Electrical Hook up length?

[Ocean Spirit]

I see in the accessories shop on the club there are 3 lengths of hook up offered (10m, 15m and 25m).
I appreciate people need different lengths when plugging in at home or other opportune moments but what about on a camp site with purpose made pitches?
In fact lets open that up a bit more. I'm guessing I would be unlikely to need more than 10m 99% of the time even beyond campsite pitches so I am thinking towards getting a 15m one.
Can you offer your experience? What length has worked on all occasions for you?

 

[Mr T]

I have a 10m and a 25m and there have been times when a 10m has not been long enough, but I have never had issue with the 25m not being long enough. I wonder if 15m would be the best catch all!?
It does vary from site to site.

 

[GrannyJen]

I carry two, 10m and 15m, sometimes three - another 10m. Most of the time the 10m works for me. When it doesn't I just join the two together using a rain-proof shield.

10m to coil is so much easier on my arthritic fingers than 25m.

 

[steve and lisa]

We have a 10m + 15m we use one or the other or both joined together

 

[Hotel California]

You need more than 10m , belive me ....
I carry two so can put them together.

 

[Jabberwocky]

If you are fully fit then 25m is all you need - covers all eventualities and saves space.

 

[Wind Witch]

+1 for carrying a 10 and a 15. Use 10m one on most occasions, sometimes 15m but have yet to need to join both for a 25 metre length.

 

[bigmac77]

We have found that in the UK pitches usually have a hookup per pitch or one for two pitches so your never too far from the EHU but have found in France (using France as an example as it is currently the only other country we have visited in our Cali) there is often one hook up per 4 or 6 pitches and you can be pretty far from one, add to that running the cable tidily across your pitch and you need a long cable. We carry a 10m and a 15m.

 

[Ocean Spirit]

I carry two, 10m and 15m, sometimes three - another 10m. Most of the time the 10m works for me. When it doesn't I just join the two together using a rain-proof shield.

10m to coil is so much easier on my arthritic fingers than 25m.

Good thinking...I like it.

 

[bvddobb]

Depends on how you camp.

Probably on more mainstream camp sites you have a power point per pitch. We hardly ever use such sites, when we camp on camp sites, we usually take the smaller, nature reserve type of sites, and then quite often there are only a few power points for a whole field and we have had a few situations where 25m was not enough.

We carry two 25m cables, but have not yet used them together at 50m. If 25m was not enough, until today we have decided not to bother with hookup at all... Lazy!!

 

[El Greco]

25m for me. On the recent trip to France we used every cm on at least two occasions. It is a little heavy but a 10 + 15m combination would mean two extra connectors with more weight . If more than 25m is required then no hook up!!

 

[GrannyJen]

Good thinking...I like it.

If you intend camping in cold conditions then also consider Arctic cable. It retains it's flexibility in freezing or near freezing unlike conventional that becomes as flexible as steel hawsers.

 

[Esandar#1]

I see in the accessories shop on the club there are 3 lengths of hook up offered (10m, 15m and 25m).
I appreciate people need different lengths when plugging in at home or other opportune moments but what about on a camp site with purpose made pitches?
In fact lets open that up a bit more. I'm guessing I would be unlikely to need more than 10m 99% of the time even beyond campsite pitches so I am thinking towards getting a 15m one.
Can you offer your experience? What length has worked on all occasions for you?

I'm with El greco on this topic. Have a 25m cable. I often thought it was overkill, and on most British campsites it is, but then on two occasions on our Eurotrip this summer anything less than 25m and we'd have been stuffed (as the only pitches available were a long way from the EHU) These were on campsites at Lake Maggiore and Lake Garda. We've also bought a three way splitter and EHU to outdoor 3 socket set for inside the awning (if we do an extended camp in the UK). Otherwise it is EHU direct into van, or EHU into a single three pin socket adaptor and then use a normal household 4 gang extension cable off either of those.

 

[Amarillo]

What length has worked on all occasions for you?

We bought two, 25m and 15m because our garden at home is 40m long and I occasionally vacuum the summer house. We hooked up once in 74 days in Scandinavia and Northern Europe - our first night, but never since. The hookup cables have now been left off our packing list as we embark on Phase 2 of our family tour of the European Union. A real life and comprehensive field test of Roger Donoghue's 200 watt solar panel solution.

Can a family of four survive on 200 watts of solar power for a year?

It was close to being a big fat "no" after four days and nights camped under a large tree - doh - but the worst that happened was that the 12 Volt kettle wouldn't boil before the battery voltage dropped too low.

So my (perhaps controversial) advice is to ditch the idea of hook-up cables and install solar panels on the roof of your vehicle instead.


Follow my blog: www.au-revoir.eu

 

[Ocean Spirit]

A brave leap of faith !!! well done I'll keep that in mind.

 

[Mr & Mrs B]

We have a 25m cable - the last site we visited it was just long enough to reach the electric post, but on most sites we uncoil it and lay it alongside the hedge/edge of pitch.

