Hook up whilst in france
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There is never 'no danger' when using electricity - too many unknowns make it essential to use it 'with care' but that can include using modern equipment (not granny's old electric carving knife with rubber wire) never messing about with electrical appliances, switching off and unplugging, and unhooking from bollards correctly and it doesn't necessarily mean testing for the earth situation, or reverse polarity.
In my opinion, if you don't know enough about a subject it can be more dangerous to do something which you think will correct a perceived problem, instead of leaving it alone. What do those who think it is a danger suggest a householder do, with modern wiring and circuit breakers, a certificate saying the supply is safe and properly installed, and yet where reverse polarity can be found in some, but not all, the sockets?
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Vic
You might be right about people perceiving qualifications as "showing off" but I suspect it depends on how it is put across and how things are explained. I think I would prefer that people that start to get a bit technical should explain, albeit briefly, why they are qualified to make such comments. Even if that is something like, "in a previous life I was an electrical engineer, or an electrician" We don't need letters or organisations that most won't understand just an inkling that the person making the comments has some technical basis for making the comments.
David
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Chas
Neat diagram, so simple when you see it illustrated. Would you have any objection to me adding it to my website?
David
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Looked in my spare electric cable bag that we normally take abroad where I keep two adaptors with "2" pin plugs. One has tape to identify their difference between reversed polarity and normal. Only problem is that it's a number of years since I've had to use them and I can't remember which is which!
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We have been to France almost every year since we started serious caravanning in the early 90's.
I was warned about the potential safety problems associated with the different wiring standards in France, so immediately purchased from my local caravan dealers accessory, shop a convenient and inexpensive plug in circuit tester. It was very inexpensive ! It proved to be an excellent purchase and very efficient too. French sites are about 50% cross wired and you often come about different polarities on the same bollard! I have also detected very dangerous EHU's with faulty earth signalled ! I would now never set off for a foreign site without a circuit tester.
The Solution for dealing with a cross wired EHU is very easy. At the time I purchased the plug in circuit tester I also purchased two identical French adapter cables, then deliberately swapped the live and neutral wires on one of them. The cross wired connector was clearly marked as such, so that I knew which was which. Then on arrival at a new site my first action in setting up was to check the polarity of the incoming supply. If cross wired I changed the adapter for the cross wired one. This was a case of two wrongs making it right! My caravan was now safely wired as in the UK.
I fully accept the views of those that don't bother about it, but electricity is very unforgiving of carelessness and I like to have it right.
TF
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Just to add to the ever-popular topic of electrical connections abroad, I'd like to add a another bit of advice. If you buy a 'continental' to UK adaptor ( or vice versa) make sure that the earth connection is carried through to the outlet. It doesn't matter if you are using it for double-insulated devices, such as a USB charger, but it does matter if you are connecting a device that needs an earth, such as a kettle, hot plate or iron.
There will be a warning on the adaptor.
Discuss!
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For all my pontificating on here about the need for proper earthing, I have to admit that we used a french-bought single hotplate for sometime, plugging it in via an adaptor.
I was horrified when I realized that the earth connection was not carried through. I cut off the 'deux poles et terre' and replaced it with a UK 3 pin plug.
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