EHU amps (1 Viewer)

[SMB]

I'm sure most of us have been on a campsite where the EHU is rated as 'up to' a certain amperage i.e. 6 amps, yet as soon as the microwave goes on the electricity supply trips (note I did not say hairdryer - those days are long gone).

I have been on the net trying to find a tool or equipment that would let me easily measure the amps being supplied by the hookup point without success, apart from a couple of American gadgets which no longer seem to exist. Any help would be appreciated.

As you can probably tell i do not know much about electrics oh:

Ta

 

[TheBig1]

the only way to know how many amps the supply is rated at is to read it on the trip switch on the bollard. otherwise you would need to draw increasing current till you knew the trip point. no meter will tell you that, well not anything available to a diy'er:thumb:

 

[pappajohn]

a 6amp hookup will provide enough power for a 1440watts appliance.

Your microwave will probaby exceed input 1440watts when it first starts.

One of these gadgets will tell you how much power you consume instantly
and on a rolling update basis.

It is also programmable for immediate and accumulated costs.

Can be programmed to sound a warning if you exceed a pre-set (by customer)
Consumption rate....set it for 1.5kw (or whatever you want) and if you go over it warns you.

Battery powered and wireless connected.
No direct electrical connection needed...simply clip the sender on the incoming live cable

The OWL energy monitor

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[Steve]

a 6amp hookup will provide enough power for a 1440watts appliance.

Your microwave will probaby exceed input 1440watts when it first starts.

One of these gadgets will tell you how much power you consume instantly
and on a rolling update basis.

It is also programmable for immediate and accumulated costs.

Battery powered and wireless connected.
No direct electrical connection needed...simply clip the sender on the incoming live cable

The OWL energy monitor

As above plus you will already be drawing current for battery charger, fridge etc.

 

[TheBig1]

yes an energy monitor will show consumption, as in power used and you can calculate the amps. just as an ammeter would, but it cant tell you what a supply is rated at or what trip is fitted in the bollard:thumb:

 

[pappajohn]

yes an energy monitor will show consumption, as in power used and you can calculate the amps. just as an ammeter would, but it cant tell you what a supply is rated at or what trip is fitted in the bollard:thumb:

agreed....but the monitor will show how many amps, after converting from watts/kilowatts, are being drawn when the microwave trips the post.

Many hookup posts arent capable of supplying the stated amps due to the amount of posts in use at a given time on one phase.

The Dirty duck campsite at Grantham had all 26 hookup points supplied by one 63amp breaker .....only took one person to switch on an electric heater and all the leccy tripped.

And it happened so often one member (admin Bryan) was designated 'chief turn back on' man and was given a key to the main power house.

Needless to say all the funsters refused to pay for electric.

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[Steve]

yes an energy monitor will show consumption, as in power used and you can calculate the amps. just as an ammeter would, but it cant tell you what a supply is rated at or what trip is fitted in the bollard:thumb:

I suppose if it has a memory you could see what it read before tripping happened?

 

[SMB]

Thanks for the replies, they are very helpful. Guess I will have to learn to cook more and microwave less (yeah right)...

 

[pappajohn]

Thanks for the replies, they are very helpful. Guess I will have to learn to cook more and microwave less (yeah right)...

your oven is probably built in but if not have a look at the label on the back....it will state the input watts.
Microwave ovens are extremely inefficient, often using twice the microwave output power just to start cooking....an 800watt oven may consume at least 1600watts at switch on.

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[tonka]

Cook at a lower power, takes longer but it's a way around the supply issue.
and as mentioned turn off anything else that will be taking power until you have cooked..:thumb:

 

[pappajohn]

Cook at a lower power, takes longer but it's a way around the supply issue.
and as mentioned turn off anything else that will be taking power until you have cooked..:thumb:

are you sure ?

I would think the magnetron circuit would consume the same start up power no matter what the output power....it is designed to provide enough power at full output and anything below that.

But i accept being corrected.

 

[Steve]

are you sure ?

I would think the magnetron circuit would consume the same start up power no matter what the output power....it is designed to provide enough power at full output and anything below that.

But i accept being corrected.

Quite often the output is controlled by turning the power on/off not reducing it. Unless it is an inverter type.

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[pappajohn]

Quite often the output is controlled by turning the power on/off not reducing it. Unless it is an inverter type.

so, by turning the magnetron on and off to reduce cooking power you will still be using full input power for the time it is on and just the turntable and fan motors when its off ?

