installation standards are not as high as UK but this is becoming less common.
As for the number of deaths by electrocution in caravans this is pure fantasy and there is no such evidence.
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Irony - " to give one's meaning by the use of language which apparently expresses the opposite, often for humorous or emphatic effect. "
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Irony - " to give one's meaning by the use of language which apparently expresses the opposite, often for humorous or emphatic effect. "
Thank god someone got the point
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This is why so many thousands of Europeans die from electocution in their vans each year
Interesting fact that! Where do you get your figures from to prove it?
Exactly. Over the years, I've more jolts from a mains supply than I care to remember and I'm still here to write this reply.
reversed polarity or not, nobody should be getting a jolt in a modern caravan wiring system (1997 onwards I think) because RCD's should be fitted and they don't care which way it is flowing but if their is a leak it will switch both wires off before you
feel it but why risk it for the price of a socket tester?0 -
If that was irony then, of course, I withdraw my comment, however, when I wrote a spoof post entitled "Toycar of the Year" based on the Club's towcar of the year awards most people thought it was factual. Irony is best treated with extreme caution.
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The two pin to blue plug adaptor is readily available from caravan dealers as is an adaptor to correct reversed polarity.The latter can be checked with a polarity tester as it is sometimes encountered on French campsites.I always check for this and rectify
it with my adaptor.Others have a more liberal view about the risk from reversed polarity but I do not share their opinion.This is why so many thousands of Europeans die from electocution in their vans each year
Interesting fact that! Where do you get your figures from to prove it?
You can't buy reverse polarity adaptors from Caravan Dealers - or not reputable ones at any rate!
We have a 'relaxed attitude' to reverse polarity, and if we needed reverse polarity adaptors we'd probably require one for each and every plug socket in our French house - so we don't bother either at home, or in the caravan!
Write your comments here...so Towsure fit into your category then ValDa because I got mine from them.You know a great deal but not quite everything it seems...
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Well it used to be illegal to sell reverse polarity leads. The Caravan Club actually quoted that at one time on their website, and at the present time I can't see where Towsure are advertising them, though they do offer reverse polarity detector plugs........................! I've only ever seen them advertised on dubious sites on ebay.
There is no need to add a cutting comment - no one needs that. This is the second time today, and even as an experienced poster it hurts!
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Well it used to be illegal to sell reverse polarity leads. The Caravan Club actually quoted that at one time on their website, and at the present time I can't see where Towsure are advertising them, though they do offer reverse polarity detector plugs........................!
I've only ever seen them advertised on dubious sites on ebay.There is no need to add a cutting comment - no one needs that. This is the second time today, and even as an experienced poster it hurts!
I got my reverse polarity lead in the 80's from a reputable dealer but that was before the 97 regs came in but there are still plenty of pre 97 vans about with no rcd protection so it would still be possible to get a shock from a switched off appliance unless
you removed the plug, would it not? Doesn't need to be an "irony" though, a kettle, toaster or any appliance could be just as dangerous.I thought (and we all know what thought did!) certain appliances could be damaged by reverse polarity or whizz the wrong way round so I've always checked it abroad and used the lead on the increasngly rare occassion it has been wrong.
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The whole subject of reverse polarity creates confusion and, no doubt, worry, for anybody contemplating taking their van or motorhome to Europe. It's bad enough having to think about adapters, amperage etc. without having the dreaded RP which unless you
are a qualified electrical engineer can be difficult to explain or understand.Adapters and alternatively wired hook-up leads are not ideal and it is far better for caravan manufacturers to address the problem in the design of the van. The good news is that they have generally done this over the last few years. Double pole main breakers
are usual and it helps not having switches on the electrical socket outlets because then people will remove the whole plug before sticking their fingures in an appliance.The purists will say that there is still a risk with RP even on a modern van. The reality is that the risk is extremely low and there are far greater risks elsewhere.
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Well, maybe some rubbish, but if you are the one standing in a French field hook-up lead in hand and wondering why the blue plug won't fit, will I blow the bollard up and why is there a red light on in my van telling me that the supply is reversed, then
maybe this thread is of some value.0 -
Meanwhile, no one has mentioned the 'Importance of Being Earthed'
Oscar Wilde IIRC.
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Well, maybe some rubbish, but if you are the one standing in a French field hook-up lead in hand and wondering why the blue plug won't fit, will I blow the bollard up and why is there a red light on in my van telling me that the supply is reversed, then
maybe this thread is of some value.I was referring to the reverse polarity lead NOT the thread.
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i thought this thread was more about the difference in having a 6 or 10 amp supply, re the restrictions it might impose, especially on a user that obviously has little understanding of the current draw level of his appliances......
i suspect the RP comments have put the chap off visiting France for life
I agree! We started caravanning before the internet, before Forums, and weren't members of any clubs, so we had no idea about reverse polarity. We had about thirty uneventful holidays, plugging in to a variety of old and new bollards, with nothing uneventful at all. Then I started joining forums, and immediately was warned about the dangers.
It's one of those subjects which always 'polarises' opinion, with the believers in 'the problem' imagining that all the 'non-believers' are gong to fry themselves, ruin their equipment, whizz their computers backwards in time, or permanently disable their caravan, and the 'non-believers' carrying on regardless!
Basically in answer to the original question, there are often variable supplies - on sites where there are you can opt to pay more for additional amps. Otherwise, as advised, just use your equipment with care - making sure that your kettle isn't on at the same time as a hairdryer, or your water heater.
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