Elp!!!!! (1 Viewer)

sedge

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Not trying to resurrect old 'discussions' but never having owned even a caravan with a leccy hook up for the UK (battery lights, if we wanted anything else it would have been 12v) no boiler no electric flush etc etc and I have to say I dunno whether I'm on me arse or me elbow. So please could you just answer Yes or No and be kind and try not to ask me questions or offer hypotheses.!

The motorhome is a 2008 but we will be the first owners, we are purchasing same from the dealer. Never raced or rallied AFAIK on a Fiat 130 (and no comments bout that either Ta!!!) and with an 09 registration no.

1. Is it safe to assume that Swift and/or Fiat will have put the latest whatever it is wherever it goes, ie what they sent out of the factory in 2008, and assuming no tampering, will be electrically safe here and sur le Continong?

(Yes we have already got a polarity tester doodah and a UK to euro adaptor)

2. If I wanted a kettle or whatever in the van - would it just be easier/safer to get one in the local hypermarche wherever we go in France? - and keep it separate for abroad?

(than bothering to travel several miles in the wrong direction here and use me ancient £10 Argoos voucher I keep forgetting about before we go)

(and which is unlikely anyway as I have several normal 'goes on the gas' ones already in my possession which I have boiled water in on many occasions prior to now LOL)

3. Is the 25m limit on leccy leads only UK and not applic in eg France?

(Can soon get an extension lead and would prefer to take one anyway as eg the campsite we just stayed on would hire you a longer lead or sell you one, 2 choices, 30m or 40m, and these would have been necessary on some of their sites - loads a space and apparently plenty of hook ups for all, as long as at least some of you had a longer lead !)

4. a) Is the gizmo which properly protects the joint in aforesaid extended cable from the pleut/neige etc and which it sounds like we ought to have, easily available at a "camping etc shop near me" here in UK?

b) Does it have a proper name or do I ask for one of them thingies that ....?

c) i) Cheap? - or
ii) cheaper in France?


(you are allowed to use longer words for these last answers, but only if necessary, OK?)

TIA chaps and chapesses

Jenny
 

Geo

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Your new van by law should be electricaly safe asuming swift and dealer have cheked it
buy two 25 mtr cables and join them to gether if reqd
if you do want an electric kettle buy a low wattage traveleing type 1000watts or under,
not all french sites will not cope with electric kettles l(ow suppliy) and will trip out so take a normal kettle as well for the gas,Allways belts and braces in the cuppa dept:thumb: all safety gizmos are fitted either in you van or the electrical post you plug into I cant think what else you might mean:Doh:
Geo
 
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sedge

sedge

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Ta!!!

We have a polarity checker, and will have an extension lead - I said that :thumb:

No - in the past the Forum had a very long discussion about elec and its safety, Forrin wiring and suchlike - I was reading it yesterday. In it,the subject of joining two cables together came up.

One person said there was a special thing you should get to protect the join, ie try and prevent water ingress to the plugs lying in the hedge or on the grass or wherever they happened to be.

Someone else said they just wrapped a carrier bag round theirs. Someone then said you would get condensation inside the wrapping - which could negate wrapping the joined plugs in the first place, they would still get wet - I was still with the thought process there. Another comment was made by the carrier baggy. The OP then said it was terribly dangerous and inferred Mr & Mrs Carrier Bag may be in danger of frying children who may be playing with metal toys nearby.

Like most grandparents although we do actually like (some) children, we couldn't eat a whole one, besides which I have to consider me cholesterol !!! :ROFLMAO:

Then someone else said somebody used an earthing spike and in the finish I was more confused than I was to begin with. (Easy to achieve in my case LOL)

So what I was asking was, do we need to go into eg Jacksons of Old Arley (or Pedleys Caravans) and ask for, "One of those thingies that protects the joint in your electrical hook-up cable from the rain, when you have to join two of them together, please" - or does it have actually have a name eg "Precipitation Pal" or whatever?
 
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Wildman

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many moons ago whislt powering a workshop from the house I joined ordinary 13 amp plugs and sockets across the garden. I covered the joins with plastic bags and taped them at both ends. 2 years later when the mains was finally connected to the workshop I removed the exention cables. Both joints were full of water and the fuses (3 of them) had not blown, proving to me water was actually quite a good insulator in the right conditions. It still horrified me. However today we are all protected by current trips both in the van and at the shore/campsite supply so you could not be safer. The 16amp plugs and sockets are designed to be pretty waterproof so no reason to worry at all. (Just my opinion and no doubt a million horrified hands will go up in the air but there you go.)

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crazylazy

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Not being technical at all and being a newbie ....I personally would find the nearest cafe........for a cuppa.....Amps..Plugs..Volts...far too technical for me.
 
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sedge

sedge

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ta - thats perzackerly what I wanted to hear

and also

I'm with you, mines a white coffee, no sugar ......

:roflmto:
 
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crazylazy

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"Precipitation Pal" is that what come in a can and you give it to the dog or does it plug in as well.. no not the dog silly!...go to the nearest cafe and get two for the price of one!

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In all my many years of camping I've never seen anyone put anything round the blue plugs when they've joined two together to reach a post, and I've never seen any problems arise from it. I think they are moisture proof anyway, and if there was a problem then either the van or the post should trip - but I wouldn't let one lie in a puddle.

Although we were away one New Year and the plugs got buried in snow with no apparent problems. :whatthe:
 
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scotjimland

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Just for information, not wanting to confuse anyone, but this may come in useful.

All electrical equipment has an IP Number which stands for Ingress Protection, the suffix number indicates the degree of protection .. for example

My blue plug/socket is protected to IP 44

The fist digit 4 means it has mechanical protection of ingress of objects > 1mm
The second 4 means splashing water, ie Water splashing against the enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effect.

A better protected plug may be IP 65

6 = dust protected , Ingress of dust is not entirely prevented, but it must not enter in sufficient quantity to interfere with the satisfactory operation of the equipment; complete protection against contact

5= powerful water jets, Water projected in powerful jets against the enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effects.

So, generally speaking the higher the IP number the better the protection ..

For general use IP44 is adequate for plugging into an EHU , but if you are using a male and female to extend the cable better to use a higher rated pair.

If you haven't fallen asleep yet you can see the full range of codes here .

IP Code - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

jim
 
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