Checking ehu on site (1 Viewer)

[Shuismo]

Hi,
Is it possibleto check the incoming amps of a site hookup,as many times especially inFrance I'msure it's not the same as the site owners tell us.
Is there any way we can tell?

 

[Techno]

The current rating will be on the front of the breaker or RCBO

 

[iandsm]

I think what Shuismo means is how can you tell what actually runs through it as opposed to that its rated at. For example, it might be rated 16amps on the breaker or RCBO and the site owner might claim 16 amps but the connection it may only actually able to deliver 10amps.

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[Techno]

Then you won't know until you trip it. If its 16 amp only exceeding 16 amp will trip it.
Obviously you need to know the current rating of your appliances.
For anything else you need electrical competence and test equipment and I would check the supply voltage which should be europe wide standard of 230volts but it could be low

 

[scotjimland]

it might be rated 16amps on the breaker or RCBO and the site owner might claim 16 amps but the connection it may only actually able to deliver 10amps.

highly unlikely .. unless it was installed by a cowboy

the upstream breaker should never be smaller than the downstream..

however.. if there are lets say 10 hook ups, all rated at 16A , the cable supply breaker may only be 45A .. so when several vans all go on full load at the same time it will trip the 45A CB .

no site supply can supply every 16A EHU socket post with 16A all at same the time..

just as a 50A supply in a house can't supply every 13A socket with 13A at the same time..

it's called diversification..

 

[Terry and Jan]

France usually around 220Vish, I have known it drop to 210.

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[scotjimland]

France usually around 220Vish, I have known it drop to 210.

it can drop below 220v on sites when there are a lot using it particularly at peak periods.. .. long EHU leads also drop voltage...

in France and most of mainland Europe, the voltage is 220v

in the UK it is 240v.

how can that be you ask when it's supposed to be 230v across Europe.. ?

Harmonisation.. smoke and mirrors..

The Electricity supplier by law must deliver 230 volts +10% - 6% (ie. between 216.2 volts and 253 volts), and to maintain the frequency at 50Hz ± 1% (ie. between 49Hz and 51Hz) over a 24 hour period.

The EU decided, in its wisdom, to harmonise the UK standard mains voltage of 240v AC and the European standard of 220v AC, at 230v AC.

Fine in theory but the costs of replacing all the supply equipment to deliver 230v was uneconomic (there being no advantage whatever in changing, other than ‘harmonisation’). So to avoid accusations of failure to harmonise, they simply fiddled with the legal voltage limits, nothing actually changed!.

The law now states 230v +10% -6%, thereby allowing the European 220v system to stay at 220v and UK to stay at 240v, yet both appear to be harmonised!

Clever huh ..

 

[Autowbars]

As usual the EU fiddled it, and NOT only on this subject.
I wonder who the biggest employer is in Sproutland
I believe the biggest receiver of EU funds is Belgium.
And I love going to Belgium. Before you jump on me.

 

[Lenny HB]

The Electricity supplier by law must deliver 230 volts +10% - 6% (ie. between 216.2 volts and 253 volts), and to maintain the frequency at 50Hz ± 1% (ie. between 49Hz and 51Hz) over a 24 hour period.

That is only as far as the camp site who would be the suppliers end user. What happens after that is down to the campsite distribution, when we were tuggers and used hook ups I've know site outlets drop to 190v. I've been on sites in France where the cables are just strung through the trees.

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[teensvan99]

You need a clamp meter to clamp around the positive lead of your hookup cable switch everything on in the van the meter will give you the amps until it trips. Clamp meters from around £35. Lot of pi___ng around for the average person.

 

[Lenny HB]

You need a clamp meter to clamp around the positive lead of your hookup cable switch everything on in the van the meter will give you the amps until it trips. Clamp meters from around £35. Lot of pi___ng around for the average person.

All the wiring will be 3 core flex so not a lot of good.

 

[MR. FUSION]

As usual the EU fiddled it, and NOT only on this subject.
I wonder who the biggest employer is in Sproutland
I believe the biggest receiver of EU funds is Belgium.
And I love going to Belgium. Before you jump on me.

Belgium gets 66% of 7.2 billion for EU administration as the EU is there.....whichever way you work it that an expensive toy the UK would do well without.

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[scotjimland]

You need a clamp meter to clamp around the positive lead of your hookup cable switch everything on in the van the meter will give you the amps until it trips. Clamp meters from around £35. Lot of pi___ng around for the average person.

If you really want or need to know how much power you are using fit an

I had one in the RV, you can set it to alarm when you are close to reaching the max supply current..

for example.. on a 16A EHU I set to alarm at 15A ..

Never bothered fitting in the Hymer as we rarely use EHU now.. and when we do it's only to run the fridge... don't have any other 240v appliances..

 

[iandsm]

highly unlikely .. unless it was installed by a cowboy

the upstream breaker should never be smaller than the downstream..

however.. if there are lets say 10 hook ups, all rated at 16A , the cable supply breaker may only be 45A .. so when several vans all go on full load at the same time it will trip the 45A CB .

no site supply can supply every 16A EHU socket post with 16A all at same the time..

just as a 50A supply in a house can't supply every 13A socket with 13A at the same time..

it's called diversification..

Diversification! Isn't that something that nice Mr Cameron wants us all to accept

 

[Techno]

Diversification! Isn't that something that nice Mr Cameron wants us all to accept

It's actually diversity that is applied not diversification if that matters

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[iandsm]

It's actually diversity that is applied not diversification if that matters

It doesn't

 

[scotjimland]

Diversification! Isn't that something that nice Mr Cameron wants us all to accept

It's actually diversity that is applied not diversification if that matters

Diversified load and diversification factor.

The diversified load is the total expected load (power) to be drawn during a peak period by a device or system of devices. The diversified load is the combination of each devices full load capacity, Utilization Factor, Diversity Factor, Demand Factor and the Load factor(electrical)|load factor. This process is referred to as load diversification. The diversification factor is then defined as:

 

[Techno]

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[Jaws]

In Croatia the voltage dropped so low on one site the fridge dropped out..

Re amperage used

It is probably worth while getting to know what stuff uses as it will be a very quick and helpful guide for you.

Just divide the wattage by the voltage ( which varies but if you say 220 it is close enough ) and that is it..

I even educated Woman as to what everything uses so when we are using hook up ( which I admit is very rare ) she can easily suss out what can be used at any given time
Uses it as a very rough guide.. As you will see from the figures below close enough is good enough as long as you ere on the side of caution
You only have to look on the bottom of most appliences to see what the current draw is...


For instance...
800 w kettle about 4 amps
2kw ( 2000 w ) kettle 10 amps
Most van water heaters 3 to 4 amps
Most van chargers .. Less than an amp most of the time
Hair drier same as a kettle
Toaster same as a kettle

So for instance if we have a 6 amp supply she will turn off the water heater to put the kettle on ( our 800w one in this instance )

I am sure you get the idea of how easy it is to suss out what you can and cannot use for any given EHU supply

Hope this ( extremely ) rough guide helps ?