Different coloured EHU cables.. (1 Viewer)

[SMB]

When I bought my motorhome it appeared there was no EHU cable so I bought a 25m 240v orange cable from a dealer. Of course I later found a yellow 25m hookup cable secreted in one of the underfloor storage areas. I thought nothing about the different colours as both had the three-pin hookup plugs until recently when someone mentioned that the orange cable was 240v but the yellow cable was 110v normally used on building sites. After looking online regarding this it also appears that blue EHU cables are 240v but are more flexible for arctic conditions. As anyone who has seen my previous posts will know, my knowledge of electrics is best described as minimal so I'm after advice regarding the suitability of the yellow cable as it has also been suggested online that some UK sites won't accept yellow cable usage on their sites (I'm sure you can guess which). Also, on a few occasions abroad I have needed to connect the two cables to reach the hookup point, is it safe to do so? Thanks in advance..

 

[Deleted member 29692]

Don't worry too much about it. They're all rated for 230v so all are fine.

The convention to use yellow for 110 on building sites is just to keep everyone doing the same thing, nothing more. If sites don't accept yellow cable it's because the warders haven't got a clue what they're on about, no more no less than that.

The blue "arctic" type is designed for prolonged/permanent outdoor use. Not essential for motorhoming really.

Orange is more or less the standard for hook up cables because the colour makes it easy to see when it's lying on the floor. That's all. You will find that the colour will fade and the cable might get a bit stiff over time.

White is usually standard flex, not designed for out door use but it won't hurt for the sort of use it will get.

 

[Camping Gaza]

Never use UK campsites so don't know the rules, but you should be aware of its amp rating, not the colour. the yellow 110V is suitable for 240V, but may be rated lower (amps) that your orange cable, so be aware of it.

problem is you cant easily check the amperage rating of cable without knowing the size of the cable, ie 1.5mm, 2.5 mm etc unless printed on the cable itself.

I use nice sky blue pink cable myself rated at 1 million amps. I would not use yellow cable or use yellow snow either

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[Deleted member 29692]

problem is you cant easily check the amperage rating of cable without knowing the size of the cable, ie 1.5mm, 2.5 mm etc unless printed on the cable itself.

Any BASEC approved multicore cable will have the conductor sizes printed on it.

If it's not BASEC approved it can't legally be sold in the U.K.

 

[Camping Gaza]

Any BASEC approved multicore cable will have the conductor sizes printed on it.

See... there you go!

 

[Deleted member 29692]

See... there you go!

But then how many people understand how to work out how many amps each size will carry?

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[Camping Gaza]

They don't do they

 

[Lenny HB]

Don't EHU very much but my cable is yellow also have black ones & white ones. Assuming the same size cable the specs for the yellow/white/black are the same but artic cable is avalible in blue & yellow. On the continent majority of EHU cables are black.
As long as the cable does the jib doesn't matter what colour it is. Orange is used mainly in the UK because it is a recommendion from the NCC.

 

[bobandjanie]

We carry a black one, got in france years ago, I was told at a club site once it should be Orange so he could spot it easy when he is cutting the grass, best he cuts it when we have gone. Bob.

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[pappajohn]

As already said, yellow is the accepted colour for 110v use but the actual cable is the same as other colours.
Blue 16a 230v plugs look the same as yellow 110v plugs but are a different pin layout to prevent mis-matching power tools and supply voltages on building sites.

 

[BMM]

Think I'm going to paint my cable purple now! for no other reason than I like to be different

 

[SMB]

But then how many people understand how to work out how many amps each size will carry?

Not me!

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[SMB]

Never use UK campsites so don't know the rules, but you should be aware of its amp rating, not the colour. the yellow 110V is suitable for 240V, but may be rated lower (amps) that your orange cable, so be aware of it.

problem is you cant easily check the amperage rating of cable without knowing the size of the cable, ie 1.5mm, 2.5 mm etc unless printed on the cable itself.

I use nice sky blue pink cable myself rated at 1 million amps. I would not use yellow cable or use yellow snow either

I will check the cable next chance I get but I like the sound of your cable

 

[Pilote87]

On the continent majority of EHU cables are black.

@Lenny HB I think that is probably because the majority of French use a standard extension cable on a drum /reel and then connect up using short adaptors at each end as necessary. I have often seen several other camping cars plugged into the outer end of the reel, too, quite frequently without the cable being completely unwound.

J

 

[Lenny HB]

@Lenny HB I think that is probably because the majority of French use a standard extension cable on a drum /reel and then connect up using short adaptors at each end as necessary. I have often seen several other camping cars plugged into the outer end of the reel, too, quite frequently without the cable being completely unwound.

J

Ones in the dealers shops in France, Belgium & Germany are nearly all black.

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[Taran_Las]

Red ones are only to be used for boiling kettles.
Blue ones only for running fridges.
Yellow when cooking with bananas.
Black only to be used at night.

I knew I was getting used to this motorhoming malarkey

Yes, I have got too much free time on my hands​

 

[Just smiffy]

I have an invisible one, "solar" Soo nutty.....

 

[Puddleduck]

We carry a black one, got in france years ago, I was told at a club site once it should be Orange so he could spot it easy when he is cutting the grass, best he cuts it when we have gone. Bob.

