Plug sockets question (1 Viewer)

[Euphony]

Hi all,
Can anyone tell whether plug sockets should work when not on hook-up please?
I have a 2008 Bessacarr E560, everything works when on hook-up but I tried for the first time today to plug the kettle in while not on hook-up and got nothing. Everything else (Water pump, lights, fridge, heating etc) works fine.
Any thoughts please?

 

[Stretto Boy]

The 240 volt system won't work unless you are on EHU. The other things you mentioned will all work on the 12 volt supply from your leisure battery. I'm sure those who have inverters will give you the the lowdown on how to get a 240 volt supply from your leisure battery.

 

[Gellyneck]

230v only work on hook-up. The other things you mention will be working on 12v or gas.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Gellyneck]

The 240 volt system won't work unless you are on EHU. The other things you mentioned will all work on the 12 volt supply from your leisure battery. I'm sure those who have inverters will give you the the lowdown on how to get a 240 volt supply from your leisure battery.

See he told you so!

 

[TerryL]

Your 240 volt system is similar to your house. You'll have a RCD box somewhere (probably at the back of the wardrobe) which controls it all.

 

[icantremember]

Can anyone tell whether plug sockets should work when not on hook-up please?

Not unless you have an inverter fitted.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Rob Turner]

This is a joke........right?????

 

[busby]

Hi all,
Can anyone tell whether plug sockets should work when not on hook-up please?
I have a 2008 Bessacarr E560, everything works when on hook-up but I tried for the first time today to plug the kettle in while not on hook-up and got nothing. Everything else (Water pump, lights, fridge, heating etc) works fine.
Any thoughts please?

You must be new to this Motorhome life!! BUSBY.

 

[Bailey58]

Like any quiz, always easy when you know the answer.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Euphony]

I appreciate the replies, the smart arses not so much. Yes I am new to it and no it's not a joke. Answers are alway easy and obvious when you know them, in this case, I don't due to inexperience.
There is an inverter fitted apparently so I'll check that out thanks.

 

[cornish boy]

I appreciate the replies, the smart arses not so much. Yes I am new to it and no it's not a joke. Answers are alway easy and obvious when you know them, in this case, I don't due to inexperience.
There is an inverter fitted apparently so I'll check that out thanks.

It is possible that the inverter only supplies one of the 13amp (230v) sockets rather than all of them. Have you found you have a 13amp socket that doesnt work when the electric hook up is connected? If so, that may well be the socket connected to the inverter.

 

[Euphony]

It is possible that the inverter only supplies one of the 13amp (230v) sockets rather than all of them. Have you found you have a 13amp socket that doesnt work when the electric hook up is connected? If so, that may well be the socket connected to the inverter.

Hi, thanks for the reply, no, all 6 sockets work hook-up.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[busby]

I appreciate the replies, the smart arses not so much. Yes I am new to it and no it's not a joke. Answers are alway easy and obvious when you know them, in this case, I don't due to inexperience.
There is an inverter fitted apparently so I'll check that out thanks.

Just beware and don't use high wattage appliances for to long on your inverter as they will soon drain your batteries unless you have a decent solar panel fitted,,,, Its a long learning curve but plenty of help on here,,BUSBY

 

[cornish boy]

Hi, thanks for the reply, no, all 6 sockets work hook-up.

Have you found an inverter in one of the lockers, cupboards or wardrobes if so, what make and model is it, can you take a photo of it?

Without wanting to teach you how to suck eggs, the inverter will look something like these...

 

[Theonlysue]

This is a joke........right?????

Not called for.
I suppose you know everything???

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[WynandJean]

Not called for.
I suppose you know everything???

Especially, as stated, it was for the first time.

Wyn

 

[namwaldog]

We were in conversation recently with a couple who had just taken the plunge to go full timing.

In the morning he came out of his MH, opened a locker containing his leisure batteries and took out a short length of hook up cable that was attached to something in the battery locker. He pushed the plug on this cable into the EHU socket on the MH and said that this was how the dealer had explained how to use the inverter when they had it fitted together with a solar panel.

