Connecting to Electric mains on French Camp site

[Topman]

Please could some advise what I need to buy to connect my 230V extension lead too on the electric pitch boxes on French campsite, is it some kind of Adaptor ?

Thankyou

 

[motacyclist]

Yes, this is available from most caravan shops but when we bought our Cali earlier this year the adaptor came with it, so have a look around the van; it is a lead about a metre long with the standard hook up connector at one end and a continental style at the other.

 

[calikev]

One of these.

 

[GrannyJen]

I have one of those, in fact two of those as I bought one from the cali shop before I realised VW had thrown one in the bits bin, along with safety nets, fly screens and straps to hold the roof down

An essential item but I have never had to use it, all french, Belgian, German, Italian and Scottish campsites that I have stayed on have had the standard fitting.

Sods law says of course that if I left the adaptor at home that would be the first time I find a campsite where I need one

 

[18hunts]

25+ years ago a 2 pin adapter was a must but over the last 10 years I can't remember having to use it but as Granny Jen alluded to, this June, four sites in Brittany and two I needed to use the 2 pin adapter.
Forget at your peril along with an extension lead to increase the length of your hook-up cable.
I run with a 30 metre and a 20 metre cable and again this holiday I needed both.

 

[AlanC]

We used our adapter on only one site in France last year.
That was the one we booked to and from the ferry.
All the rest used the now standard blue 16amp plugs.

Alan

 

[Dottie]

Forget at your peril along with an extension lead to increase the length of your hook-up cable.
I run with a 30 metre and a 20 metre cable and again this holiday I needed both.

I thought site wouldn't allow joining of cables, so I dumped my short one and only took long one...should I have risked it?!

 

[Sadie]

In our experience in France you need an adaptor, we have come across both types of socket outlets and on one site the electric box was miles away, luckily I had 2 extension leads and by joining them just managed to reach. The office would not let us move our pre booked pitch to one with a closer electric outlet but they were willing to hire us one of their extension leads plus a hefty deposit !

 

[18hunts]

Never been a problem connecting cables and it's quite common.
If you think about it when you use an adapter you are connecting two cable all be it a short one.

 

[AlanC]

Connecting two extensions together with the 16amp plug and socket is perfectly safe. As Sadie has said, sites often have them available to hire.

Alan

 

[GrannyJen]

Probably a weak feeble woman thing but two small cables are better than one (and who said size matters??)....

Most times 10m has been more than adequate. Rarely have I needed more. Carrying two small, lightweight, easily managed leads is better than hauling out a Gym-workout equivalent of weight training just to leave most of it in a rumpled coil.

 

[sidepod]

Connecting two extensions together with the 16amp plug and socket is perfectly safe. As Sadie has said, sites often have them available to hire.

Alan

Indeed. That's assuming you've done the volt drop calcs and made sure you're at least 94%(or whatever the French equiv is) of supply voltage?
Be a shame if the Mrs's hair dryer overheated and burnt the van out. I'm sure the insurance company will be fine ;-). A couple of other things I'd check but I'll not bore you. Crack on! LOL.

 

[barry]

When we first went to mainland europe campsites i was surprised how many did not have the 16amp supply but most places seemed aware of the difficulty this presented 16amp people because they sold pin adaptors. Quite cheaply iirc. We used to forget to take them when we went to France/Spain/Portugal next time so I think we now have three.

 

[jts46]

never had a problem, have just done a 4,500 mile trip and every campsite in corsica, sardinia, sicily, italy and france had the 16a blue sockets

john

 

[AlanC]

Indeed. That's assuming you've done the volt drop calcs and made sure you're at least 94%(or whatever the French equiv is) of supply voltage?
Be a shame if the Mrs's hair dryer overheated and burnt the van out. I'm sure the insurance company will be fine ;-). A couple of other things I'd check but I'll not bore you. Crack on! LOL.

A voltage drop at about 2% can start to become an issue when drawing 6 amps over 50 mtrs of cable.
This is assuming you plan to boil a kettle or use a hair dryer. Mostly the current draw is much lower, just about 1 amp on average with the fridge and charger running normally.

Carrying that amount of cable becomes a pain as well though.

Most of us, I would guess, only have a 20mtr cable on board and adding another 10 or 20 mtrs to that shouldn't drop the voltage too much to notice at 6 amps, well below the 3% or below required.
I carry a 20 and a 10mtr cable on board, having got caught out last year.

Alan

 

[sidepod]

A voltage drop at about 2% can start to become an issue when drawing 6 amps over 50 mtrs of cable.
This is assuming you plan to boil a kettle or use a hair dryer. Mostly the current draw is much lower, just about 1 amp on average with the fridge and charger running normally.

Carrying that amount of cable becomes a pain as well though.

Most of us, I would guess, only have a 20mtr cable on board and adding another 10 or 20 mtrs to that shouldn't drop the voltage too much to notice at 6 amps, well below the 3% or below required.
I carry a 20 and a 10mtr cable on board, having got caught out last year.

Alan

Well we could discuus increases in R1R2 loop resistance and possibly exceeding max limits/disconnection times of the breaker as a result.....but we wont.
Just playing devils ad.
I do like a safety related, blanket statement written on the internet.
I use a 1,5mm blue Arctic lead because it's easier to coil up than the orange stuff.
Could you make sure it's safe to use for me?

 

[AlanC]

Touché!

 

[teeboy]

I think we are pretty safe. I am amazed the amount of people in France who just have a coiled up household extension lead going into their tent, van, caravan - I guess it never rains!

 

[briwy]

Long cables are more likely to be a problem on the continent where the voltage is 220v rather than 240v here in the UK.
Europe is supposed to be standardised at 230v but this would have involved too much expense so each country retains its own voltage.
However, to meet the 230v European standard the permissable voltage tolerances were altered.
So the UK 240v is +6 to -10% and the European 220v is +10 to -6%.
Theoretically this means the voltage could vary between 206v to 254v. This will have an effect on the amps, lower voltage, more amps.
So if you have a long cable there will be even more volt drop at the van which may have an adverse effect on some appliances.
In practice it's unlikley to be a problem because as Alanc said normal usage is fairly low. If using electric heater, kettle etc in winter though it may be a problem.

 

[Leo K]

never had a problem, have just done a 4,500 mile trip and every campsite in corsica, sardinia, sicily, italy and france had the 16a blue sockets

john

Frequency depends on the country and the type of camp sites you prefer. Older three pole connectors are for instance not rare on the smaller French municipals. I needed an adaptor on two occasions last month (on 14 sites in all).

 

[barry]

Our luck on 16amp with French municipals has been about 50% over the last few years.
But we do tend to pop into some odd sites (principally because they're in the vicinity of restaurants we've looked out).
Since we tend to stay only a couple of nights then move on, I'm sure an ehu is not needed anyway.