Oh lord! It all sounds very complicated, I can see on my next visit we shall be sat in the dark when we want a cup of tea 
seriously, I do understand what your saying, don't overload, we had a folding camper before & bought all the proper low wattage equipment as we were paranoid about tripping the whole site, being new to camping & hearing all sorts of funny tales, I'm hoping it's not a wiring fault with the van but we've had it 5 months & this is the first time it's even tripped, so I would imagine it would have happened before or we would have had some sort of problem. I'm just hoping it doesn't happen again as the site owner definitely thinks it's our van & is expecting us to change the fuses which we're not prepared to do after all the advice we've had from you all, so thank you again
seriously, I do understand what your saying, don't overload, we had a folding camper before & bought all the proper low wattage equipment as we were paranoid about tripping the whole site, being new to camping & hearing all sorts of funny tales, I'm hoping it's not a wiring fault with the van but we've had it 5 months & this is the first time it's even tripped, so I would imagine it would have happened before or we would have had some sort of problem. I'm just hoping it doesn't happen again as the site owner definitely thinks it's our van & is expecting us to change the fuses which we're not prepared to do after all the advice we've had from you all, so thank you again 
Hello again Minikar.
I think its twice you have quoted site owner "Changing the fuse". If he is relying on fuses, then his wiring is well out of date. He should be using Miniature Circuit Breakers (MCB's) to provide overcurrent protection, and these only have to be switched back on - no fuse to be replaced. If the sites systems have started to melt, then that is fault with the sites systems, regardless whether you did or did not exceed the Ampere rating for your pitch, the bollard should have protected itself by isolating the the supply.
I must add, I'm not advocating carelessness with electrical loads, You should always be aware of any power limitations a site may have therefore select what appliances you use to keep within the supplies limits. But the MCB's are there to protect and isolate cables and switchgear from inadvertent excessive loads.
I hope the situation can remain amicable, but the more I read about your experience the more concerned I become:- Its beginning to sound as though the site owner is trying to frighten you into agreeing to pay to repair a system which should have protected itself. If it has failed to protect itself, then it is inherently faulty and it is hazardous a fact proven by the melting of some components. That is an offence under the Health and Safety and Electricity at Work Regulations. The owner of the equipment is legally responsible for its safe and correct operation It must not present a hazard to anyone that uses it.
My advice is if the site owner attempts to try and charge you extra or for repairs, consider refusing to pay the extra.
You could try calling the site owners bluff, and blame him for directing you to connect your caravan to an unsafe supply about which you are seeking legal advice.
I think its twice you have quoted site owner "Changing the fuse". If he is relying on fuses, then his wiring is well out of date. He should be using Miniature Circuit Breakers (MCB's) to provide overcurrent protection, and these only have to be switched back on - no fuse to be replaced. If the sites systems have started to melt, then that is fault with the sites systems, regardless whether you did or did not exceed the Ampere rating for your pitch, the bollard should have protected itself by isolating the the supply.
I must add, I'm not advocating carelessness with electrical loads, You should always be aware of any power limitations a site may have therefore select what appliances you use to keep within the supplies limits. But the MCB's are there to protect and isolate cables and switchgear from inadvertent excessive loads.
I hope the situation can remain amicable, but the more I read about your experience the more concerned I become:- Its beginning to sound as though the site owner is trying to frighten you into agreeing to pay to repair a system which should have protected itself. If it has failed to protect itself, then it is inherently faulty and it is hazardous a fact proven by the melting of some components. That is an offence under the Health and Safety and Electricity at Work Regulations. The owner of the equipment is legally responsible for its safe and correct operation It must not present a hazard to anyone that uses it.
My advice is if the site owner attempts to try and charge you extra or for repairs, consider refusing to pay the extra.
You could try calling the site owners bluff, and blame him for directing you to connect your caravan to an unsafe supply about which you are seeking legal advice.
You will soon learn to manage what uses watt :lol:
we have only a 10amp breaker but at the weekend i had my electric frying pan @1500w doing some nice lamb steaks and the small 7 ltr halogen cooker was also being used oh ! and the Asda microwave was being put to use ( not all at the same time ) but it will all come easier with time as you remember what you can & can't have on together :lol:
we have only a 10amp breaker but at the weekend i had my electric frying pan @1500w doing some nice lamb steaks and the small 7 ltr halogen cooker was also being used oh ! and the Asda microwave was being put to use ( not all at the same time ) but it will all come easier with time as you remember what you can & can't have on together :lol:
To be fair he hasn't mentioned us paying for any repairs or for the circuit breaker that melted, he just expects us to modify the fuses in the van, hopefully it won't happen again or it may become an issue, not really understanding the whole amp thing 10 or 16 I was worried what he was telling was gospel & we were going to have to alter our van, I'm a lot happier now, having spoken to you, this doesn't look to be the case, it could well have been a one off but now we're more informed we can at least have some answers ready thank you for all your help
Phew! I'll get the washing machine back out then,! Thank you Sproket, electric frying pan? Keep that quiet hubby hasn't had a bacon sarnie since we've had it, don't want to ruin the hob
Minikar said:Phew! I'll get the washing machine back out then,! Thank you Sproket, electric frying pan? Keep that quiet hubby hasn't had a bacon sarnie since we've had it, don't want to ruin the hob
It save's on the washing up
it has a glass lid & most of the time i cook in the awning, just to let that smell of bacon drift about :evil:Have cooked all sorts of things in this pan
like breakfast a for two hmy:
For the record they are MCBs or miniature circuit breakers. Talk to a sparks about CB and he thinks of 'Breaker 19.....'
In regards power load, there are the hidden things:-
Fridge 120W
Water heater 450W for older types or usually 850W for newer
Room heater 500/1000/2000W
Add to that anything else plugged in and allow perhaps 20W or so for the charger/power supply, 1000W even for a low power kettle, 500W for a small hair drier...... Contrary to what the meeja says, phone chargers draw almost zero when not charging, and perhaps 5W tops when the phone is connected. A laptop PSU on the other hand can draw as much as 100W.
As someone else said a typical caravan microwave is rated about 650W but that is the energy output - the conversion efficiency could be as bad as 50% which means it will pull 1300W off the mains!
Incidently a 10A MCB is rated to carry 10A continuously. On a slowly rising current a 10A would probably pass the better part of 15A before it went, but draw it with a fast rise and it will go in probably not much more than 30mS.
In regards power load, there are the hidden things:-
Fridge 120W
Water heater 450W for older types or usually 850W for newer
Room heater 500/1000/2000W
Add to that anything else plugged in and allow perhaps 20W or so for the charger/power supply, 1000W even for a low power kettle, 500W for a small hair drier...... Contrary to what the meeja says, phone chargers draw almost zero when not charging, and perhaps 5W tops when the phone is connected. A laptop PSU on the other hand can draw as much as 100W.
As someone else said a typical caravan microwave is rated about 650W but that is the energy output - the conversion efficiency could be as bad as 50% which means it will pull 1300W off the mains!
Incidently a 10A MCB is rated to carry 10A continuously. On a slowly rising current a 10A would probably pass the better part of 15A before it went, but draw it with a fast rise and it will go in probably not much more than 30mS.
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