Electric hookup at home

matchlessman wrote:An English man's home is his castle. In our cases we have 2 castles and no beurocrat is going to tell me I can't plug my camper into my domestic electric supply...

Its a question of Electrical Safety If you use a hook up on site it complies withal the regulations to use a hook up at home you need to follow the same regulations for the safety of anyone passing and touching your van. 

Alf

My domestic sockets all go through the main RCD. In the van the incoming mains goes to the consumer unit thence to sockets, heater and charger. I assume the van body is connected to the incoming earth.
To impact safety it would require a mains wire to short to the body it would also require the on board trips to fail and the domestic RCD. It would also require anybody touching the van to be barefoot. (Otherwise it's just like a bird landing on overhead conductors). How likely is it that all those things would happen simultaneously. Fitting a dedicated socket would not change the above, it's just that a fault would trip only that RCD not all the sockets fed by my domestic RCD.. An inconvenience I can live with.

Alf wrote:

matchlessman wrote:An English man's home is his castle. In our cases we have 2 castles and no beurocrat is going to tell me I can't plug my camper into my domestic electric supply...

for the safety of anyone passing and touching your van.

Anyone touching my van gets what's coming to them!

But mine is only hooked up when inside the garage so I doubt anyone is likely to come to grief - especially as (already pointed out) there would need to be a very specific set of faults ~plus~ someone tiptoeing on bare feet into my garage without my permission.

But I accept that if you put your van on EHU on publicly accessible land you might think twice? But most people probably wouldn't...

Anyone who comes onto our drive is trespassing, unless invited, postman obviously, anyway my van is GRP not a metal body construction.

As paulmold has said I also have a 80w solar panel and in almost 3 years it has kept the batteries topped up, I shut down the habitation side completely and have a battery master fitted.
Don

Everyone around here with a caravan or motorhome has it plugged into an EHU when on the drive, after twenty five years not going to change now, it works for our convenience.

I fitted a permanent blue external socket to the side of our house, protected by a plug-in RCD. However I only power up the van the day before a trip to get the fridge cold. I'm not a fan of having any heating in the van when it's not being used.
An 85 watt solar panel plus battery master keeps the batteries topped up.

Alf wrote:One comment here under current electrical regulations it is illegal to connect a motorcaravan or caravan to a domestic electrical installation.


These are the current regulations
You are not to use the standard earth connection and must provide an earth spike for the external socket.
Chapter and verse can be supplied on request.
Alf

Yes please. My understanding is that a discrete earth electrode is only required if an out-building (or caravan at a domestic premises) is connected to a water supply via a metal pipe.

Hi

Pete Taylor wrote:

Alf wrote:One comment here under current electrical regulations it is illegal to connect a motorcaravan or caravan to a domestic electrical installation.


These are the current regulations
You are not to use the standard earth connection and must provide an earth spike for the external socket.
Chapter and verse can be supplied on request.
Alf

Yes please. My understanding is that a discrete earth electrode is only required if an out-building (or caravan at a domestic premises) is connected to a water supply via a metal pipe.

This came up in an earlier thread.

https://www.autosleeper-ownersforum.com/t16122-surface-site-socket

Quote:

It depends on whether the property has a “PME” earthing system. Of course many people won’t know what type of earthing they have and would need an electrician to advise.
Here is a quote directly from BS7671 (The IET wiring regs 17th edition):

Regulation 708.411.3.6
“The Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002 (ESQCR) prohibit the connection of a PME earthing facility to any metalwork in a leisure accommodation vehicle (including a caravan)”.

More info here

http://electrical.theiet.org/wiring-matters/45/pme.cfm?type=pdf

Page 34 (second page in this extract) right hand column.

Brod

Thanks Brod; I went on a Part P course when the Regs changed but, like most of us, I've forgotten more than I know.

I've read your links, plus an load of other stuff from the IET and Bldg Regs and, as I still see it, my set-up is compliant. To recap: my earth is provided by the supply cable (no earth spike or combined protective/neutral conductor). I have an RCCD plugged into a 13A socket in the ring-main, out thro' the wall to a waterproof 16A socket. There is no permanent installation, it is an extension lead.
If this socket were fed from a fixed RCCD in the house/garage, it would be a different situation entirely.

Others should seek advice on their own individual circumstances.