I had always imagined a subtle little switch somewhere in the MH when you wanted to use the inverter??
Having said that, I wouldn't know it was an Inverter if if fell out of a locker and hit me.

 

[WillH]

To put you in the picture I have a 2008 E560. They original set-up was three sockets, one near the floor in the lounge, one above the kitchen area and the third above the shelf in the bedroom. The RCD and mains control panel is in the wardrobe. You say there are six sockets, three have been retro-fitted, either by the dealer on request or by the subsequent owner There was no inverter fitted ex works but one may have been fitted later. The only original 12v socket is above the shelf in the bedroom for the TV, the two on the dash will only function when the ignition is on. If you have any other queries concerning this van just post on here.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Euphony]

Have you found an inverter in one of the lockers, cupboards or wardrobes if so, what make and model is it, can you take a photo of it?

Without wanting to teach you how to suck eggs, the inverter will look something like these...

View attachment 177043 View attachment 177044

Hi, thank you, I appreciate it, we're away from the MH until Monday but I'll take one then and post it.

 

[Euphony]

To put you in the picture I have a 2008 E560. They original set-up was three sockets, one near the floor in the lounge, one above the kitchen area and the third above the shelf in the bedroom. The RCD and mains control panel is in the wardrobe. You say there are six sockets, three have been retro-fitted, either by the dealer on request or by the subsequent owner There was no inverter fitted ex works but one may have been fitted later. The only original 12v socket is above the shelf in the bedroom for the TV, the two on the dash will only function when the ignition is on. If you have any other queries concerning this van just post on here.

Thank you very much.

 

[DBK]

Hi all,
Can anyone tell whether plug sockets should work when not on hook-up please?
I have a 2008 Bessacarr E560, everything works when on hook-up but I tried for the first time today to plug the kettle in while not on hook-up and got nothing. Everything else (Water pump, lights, fridge, heating etc) works fine.
Any thoughts please?

At the risk of adding further confusion there are some checks you need to do first.

As already suggested, you first need to determine if you have an inverter fitted. It may be visible or hidden behind a panel. It will probably be a brightly coloured metal thing, like the image above which has a blue band across it with "pure sine wave inverter" written on it - upside down in this case.
You then need to determine the size of the inverter. A 3000W inverter is a big one, Many will be much smaller, perhaps 1500W or less. This is the maximum wattage you can draw from it.
It may be pure sine wave but if it isn't, which is quite likely, and is a "modified sine wave" type, this will be fine for most things but they can burn out electric toothbrush chargers and may give problems running electronic things.
As suggested, the inverter may not be connected to all the sockets. If you can find it then it will have one or two sockets on it and you either need to plug directly into these or if there is a plug already connected, try and trace where the cable from the plug goes. This may reveal what sockets it is connected to.
I strongly suggest you don't try and run a kettle from your inverter - it will draw a huge amount of current from your batteries and soon flatten them. Use a kettle on the hob and use gas instead of amps.
If you can confirm you have an inverter, let us know and we can help determine why it isn't working.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[MitchandJenny]

Hi Euphony.
DONT be afraid to ask ANY question you don't know the answer to ! ! !
That is ONE of the wonderful benefits of being a member of this great club.
We get the odd "snub" in the normal world as well don't we !?!!?.
Welcome and ENJOY..


Mitch.

 

[MR. FUSION]

We were in conversation recently with a couple who had just taken the plunge to go full timing.

In the morning he came out of his MH, opened a locker containing his leisure batteries and took out a short length of hook up cable that was attached to something in the battery locker. He pushed the plug on this cable into the EHU socket on the MH and said that this was how the dealer had explained how to use the inverter when they had it fitted together with a solar panel.

I had always imagined a subtle little switch somewhere in the MH when you wanted to use the inverter??
Having said that, I wouldn't know it was an Inverter if if fell out of a locker and hit me.

