solitaire woman

Sure this will sound daft to experienced motorhomers,but I'll ask anyway! With regard to electric hook up.
Am going abroad soon and just realised I havent made any provision for the fact my 3 pin plug wont fit abroad!! Am assuming the normal travel adapter isnt what I need, so what do I need? Also am slightly puzzled by this reverse polarity thing, what is it, how do I check it? Do I need a tester, if so where do I get all these things from?
Thanks.

blackie

[quote=solitaire woman;86021]Sure this will sound daft to experienced motorhomers,but I'll ask anyway! With regard to electric hook up.
Am going abroad soon and just realised I havent made any provision for the fact my 3 pin plug wont fit abroad!! Am assuming the normal travel adapter isnt what I need, so what do I need? Also am slightly puzzled by this reverse polarity thing, what is it, how do I check it? Do I need a tester, if so where do I get all these things from?
hi solitaire,you can obtain the adaptor that fit into your normal 3 pin connection,it is not expensive.you can get it in argos/any camping store.i bought mine in camp site in france.it is the same as the one you use for plugging into house,only it has 2 pins.most sites abroad will lend you one any way.i never have had any need for mains tester. but can also obtained. regards blackie

andyman

Been to France 4 times and the old style Euro sockets are getting less and less. Ona few of the sites that still have the euro style I have been offered the loan of an adaptor.

moandick

Hi Solitaire

In terms that I can understand - not being an electrician.....

You are already aware that some European sites use two pin plugs rather than three - the third pin being an earth lead.

Each English lead contains three wires - a live, a neutral and an earth - all of which must be located in their proper place in order to make the equipment work properly - and that is done by the shape of the plug - it will only fit into a socket in one particular way.

On a two pin site there is NO earth wire (just a live and a neutral) and that means that it is possible to fit the plug into the socket the 'wrong' way round - hence 'Reverse Polarity' - in theory it could mean that your appliances works backwards.

Seriously - it actually means that the appliance could still be live even when it is switched off.

Go to any caravan dealers where they have a spares shop and they will be able to supply a polarity tester and a specially wired cable which fits between your lead and the socket - and corrects the polarity to that which you need.

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djchapple

Most French sites do use a plug with only 2 pins but it does have a hole to accepts the "third" earth pin on the socket.

So effectively they are still three pin.

Some older sites have connections with a dodgy earth and this can be lethal.

The plug-in adaptors that check for an earth do not do the job properly. All they confirm is that a least one minute strand of earth wire is there. This earth wire may fail if asked to carry a significant load.

Parcverger

There are some sites that use standard "UK caravan site" style plugs, Parc Verger included, but what you should carry for the other sites is a continental adapter so you have a continental-style plug on one end with a UK caravan site style plug on the other. Then you will have no difficulty plugging in your normal lead to this. You can buy them in many caravan dealers, and we can buy them in our local hardware store here in France.

On reverse polarity, do carry a plug that will check this - it will tell you if there is any potential problem and what it is. As has been said above, reverse polarity can leave your electrical equipment live - not a good idea!

Best bet - find an experienced english-speaking motorhomer (or go to an english run site) when you get to the continent and ask! Don't be afraid, we all love to help.

Bob

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johnsandywhite

Myths about reverse Polarity?

The Microwave will work backwards? WRONG
The lights will turn off when you turn them on? WRONG
The TV, Satellite, Fridge etc will not work? WRONG
The Battery Charger will discharge the batteries? WRONG
When you go to turn anything on you will get a shock? WRONG

What reverse polarity can do when it is raining and there IS a BAD earth on the vehicle whereby the Earth becomes Live and you are outside and touch the Motorhome/RV. You MAY get a shock. You most probably may experience a slight tingle on the fingers. IMH&HO.

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djchapple

I am very worried that this advice is completely misleading.

I have visited campsites in Europe all (claim to) have an earth.

The so called two pin plug, especially in France, is actually a three pin plug and has three wires just like any other three pin plug.

The three pins are arranged differently. two are on the plug and the other (earth pin) is on the socket.

So when you plug into the socket the live and neutral pins (on the plug) fit into the holes in the socket and the earth pin (on the socket) fits into a hole in the plug - three connections, three pins, no problems.

If you do come across a site with very old wiring and only two pi connectors then avoid it like the plague.

moandick

Hi DJ

I am not detracting from anything you say BUT it IS perfectly possible to put a two pin plug into a two pin socket the wrong way round for an English connection - irrespective of what wires are where.

That was the whole point of the discussion about reverse polarity and how to overcome the problem.

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JayDee

Yep. Did it in Sweden a couple of times. The tester soon put us right though.

The point about the tester not doing a complete job if there's only one stand of the earth (for example) in contact may be true , but unless there's a source of electrical knowledge around to carry out more rigorous tests it's really all we've got. And if you leave the tester plugged in while you boil the kettle it'll soon show a fault if loading introduces a fault.

Incidently I carry a reverse polarity correction lead with me (wired it up myself) with the Live and Neutral reversed at the female. Had to use it a couple of times.

In a nutshell, it doesn't cost a fortune to be safe and you don't need an A level in Electrics to check that you are, just a few basic bits of info that any qualified person can give you.

Be safe. Be happy

John

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