Electrics/reverse polarity in France
Hi. Only been a caravan owner for coming up to a year and about to embark on a summer holiday to France. I'm generally comfortable with everything, other than the subject of electrics/reverse polarity and how best to manage this without making up cables!
From what I've read it appears I need to purchase an adapter cable to convert standard 3-pin blue plug to 2-pin (in case the sites I'm going to still use this), which is fine, but I then get confused about reverse polarity and how to deal with this for either
'pin' scenario... do I need multiple adapter cables? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
Comments
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Yes, purchase the two pin adaptor you mention, though the chances you will need it are slim. Then start reading all that Google can tell you about reversed polarity in France, though the chances are your holiday may be over before you have finished reading all the conflicting views - and you will have survived unscathed. Have a great holiday.
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We have been glad of having a 2-pin and reverse polarity adapters at various times and in various countries so we wouldn't leave home without (just our opinion)
If you don't want to make your own cables then e-bay shops, for example:
Will help you.
All of the discussion on reverse polarity is relevant but IMHO the big thing is to correct it then there's no problem - your choice?
You should obviously have a functioning RCD on your system which is the most important protection for users.
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I bought the two pin adaptor for last year and never usef it, however I have required it twice so far this year
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Firstly, a huge thank you to you all for taking the time to respond to my post; it's very much appreciated. Google does indeed provide many conflicting bits of information, but having 3 young children (and a wife that panics!) I think I'll buy one of the
kits that DougS pointed me in the direction of on EBay as like he said correcting it equates to no problem! Thanks again.0 -
We've been to France very many times and often come across reversed polarity. Sometimes ok, sometimes not even on the same post. For this reason, it is well worth having an adaptor, which is very easy to make up yourself.
If you don't correct the polarity, everything will still work ok.Normally, if an appliance has a switch, the appliance is live after the switch, so when it is off, it really is off. With RP, though its the other way round, so that even when something appears
to be switched off, it is still live, so removal of the wall plug is an absolute must if you have cause to work on anything, though you should do this anywayAs for the 2 pin adaptor, again its worth having, though is really only found on older installations now, but you do come across them.
Don't know how old your van is, but if there is no RP indicator, there is a round device with a standard 3 pin set up that you just plug in to any caravan mains socket, that will tell you exactly what faults, if any, are present
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There's another thread on this from just a few weeks ago which exhaustively examined this issue. Worth a read, esp since the plug-in "testers" and controller indicators probably don't work abroad.
As others have pointed out the key points both abroad and at home are not to work on electrics if you know little about it, and if you do, unplug the appliance or disconnect the EHU and test your RCD. Most appliances will work normally whatever the polarity
and those which are double insulated are safer than those which are earthed.0 -
Firstly, a huge thank you to you all for taking the time to respond to my post; it's very much appreciated. Google does indeed provide many conflicting bits of information, but having 3 young children (and a wife that panics!) I think I'll buy one of the
kits that DougS pointed me in the direction of on EBay as like he said correcting it equates to no problem! Thanks again.I think that's very sensible. I'm a bit like your wife, I can't smell or see electric and it can kill. Its at most a few pounds for peace of mind and a happy holiday. Very little and priceless in the great scheme of things ?. Have a wonderful holiday - although
do keep your eye on the weather0 -
...... the plug-in "testers" and controller indicators probably don't work abroad.....
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They do work perfectly well and we've seen both reverse polarity and dodgy earths indicated. We do tend to use municipals which can be a little more basic than "full fat" sites.
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The testers work well all over Europe except in some rare cases (seems to be some sites in Spain) where they use an unusual distribution system which I think uses phase/phase voltage with no neutral.
Sometimes with a low amp supply and taking near the maximum current I find the tester lights can be a bit erratic.
I find the plug tester helpful although personally I ignore reverse polarity and just make sure that I remove plugs when appliances are not in use. Actually, most socket outlets in modern vans are unswitched so are safer for RP situations.
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Here's a reply from the maker of one of these check plugs: "I cannot guarantee the use of the [plug] in Europe as it was designed purely for use on UK installations or for use in countries that share identical supply characteristics. Due to the differences
in the wiring of the Live/Neutral and the omission of an earth conductor in some outlets, the [plug] may not work correctly."Like HG above I ignore reverse polarity. To reiterate, don't tackle electrical repairs unless you're competent - better to buy a replacement - and check your rcd as that will protect you if there's a fault and an appliance becomes live.
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