Didn't work, he ran the mower over ours..... and it IS orange.

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[two]

It's the spec of the cable inside that matters, rather than its colour. I'd agree that a 'short sighted' warden looking for trouble might try to short(en) it with a mower but I'm not aware of any published rules.

 

[adonisito]

In Winter, the blue arctic ones are much easier to coil, we used to have a white one which was practically impossible to stow away in subzero temps.

 

[Mr Milliemobile]

Hi Paul,
Hope you are well.
I have a yellow cable which I have used at certain club site without issue but did I get told off for connecting 2 cables together. I mostly use an orange 10 m or 25m now which covers most scenarios in UK.
Obviously abroad the rules are no existent and anything seems to go...
Nige

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[Khizzie]

In Winter, the blue arctic ones are much easier to coil, we used to have a white one which was practically impossible to stow away in subzero temps.

Same as ..!!

 

[Infinity31]

No matter what the jobs worths may say, there’s no rule regarding colour of hook up cable, just a recommendation.

Perfectly safe to join 2 cables but standard plugs and sockets are IP44 so only slash proof, keep it away from puddles.

More pertinent than colour is not to use underrated 1.5mm sq cable, 2.5mm sq should be used.

I have 2 orange 2.5mm sq cables, one came with the van, the other given to me. One is stiff as a poker even in warm temps and totally unmanageable. The other is ok in the summer but suffers the same in cold conditions.

All the orange cable I looked at were the same old cr@p so I bought 25m of H07RN-F cable (Black) and made up my own, http://www.batt.co.uk/upload/files/ho7rnfcable_1448642779.pdf it’s manufactured for harsh environments, performance and flexibility tested -30c to 60c and is superior to the orange cable in all respects, it’s as flexible as arctic cable when cold.

I believe arctic has a different PVC/plasticiser combination that makes the cable more floppy at normal temps and reduces the chance of brittleness at low temps. This comes at a cost, reduced strength, toughness and UV resistance, I decided against using it.

The ultimate is H07BQ-F cable, http://www.batt.co.uk/upload/files/h07bq-fcable_1366812878.pdf performance and flexibility tested -40c to 90c but an overkill I think.

 

[Mike800966]

Apart from the colour to avoid grass cutting . there should also be consideration given of the length of the cable relative to the current capacity to minimise the voltage drop. Thats why they use the 2.5 sq mm but its physically heavier than most people need.
Whatever colour and size, I think its more important to disconnect the cable when you leave a pitch temporarily rather than leaving a live cable just lying in the grass.
Surprisingly, the connections are not rated as waterproof.
Mostly the continentals use black cable little more than 6amp capacity and often reversible 2 pin plugs!
Mike

Sorry if I have paraphrased the previous posting which is more technical and more correct!

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[Deleted member 29692]

Perfectly safe to join 2 cables but standard plugs and sockets are IP44 so only slash proof, keep it away from puddles.

More pertinent than colour is not to use underrated 1.5mm sq cable, 2.5mm sq should be used.

You're only partially correct.

You haven't taken volt drop into account.

The maximum safe length of any 2.5mm flexible cord carrying 16A is 37m and that doesn't matter if it's one cable or 20 joined together.

If you want to join multiple cables for a long run you need to know exactly what load you will be drawing and how to calculate volt drop.

If for example you want to join two 25m cables together your maximum load is 12 amps.

Just for reference 1.5mm is fine for 16 amps as long as the cable length doesn't exceed 22 metres.

If you aren't techy and don't understand why volt drop is important then then Google it.

 

[Frazzle]

They don't do they

The reason that is burnt out is because it is in a coil if its on a drum unwind the lot otherwise it can overheat with a bit of load

 

[Littlewheels]

I have an Orange cable that's spent so much time in the Sun it's turned Yellow now on the way to Lemon it still performs as it should and it's still flexible.

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[Theonlysue]

I got a black artic one from Germany. Much more flexible when rolling up.

 

[Tootles]

The blue "arctic" type is designed for prolonged/permanent outdoor use. Not essential for motorhoming really.

Thanks Nic, I never knew that.

 

[Infinity31]

You're only partially correct.

You haven't taken volt drop into account.

The maximum safe length of any 2.5mm flexible cord carrying 16A is 37m and that doesn't matter if it's one cable or 20 joined together.

If you want to join multiple cables for a long run you need to know exactly what load you will be drawing and how to calculate volt drop.

If for example you want to join two 25m cables together your maximum load is 12 amps.

Just for reference 1.5mm is fine for 16 amps as long as the cable length doesn't exceed 22 metres.

If you aren't techy and don't understand why volt drop is important then then Google it.

Good points and very informative.

The IEE regs require 2.5 mm sq cable to be used. It’s up to individuals to decide if they comply with this or not.

IF YOU KNOW your load is only ever going to be very low you could even use an appropriate length of 1mm sq but you have to understand the implications.

I think I did take into account voltage drop when I said 1.5mm sq was underrated regarding the op’s question of safely joining cables.

In practice voltage drop isn’t likely to be a problem. Personally I’ve never been more then 25m from a socket. But if you’re using a 16 amp outlet to it's full capacity on a long cable run you’ll reduce the volt drop and stay safer with thicker cable, one reason to comply with the regs.

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