If that is the case then its pointless cooking at a lower setting to reduce power.

 

[SMB]

I have only had a problem with the microwave on a couple of sites, even with most other items switched off, I reckon the supply must have been around 3 amps. I have reduced the power to 80% at times but even that sometimes doesn't work. It is a factory-fitted microwave rated at 800w. It would have been handy if there had been a gadget that could tell you what the EHU bollard was supplying to the van directly, but theres always that other thing I could use...now what do they call it again..oh yes, a cooker
thanks again all

ps magnetrons? don't confuse me, I thought that was what Captain Scarlett used to fight..

 

[pappajohn]

in my world a microwave is for warming pies and reheating cold coffee.....never been able to cook anything in one successfully.

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[SMB]

I class warming pies as cooking

ps dug out the manual, its a 700w microwave (!) rated at 1200w consumption.

 

[Steve]

I class warming pies as cooking

ps dug out the manual, its a 700w microwave (!) rated at 1200w consumption.

There you go, uses 500w just sitting there. I am not anti m/w i have one and use it a lot but as said only to warm things up, cooking is done on the cooker (gas)

 

[pappajohn]

I class warming pies as cooking

ps dug out the manual, its a 700w microwave (!) rated at 1200w consumption.

with other things on in the background, charger, 230v lighting, 230v television etc it may just push the hookup over the edge.

The posts circuit breaker may be quite old and a bit 'weak' so may not be what it is supposed to be.....maybe sometimes trips at 5amps instead of 6amps.

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[scotjimland]

yes an energy monitor will show consumption, as in power used and you can calculate the amps. just as an ammeter would, but it cant tell you what a supply is rated at or what trip is fitted in the bollard:thumb:

true.. however....

I had an Owl Wireless monitor and it can be set to show Amps or Watts and has an alarm that can be set at whatever level you want.. so for example on a 16A EHU I would set the alarm at say 14 Amps.. Setting at below the max. gives you time to switch something off before it trips..

The monitor would also help those less able to understand the loads of different appliances..

Extremely useful .. :thumb:

 

[Inthezone]

I'm sure most of us have been on a campsite where the EHU is rated as 'up to' a certain amperage i.e. 6 amps, yet as soon as the microwave goes on the electricity supply trips (note I did not say hairdryer - those days are long gone).

I have been on the net trying to find a tool or equipment that would let me easily measure the amps being supplied by the hookup point without success, apart from a couple of American gadgets which no longer seem to exist. Any help would be appreciated.

As you can probably tell i do not know much about electrics oh:

Ta

I have on board one of these meters, but to use it you have to have a test peice of EHU cable with all three wires seperated, you then clamp the meter around the positive wire to get a reading, not actually used it much but its nice to know what current the van is drawing.

http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/clampmeters/6973960/

depends if you think that the outlay is worth it

 

[eddie]

Broken Link Removed

These people have a range of meters. Most marinas use their in line meters to calculate consumption.

On my inverter charger it monitors my consumption continuously. If I need 16amp and only 8amps is available, the charger turns off, (saving amps) and then inverts the "missing" 8 amps.

This avoids tripping anything, and happens automatically so my wife is blissfully unaware the potential mayhem that she could of caused whilst, dancing around in front of the mirror using her hair dryer.

Once the load is reduced (Lyn's hair dry lol) the unit returns to charging, which. Of course will replace the power used whilst in "invert" mode

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[ShiftZZ]

Broken Link Removed

These people have a range of meters. Most marinas use their in line meters to calculate consumption.

On my inverter charger it monitors my consumption continuously. If I need 16amp and only 8amps is available, the charger turns off, (saving amps) and then inverts the "missing" 8 amps.

This avoids tripping anything, and happens automatically[HI] so my wife is blissfully unaware the potential mayhem that she could of caused whilst, dancing around in front of the mirror using her hair dryer.[/HI]

Once the load is reduced (Lyn's hair dry lol) the unit returns to charging, which. Of course will replace the power used whilst in "invert" mode

Not any more she isn't

BCC - Mrs No BitZ

 

[SMB]

Thanks for the replies everyone, its given me food for thought (no pun intended, really). Thank God the fridge doesn't take up too much juice, otherwise my beer would be warm and the microwave would be in the bin