Electrics abroad

We have a peugeot/harmony 97, We bought in october last year our first one, when we have done a few trial runs around scotland/wales,were planning trips to france/spain, and would be gratefull for any info about hooking up to their mains [ does the a s mains need any modifications]?.Cheers,Ken.

Hi Ken.

You will need an adapter to fit your UK hook up cable to the continental EHU point. Nearly all caravan accessory outlets sell them about a tenner.

Cheers. Whisky.

PS.When there also get a gizmo that plugs into your van sockets that tells you the polarity of the supplied electric is correct. On the odd occasion it may be reversed. Another tenner.

Hi, Thanks to Whisky and Peter for your replies, I found both replies very imformative, which sorted out my confusion about what we need to be aware of when hooking up to the electrics abroad, I have one after thought should we buy as we need adapters or buy before we go,cheers Ken.

Hi Ken,

All good advice from Whisky and Peter ....

I'd get the adapters before you go .....

A few pictures (and a bit of banter ) here ......

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Enjoy France, we love the place

Brian

Its worth taking the adapter, but you'll probably find most sites now use the same 3 pin blue plug and socket as UK sites. I can't remember the last time I had to use an adapter, but it was years ago. Mind most of the time we use France Passion or Aires, only using camp Sites for odd days.

Thanks matchlessman and brian for replies, I feel happy that it isnt a big problem about electrics abroad,[ always sounds worse when you dont have any experience with the subject], cheers ken

Don't forget to get your ACSI card - it will cost a bit over a tenner and you will save that on site fees in 2 nights if you go off season. No good though in peak season. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] or [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Hi ron,Thanks for info, We have had a acsi 2012 book given to to us to plan our trip,we dont have a set route,we will more than likely stick to the coast heading south, also trying different sites. cheers ken.

Please don't worry, be prepared by taking adapters etc. Just remember the campsites of Europe aren't littered with dead campers. In fact it can be argued that the continental use of electricity is safer than the UK. Before I get shot down my reasoning is that on the continent most switched equipment will disconnect the live and neutral. In the UK we tend to only switch live. Its why reverse polarity on the continent is not seen as a big issue.

Hi ubuntu, Thanks for your advice im not too concerned any more, thanks to all replies, i feel i understand and am confident to sort electrics abroad should any thing happen, I will get some adapters before we go i already have a mains tester for earth/reversed polarity etc, Thanks again to all.

If your eyes light up and your ears glow you will know something wrong lol.

This might help you as well [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

a lot has been mentioned both here and motorhomefun about reverse polarity. Having travelled all over Europe for the past 8 yrs I have never worried about it and we are still standing Gosh what was that blue red flash!!!!

When I converted our previous 'Yanks' from 120 to 230/240 volts ..... I installed Consumer-units with Double pole MCB's (i.e. disconnects L&N on that circuit)..... which is now of course standard practice (not so in the past !! )

I've always been a 'belt & braces' bod, so am much happier when Chris (the Boss) calls out those magic words "three oranges" (martindale tester)

If you do get a 'shock', providing your RCD is tripping within the required milliseconds, you should be safe enough (so long as your old 'ticker's not on the 'blink' )

Checking for 'Earth' is most important and is the main reason for me using the tester (even in the UK) ......

Many years ago, some French Campsites took a very blasé attitude towards electrics, but now seem to have (mostly) got their act together

Brian

PS ....OH NO .... Mentioned that word 'Orange' again ...... so much for trying to be serious

shelldrake wrote:a lot has been mentioned both here and motorhomefun about reverse polarity. Having travelled all over Europe for the past 8 yrs I have never worried about it and we are still standing Gosh what was that blue red flash!!!!

Having not yet been to Europe I don't quite understand this reverse polarity stuff, what does it actually mean? I understand of course their electrics are different to ours but would like to know more info...

We have purchased a tester and a standard two pin euro adapter that we can plug our hook up lead into but am I right in thinking I also need a reverse polarity adaptor as well, and is this used instead of the standard euro adaptor or in addition to? and when would I know to have to use the reverse polarity adaptor...

Think I'll leave it there as I'm beginning to confuse myself even more than when I started

Hi CC.
All reverse polarity means is that the live and neutral wires are the wrong way around in the EHU post. A plug in tester for this will indicate if that is the case, just plug it in to your van socket and the lights on it will tell you how the EHU post is wired.
I carry two 2 pin adapters. One as bought the other I have rewired swapping the neutral and live wires around. So when in use it corrects the polarity for the van electrics. Make sure you mark the adaptor you have changed the wires around so you know which is which.

Really simple DIY job. Whisky.

pcb7ty wrote:

pcb7ty wrote:As long as its not been modified and is not faulty, the mains electrical installation in all AS vans is safe and suitable to use on the continent.

Things to be aware of:

UK Club sites supply at 16 amps and some commercial sites at 10 amps. In northern Europe you may get 16 amps but the max is normally 10 and can go as low as 3 amps. A 6 amp supply is quite normal. You need to understand how much current each appliance in your van consumes to know what you can use without tripping the supply. Many campsites charge more for a higher capacity supply. It is quite normal for the site manager to have to unlock the cabinet so that you can make your connection and then lock it again until you leave. That means if you take the van out for the day you will be leaving a live connection on your pitch - not a good idea but it is usual. Wrap the exposed plug in a plastic bag and leave it above ground in case it rains - Even on the nicest days you often get short but very heavy rain storms.

In the UK you will not be expected to have an external connection lead longer than 25m. On the continent you will often need 50 or even 75m. You should therefore take at least two 25m leads.

