reverse polarity

[POH]

as above which end do I alter to make this reverse polarity. thanks

 

[activecampers]

Personally I'd not - I'd get 1x male and 1x female adapter and make a dedicated reverser that way

But, in answer to your question, either would work.

 

[Clivefog]

The end that unscrews the easiest.

 

[David and Sally]

IIRC you can buy a reverser.

Thought so

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[bertiebasset]

Neither, as activecampers said, buy a 16a male and 16a female,, a short piece of 3 core and cross wire the live and neutral you then have a reversal for any eventuality.

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[Richard n Ann]

That European plug will simply reverse in the socket, so that's the easiest way. I don't even bother checking our polarity though.

 

[Bognor Saint]

I know some say it's no issue but our first motorhome had a visual warning on the control panel when it detected reverse polarity. Not easy to ignore. I now carry a modified connector as suggested above.

 

[Odd-no-more]

I used to worry about reverse polarity but these days it's not so important. Most vans have double pole mcbcs these days so reverse polarity doesn't matter.

 

[Lenny HB]

I used to worry about reverse polarity but these days it's not so important. Most vans have double pole mcbcs these days so reverse polarity doesn't matter.

It's the RCD that protects yes it is double pole not the MCB.
You will only find double pole MCB's in foreign vans.

I don't worry about it either all my sockets are unswitched.

 

[bigtwin]

Why bother? It’s not as though you will poke about behind panels without isolating the supply.

You won’t, will you? No, I didn’t think so so leave well alone.

Ian

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[Andacami]

As others have said, don't bother or just plug the two-pin in the other way round. IF however, you cannot do this for any reason and must have a "reversed" cable, then looking at your photo, you have a molded two-pin plug so the easiest way is to reverse the wires inside in the Blue and White 16A end. If you take this route and are worried about these things, then it would do no harm to label the blue and white end with a suitable notice to say it's reversed too.

 

[Pausim]

I don't worry about it either all my sockets are unswitched.

So are ours. It reminds me of the canal boater who gave himself a nasty shock when stripping down an appliance having turned the socket off but not pulled the plug out. In his case it was an inverter not reverse polarity that was the source but the principle is the same, don’t rely on a single pole switches. Also a reminder that many inverters, including my Victron, achieve 230V by sending 115V out of phase down both wires.

 

[The Wino]

Never tested for it or worried about it. I don't think I've ever seen any Europeans do so and yet they all seem to use their motorhomes perfectly happily.

 

[MisterB]

Never tested for it or worried about it. I don't think I've ever seen any Europeans do so and yet they all seem to use their motorhomes perfectly happily.

And that includes when they visit the UK ! If you can get your head around what reverse polarity means in an end user sense, you will realise it doesn't even register on 'the things to worry about scale', just don't open up any electrical items - and how many of us actually do that without unplugging it first? I can't even get my MiL to do it ...

 

[Mixyblob]

Having correct polarity is vitally important otherwise your fridge would heat, your oven would cool, you vacuum cleaner would blow and your leisure batteries would discharge. Insert tongue in cheek emoticon here.

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[Richard n Ann]

Having correct polarity is vitally important otherwise your fridge would heat, your oven would cool, you vacuum cleaner would blow and your leisure batteries would discharge. Insert tongue in cheek emoticon here.

A 3000w inverter would charge them up pretty quickly though

 

[David and Sally]

Having correct polarity is vitally important otherwise your fridge would heat, your oven would cool, you vacuum cleaner would blow and your leisure batteries would discharge. Insert tongue in cheek emoticon here.

Would that make my kettle into a decent ice maker?

 

[MisterB]

Having correct polarity is vitally important otherwise your fridge would heat, your oven would cool, you vacuum cleaner would blow and your leisure batteries would discharge. Insert tongue in cheek emoticon here.

and a little know side effect is that you would grow hair between your toes when your motorhome is connected to a reversed polarity. at least thats how it happened to my MiL i was told ....