The solar panels should I believe be directly wired into the battery system via an appropriate control box. That's how I wired mine, this ECU arrangement sounds slightly odd

 

[DBK]

The solar panels should I believe be directly wired into the battery system via an appropriate control box. That's how I wired mine, this ECU arrangement sounds slightly odd

I think what was described was taking the output from the inverter and plugging it directly into the EHU. It's a novel way to do it and not very efficient I think as the mains operated battery charger will start trying to charge the leisure batteries straight away. Perpetual motion if it worked. An auto-changeover fridge would also get very confused and a manual fridge would also soon flatten the batteries if 240 volts was selected.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[MR. FUSION]

I think what was described was taking the output from the inverter and plugging it directly into the EHU. It's a novel way to do it and not very efficient I think as the mains operated battery charger will start trying to charge the leisure batteries straight away. Perpetual motion if it worked. An auto-changeover fridge would also get very confused and a manual fridge would also soon flatten the batteries if 240 volts was selected.

Oooh, if the solar panels controller were wired in correctly should it not shut off the solar panel current if an EHU current is detected charging the batteries ???

 

[TerryL]

Oooh, if the solar panels controller were wired in correctly should it not shut off the solar panel current if an EHU current is detected charging the batteries ???

Not necessarily, but in practice probably. The regulator "reads" the voltage of the battery it's connected to then allows charge through if needed. However the battery charger is probably already equal to or exceeding the regulators output so the reg. will turn off it's supply.
Clever these Chinese!

 

[DBK]

Oooh, if the solar panels controller were wired in correctly should it not shut off the solar panel current if an EHU current is detected charging the batteries ???

The solar panel is a red herring. As I read the original post the bloke had had an inverter and solar panel fitted at the same time. But, if on EHU a solar panel won't normally do much as the controller will detect a high voltage at the leisure batteries so won't do anything.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[pappajohn]

He pushed the plug on this cable into the EHU socket on the MH and said that this was how the dealer had explained how to use the inverter when they had it fitted together with a solar panel.

then the salesman is as big an idiot as the person who fitted the inverter.
That will be powering EVERYTHING, including the fridge (if its an AES fridge) and battery charger.
I hope they had a VERY, VERY large battery bank.

 

[busby]

I think what was described was taking the output from the inverter and plugging it directly into the EHU. It's a novel way to do it and not very efficient I think as the mains operated battery charger will start trying to charge the leisure batteries straight away. Perpetual motion if it worked. An auto-changeover fridge would also get very confused and a manual fridge would also soon flatten the batteries if 240 volts was selected.

Auto-changeover fridge confused,,never mind that,,i am confused now,,,BUSBY.

 

[two]

Hello, Euphony. Welcome to the world of motorhoming!

Your inverter was most likely fitted after manufacture, so the method chosen will depend on who fitted it. There are several ways in which it could’ve been done, so it’s difficult to answer which sockets may be usable when not on EHU. It could be all or none of them.

Inverter aside, your van is working correctly. No mains (240V) power when not on EHU.

As said, the supply from your inverter will depend on how it was installed. It should normally be switched off, to avoid the stand-by current draining your battery, so you’ll need to find the switch to be able to use it. The on/off switch may be remote but is most likely on the inverter itself (when you have found it). If it’s a big inverter (1500W+) there should be some thick wires (easy to trace) going to it from your habitation batteries. When the inverter is on, one or more sockets will become live and these are usually different ones to those which are live when EHU is connected because that’s the easiest and cheapest type of installation to provide.

The only live socket supplied by your inverter may be one fitted to the back of your inverter, especially if it has only modest output. Otherwise, a string of sockets may be fed from the back of the inverter. When I have installed a system that way, I have always used a different style of socket for the ‘inverted’ supply to distinguish them from the EHU-supplied ones.

Now a brief lesson on power:

Don’t use an inverter to power any form of heater with the exception, perhaps, of a low wattage hair drier or some hair curlers (which are an essential part of life for some). 13A of mains electricity will be drawing 260A out of your batteries and they “won’t like it out of them”. They’ll drain quickly and will become damaged in the long term if done so repeatedly. Inverters are good for powering laptops, TVs, and small devices like chargers. You can use EHU electricity for heating but will find even a 16A supply limited. Gas has far more energy and is much more effective for heating, so use that to boil water, cook, or heat space.

Feel free to ask more questions if anything’s not clear. There is a lot to learn.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}