You should take short interface leads. A 2 pin continental plug to 16 amp commando socket to facilitate connection on older site electrical installations. A 16 amp commando plug to uk 13 amp socket into which you can plug the previously mentioned electrical tester. With this, always test the supply BEFORE you connect to the van. If the tester indicates that there is no earth DONT USE THE SUPPLY. If the connector shows that the live and neutral are crossed (very common), be aware that although everything is safe under normal operation, if you switch an appliance off there may still be mains potential on wires inside it so before opening any mains device unplug the van from the supply - you should do this in the UK anyway. Many people (including myself) take crossover leads to correct the live/neutral connectivity but it is not actually necesary to do so.

Peter

HI CC

This is from an earlier post in the thread.

If you want comfort, pm me.

Peter

Thanks Peter... Very helpful, somehow missed this earlier on also interesting to know to take extra long leads as I currently tend to cary both a 25m lead and a shorter 15m lead as we find we often use the shorter lead far more than the longer one and its just easier to get out and put away.

whisky wrote:Hi CC.
All reverse polarity means is that the live and neutral wires are the wrong way around in the EHU post. A plug in tester for this will indicate if that is the case, just plug it in to your van socket and the lights on it will tell you how the EHU post is wired.
I carry two 2 pin adapters. One as bought the other I have rewired swapping the neutral and live wires around. So when in use it corrects the polarity for the van electrics. Make sure you mark the adaptor you have changed the wires around so you know which is which.

Really simple DIY job. Whisky.

Thanks Whisky... So rather than buy a reverse polarity I can just get another and swap over the wiring myself and just mark it as you suggest.

Cheers

CC

pcb7ty wrote:I actually carry:

UK 13 amp plug to commando socket 12" to allow connection from garage etc

Continental 2 pin plug to commando socket 12" to allow connection to older continental sites - turn by 180 deg to reverse/correct polarity

Commando plug to UK 13 amp socket, into which can be plugged tester to check for earth and polarity of supply before connecting van

One 25 M commando cable (orange) in bag used as footrest in passenger side of cab

One 25 M commando cable (orange) buried in back of locker - it does get used occasionally even on CL in UK

One 15 M commando cable (yellow) in drivers door pocket - this is the cable of choice

One 15 M commando cable (blue) with live and neutral crossed. In UK this is buried in locker but when abroad sits behind the drivers seat.

All possible permutations of the four cables have been used over time.

I have two leisure batteries, an 80 watt solar panel and two 13 kg propane bottles and prefer not to hook up when overnighting or on aires.

Peter

That's an awful lot of cables to carry around! I have caravanned from 1972 to 2000 and motorhomed from 2001 onwards, mostly on the continent.

I have always carried a 25m mains cable with blue (commando) plug and socket plus a male schuko plug to female commando for sites that still have the early sockets and a male commando to 13A socket in case I need to use the soldering iron outside. Make sure that your Schuko plug has the side earth connectors (for Germany, Italy, Spain etc) PLUS the earth socket hole in the back to make the earth connection in France. It should look like this
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(Oh dear - what a long link for a simple image!)

I also take a martindale tester (about £8, mines from W4 and available at accessory shops and probably Maplin) - the one with the three orange lights that tells you if all three connections are correctly wired, but I use it in a socket in the van rather than bothering to get out the commando to 13A socket adapter. That is purely to tell me if the earth is connected and, if I detect reverse polarity AND I've used the Schuko in a socket where I can reverse it (ie there was no earth PIN) then I do so. I do not worry about reverse polarity - in fact very occasionally you can get "reverse polarity" both ways round! As a previous poster has remarked, on the continent the supply is a bit different to in the UK - they generally use double pole switches and one side of the supply is not usually (effectively) connected to earth at the substation. Therefore instead of having a voltage of 230V to earth there is nominally only around 115V, but from either blue or brown. The advice remains to unplug ANYTHING that seems to be malfunctioning before inspecting it.

I have very occasionally been restricted in my choice of pitches by only having a single 25m cable - but not often enough to warrant carrying the weight of another - that's about 3 or 4 full bottles of wine in weight and more in bulk !

I used to carry a single Schuko to 3 sockets multiplug for when, in the 80's caravans often had to share a single outlet because there were not enough EHU's but that does not happen nowadays. Nor do you see the EHU box open with all the live busbars visible AND touchable!

Do check the amps on the site's EHU mcb if you can see it and, if the box is locked, make sure that you keep within the available power - otherwise it's a trip back to the office if it trips and maybe they are closed at 8pm!

Blimey don't some people go over the top......

I use a 10m cable nearly all the time. I also have a 25 m cable which is used about once a year. I once had to join them together.

I have a UK 3 pin plug and a continental 2 pin plug on foot long cables to join into the main cables. These are generally for connection to domestic supply and usually left at home.

I don't bother with my tester any more, as I decided, (as somebody has already commented), the foreign campsites aren't littered with corpses or burnt out vans so it must be as safe as the UK. I do however regularly inspect my cables and plug in items.

Nearly all campsites in France (can't speak for the rest of europe, but I guess that would apply to Germany, probably Italy and much of Spain) now have the standard Blue plug and socket arrangement. Any that don't will be able to lend you a cable to allow you to connect to their supply (might require a deposit).

Living on the edge.... Sometimes I even walk on the grass when it tells me not to....

I'm with you Matchlessman. Never had a problem not even in Croatia/Italy/Germany/Spain/France/Slovinia so STOP worrying.
At Majhal, Costa Blanca (in ACSI book) at present at 18 deg outside and a very sunny day with akind breeze