 

[Pausim]

If the Earths’s polarity reversed we would all have to turn our maps upside down.

 

[tonyidle]

...... then there is the minor issue that polarity doesn't exist on an AC supply and is only spoken of by caravaners and motorhomers

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[autorouter]

It's the RCD that protects yes it is double pole not the MCB.
You will only find double pole MCB's in foreign vans.

UK MHs also mostly have double-pole MCBs, and according to the latest regs that's what they should have. Single-pole MCBs are only found in older MHs and some self-builds.

That European plug will simply reverse in the socket, so that's the easiest way.

True for German/Spanish sockets, but not true for French sockets which have the reversed earth pin sticking out.

 

[autorouter]

as above which end do I alter to make this reverse polarity. thanks

To answer the question, one end is a moulded plug that can't be altered, so the only choice is the blue socket.

If you're worried about reverse polarity, then check to see if you have an RCD (Residual Current Device) as well as an MCB. You can tell an RCD because it has a small 'Test' button. MCBs don't have a test button.

It's easier and cheaper to fit an RCD in your mains inlet box than buy two plugs and a length of wire, to make up a reverse polarity adapter. An RCD will protect against electric shock, whether from reverse polarity or any other fault. All modern MHs have an RCD, and there should be an RCD on all hookup posts too.

In this setup, the RCD with the Test button is on the right, and the (double-pole) MCB is on the left. The RCD trips at 30mA imbalance, and the MCB trips at 10A

25 Amp Mains Consumer Unit For Caravan Or Campervan

Campervan Caravan Consumer Unit 25 Amp Dual Pole PO103

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[599]

the blue connector

 

[pappajohn]

You'll probably find, unlike ours, European sockets can be wired any way the sparky wanted.

 

[The Wino]

You'll probably find, unlike ours, European sockets can be wired any way the sparky wanted.

I seem to recall they had RCD protection before it became common over here

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[Trevor Wbm]

Is there someone out there wot knows about this stuff who can confirm this: reverse polarity on AC isn't really an issue for the kit it's operating because its Alternating Current which actually pulses backwards and forwards metaphorically speaking, thus reversing the polarity 50 times a second. Where it does matter is knowing that the red cable will bite, but the blue or black one probably won't. ( I say probably because of the double switched light at the top of the stairs - sneaky bastard is that one). Also: polarity matters in the UK because typically we use single pole isolators with fused appliances, and not so much in France because they use double pole isolators.

 

[two]

If you need to ask, I think it's far safer not to change anything.
How do you plan to test for reverse polarity in the first place?

 

[bigtwin]

If you need to ask, I think it's far safer not to change anything.

This is absolutely it. If you don’t understand the non-problem, you really should leave well alone.

Ian

 

[MisterB]

Is there someone out there wot knows about this stuff who can confirm this: reverse polarity on AC isn't really an issue for the kit it's operating because its Alternating Current which actually pulses backwards and forwards metaphorically speaking, thus reversing the polarity 50 times a second. Where it does matter is knowing that the red cable will bite, but the blue or black one probably won't. ( I say probably because of the double switched light at the top of the stairs - sneaky bastard is that one). Also: polarity matters in the UK because typically we use single pole isolators with fused appliances, and not so much in France because they use double pole isolators.

Brown isn't just the colour of SH1T ... but if you do touch a brown wire you could be in it ...

 

[bigtwin]

Is there someone out there wot knows about this stuff who can confirm this: reverse polarity on AC isn't really an issue for the kit it's operating because its Alternating Current which actually pulses backwards and forwards metaphorically speaking, thus reversing the polarity 50 times a second. Where it does matter is knowing that the red cable will bite, but the blue or black one probably won't. ( I say probably because of the double switched light at the top of the stairs - sneaky bastard is that one). Also: polarity matters in the UK because typically we use single pole isolators with fused appliances, and not so much in France because they use double pole isolators.

Yes, it’s a misnomer.

Ian