hook up electric (1 Viewer)

paul8ch

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What sort of appliances can I expect to run on site hook up electric? Eg would it run a normal household 850 watt microwave? or a small oil filled radiator? Or a small electric grill that runs of a 13 Amp plug? All replies greatly appreciated.
 

gozomike

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On most sites you will be able to run the appliances you mention ONE AT A TIME but some sites, mainly in mainland Europe, are limited to very few amps.
 

Stephen & Jeannie

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On a UK site the amps are probably around 16 so all of above are ok but not all at once !
Here in Spain I have 5 amps and it still runs a 2kw kettle but I don't have anything else on at the same time !!
Hope this helps..If I am wrong someone will correct me ! Stephen.

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Mar 29, 2010
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A simple way to check is that Watts = volts x amps so if you have a 220 - 240 supply and a 16 amps then you can use up to 3520 - 3840 amps. This makes certain assumptions about the length and size of cable and the wiring in your motorhome. If on the other-hand you only have a 5 amp supply then you can only use 1100 - 1200 amps. If you try to pull too much electricity through you will blow a trip somewhere so don't worry too much it will just need to be reset.
Incidentally, as has been mentioned on here many times before, make sure your cable is unwound as heat can build up in the cable if you are pulling maximum power and it can catch on fire.
 

Stephen & Jeannie

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A simple way to check is that Watts = volts x amps so if you have a 220 - 240 supply and a 16 amps then you can use up to 3520 - 3840 amps. This makes certain assumptions about the length and size of cable and the wiring in your motorhome. If on the other-hand you only have a 5 amp supply then you can only use 1100 - 1200 amps. If you try to pull too much electricity through you will blow a trip somewhere so don't worry too much it will just need to be reset.
Incidentally, as has been mentioned on here many times before, make sure your cable is unwound as heat can build up in the cable if you are pulling maximum power and it can catch on fire.

You didn't mention reverse polarity !!!!:thumb:
 

jonandshell

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Bet you don't get theses sort of questions and answers on a caravan forum!

We have witnessed several caravanners who seem to delight in getting every available amp they are paying for!
You know what I mean- outside lights everywhere, electric fire in their awning, big TV, slow cooker, halogen oven, the works!

Good to see an environmental responsibility here on Motorhome Fun!:thumb:

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Feb 4, 2010
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It's not unusual this time of year for me to have a small 600w oil-filled radiator, low-wattage kettle and a couple of electronic devices switched on at the same time, with a compressor fridge also running.

I don't risk doing all this while switching on the Webasto air-blown heater though.
 

scotjimland

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Bet you don't get theses sort of questions and answers on a caravan forum!

We have witnessed several caravanners who seem to delight in getting every available amp they are paying for!
You know what I mean- outside lights everywhere, electric fire in their awning, big TV, slow cooker, halogen oven, the works!

Good to see an environmental responsibility here on Motorhome Fun!:thumb:

Why sites are looking at metering and charging per kwh .... some UK ones already are, it's the way forward.

Be careful in Spain.. many charge way above the retail cost ... eg 35c per unit .. fortunately that is illegal in the UK... and as I've pointed out before, you can run up a huge bill if not aware or how much you are using.. for example, a 1kw oil filled heater @ 35c per hour would cost e8.40 per day ...

A uk site will normally charge about 14p per unit .. so the same heater will cost £3.36 per day
 

hilldweller

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What sort of appliances can I expect to run on site hook up electric? Eg would it run a normal household 850 watt microwave? or a small oil filled radiator? Or a small electric grill that runs of a 13 Amp plug? All replies greatly appreciated.

Work it out....

850 watts / 220V = 3.8A. Some sites do have as low as 3A, some 6A some 16A.

You need to look where you plug in. If it's not marked, peer at the circuit breaker ( if you can see it ), it will have 3, 6, 10, 16 somewhere. Or ask.

>> Here in Spain I have 5 amps and it still runs a 2kw kettle

2000W / 220V = 9A. Does not add up. Either the kettle lies or the circuit breaker is out of calibration.

These circuit breakers aren't that accurate and they have a time delay because anything with a motor, like a fridge, takes a lot more amps to start up then much lower running. So a 5A breaker will easily pass 10A for a short time.
 

slobadoberbob

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The big issue for us

Having an RV .... our microwave has a start up of 1700 watts... so we have to check very carefully what power we can get on sites in the UK and Europe. We have found sites with 16 amps in France and all ACIS sites have to have 6 amps.. often they will supply 10 if you pay a bit more.

At Bath and West show ground (Shepton show) in September we had half a dozen yanks connected to the power tree and while it did blow it was not any of our doing, but up the line someone was trying to tap in for free... We all run our power hungry units with no issues. But we do not run heaters like some. Sensible use is what you have to consider.. but then not all motorhome users are sensible I have found.

Bob

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