 

[Romke]

Equally important is the size of the cable when stored. For many years we've been using the W4 20009 Mains Cable Keeper with Bag, which holds up to 25m in a very small package. (I did cut it to 20m to make the cable easier to fit.) Very happy with it!

 

[GillianC]

25m for me with a reel thing to wind it onto and a bag to keep it in. I have found it necessary to use the length twice recently on UK sites, one of which was the meet at Stratford on Avon.

 

[Broch Hunter]

25m for me with a reel thing to wind it onto and a bag to keep it in. I have found it necessary to use the length twice recently on UK sites, one of which was the meet at Stratford on Avon.

That is exactly what I do, it doesn't take up too much space and maximises hook up flexibility (up to a limit of 25m )

 

[mccp]

If you intend camping in cold conditions then also consider Arctic cable. It retains it's flexibility in freezing or near freezing unlike conventional that becomes as flexible as steel hawsers.

Arctic cable is good, but it is still PVC. Even better cable for extension leads is rubber, to HO7RN. These cables are really easy to coil up - they don't end up looking like a snakes wedding and easy to uncoil. If you are using a long extension, then it should really have 2.5 sq mm conductors, even though 1.5 sq mm is rated at 16 A. I have used this site for cables: www.toughleads.co.uk.

I have several cables between 10 m and 25 m long, with 16 A commando connectors on both ends, then I've got UK and Schuko (EU) adaptors for the supply end and a 4-way UK socket adaptor for the other end. If I need a long lead I just connect them together and make sure that the connections won't end up in a puddle if it rains.

 

[bigmac77]

Arctic cable is good, but it is still PVC. Even better cable for extension leads is rubber, to HO7RN. These cables are really easy to coil up - they don't end up looking like a snakes wedding and easy to uncoil. If you are using a long extension, then it should really have 2.5 sq mm conductors, even though 1.5 sq mm is rated at 16 A. I have used this site for cables: www.toughleads.co.uk.

I have several cables between 10 m and 25 m long, with 16 A commando connectors on both ends, then I've got UK and Schuko (EU) adaptors for the supply end and a 4-way UK socket adaptor for the other end. If I need a long lead I just connect them together and make sure that the connections won't end up in a puddle if it rains.

If you want to coil up the cable with out it getting twisted lay the cable out in a straight line on hard ground, a campsite road is ideal, wind it round your arm, don't walk towards the end of the cable as you do this instead wind the cable. You will see the plug rotating with every coil as it takes out the twists you put in.

 

[Hotel California]

If you want to roll up a cable without getting it twisted and looking like a bowl of spaggetti you need to start with buying a decent soft rubber hosed cable and not just any cable out a DIY shop. Also one that can take the pressure of a other camper riding over when on the ground .
Sometimes you need to cros the campsite road to get to the plug and this means everyone will be riding accros your cable .
If you got a souple cable even a 10y old can roll it up in his hand without twisting.

As @bigmac77 says stretch it out unroll the twists and then roll it up holding it in one hand .

 

[lr1602]

I bought a 25m hook up and an extra pair of ends. Cut the 25m and made up a 10m and 15m. Very rarely need to join them and much cheaper than buying two hook up leads.

 

[B J G]

Arctic cable is good, but it is still PVC. Even better cable for extension leads is rubber, to HO7RN. These cables are really easy to coil up - they don't end up looking like a snakes wedding and easy to uncoil. If you are using a long extension, then it should really have 2.5 sq mm conductors, even though 1.5 sq mm is rated at 16 A. I have used this site for cables: www.toughleads.co.uk.

I have several cables between 10 m and 25 m long, with 16 A commando connectors on both ends, then I've got UK and Schuko (EU) adaptors for the supply end and a 4-way UK socket adaptor for the other end. If I need a long lead I just connect them together and make sure that the connections won't end up in a puddle if it rains.

My only concern is the lack of visibilty, orange and blue are easily seen by site Groundsmen when mowing or pedestrians.
Blue Arctic is easily coiled.

As a Cali would normally only need power for the fridge and battery charging, less than 10Amps 1.5mm cable would be sufficient.
If heaters, household kettles are to be used then agree the normal 2.5mm standard required regardless of length.

 

[shudycamps]

I see in the accessories shop on the club there are 3 lengths of hook up offered (10m, 15m and 25m).
I appreciate people need different lengths when plugging in at home or other opportune moments but what about on a camp site with purpose made pitches?
In fact lets open that up a bit more. I'm guessing I would be unlikely to need more than 10m 99% of the time even beyond campsite pitches so I am thinking towards getting a 15m one.
Can you offer your experience? What length has worked on all occasions for you?

I have both a 10 meter and 25 meter. I normally use a 10 meter, but we did have to use both at one campsite and we were very happy to have had it on board! And the European dbl plug adapter!