Annual Electrical certifications

[Surrey_Chris]

Over on another forum there has been discussion suggesting that you have to have an electrical saftey certification each year with your service & that site owners can ask to see the certificate before they let you connect to the site electrics.

It appears this has been thought up by the NCC. I not sure it has any place in law, but if this is the case, I would assume it will increase the already expensive servicing costs. Does any body have any further information on this ? Maybe from the Mag will have a little more information.

 

[Damian]

Firstly let me say that nothing has been "thought up " by the NCC.

What is happening is that servicing of caravans is being hauled up by its bootstraps to what is a truly acceptable, uniform level.

Regarding the Electrical Testing, it is a matter of complying with BS7671:2008 "Requirements for Electrical Installations" and is a Periodic Inspection which is required every year, or whenever the electrical system has been worked on or work carried out on, irrespective of when the last Periodic Inspection Report was issued.

Quote:

It is a matter of Civil Law that both parties, the caravan/motorhome owner and the Park or Site owner, be able to reassure each as to the satisfactory condition of th emains electrical installation.

Failure by either party to satisfy the other can be sufficient reason to nullify any contract and be grounds for prosecution in the event of any injury or loss.

Touring Parks are legally allowed to refuse connection to their public network where a caravan or motorhome does not hold a valid PIR

End of Quote

The information from the NCC is that this inspection and Report will be a chargeable event but that owners can refuse but under this situation a Formal Refusal Certificate signed by both Customer and Technician must be issued.

 

[Surfer]

Does this mean that dealers have to have a competent electrician in their workshops. This has got to eb one of the most ridiulous rules ever brought out by thsi so called caravan body as obviously they have given it very little thought about implications. Anyway their directives are as meaningless as used toilet paper.

It is the proper directive and regulations as per your post that count and at the moment I am not sure whether caravans have been included in the latest edition. If so please paste a link to the edition that includes touring caravans.

If this was to be taken seriously and imposed many caravan sites would go bust in a year! In addiotn, many mobile caravan servcie technicians woudl eb out of work.

How often has an electrical fault caused a fire in a caravan. I would be more concerned about a gas issue.

 

[Damian]

To answer the points raised;

Quote "Does this mean that dealers have to have a competent electrician in their workshops"

Yes it does, or have access to a competent tester.

Quote "I am not sure whether caravans have been included in the latest edition"

Yes they have, BS7671:2008 Section 721

which covers Caravan Installations, Accesories, Bonding, Cable Supports, Connectors, Extra Low Voltage (12v), Inlets, Instructions for Use, Luminaries(Lights), Protection against Electric Shock, Supplies and Wiring.

Quote "This has got to eb one of the most ridiulous rules ever brought out by thsi so called caravan body as obviously they have given it very little thought about implications"

It is not the NCC that has brought out this requirement, it is the The Institution of Engineering and Technology, formerly the IEE and IIE, now combined, and implementation by the BSI.

Quote "If this was to be taken seriously "

This is now in force, so should be taken very seriously.

As for implementation, it does not say that every site owner MUST insist on seeing proof of every vehicle as a matter of course, it says they "may " ask for proof.

Also, should an owner not have the relevant certificates, it may well reflect in problems when selling on their van .

 

[Stephen_374341239]

Here we go again more people making up rules up putting there noses in the trough. Every time you turn a corner some buggers making UP some rule up to get more money out of us. Since these MPs have shown us how to claim for any thing and get away with it. EVERY BODY NOW GOING TO JUMP ON THE BAND WOGON.

 

[Lutz]

To answer the points raised;

Quote "Does this mean that dealers have to have a competent electrician in their workshops"

Yes it does, or have access to a competent tester.

Quote "I am not sure whether caravans have been included in the latest edition"

Yes they have, BS7671:2008 Section 721

which covers Caravan Installations, Accesories, Bonding, Cable Supports, Connectors, Extra Low Voltage (12v), Inlets, Instructions for Use, Luminaries(Lights), Protection against Electric Shock, Supplies and Wiring.

Quote "This has got to eb one of the most ridiulous rules ever brought out by thsi so called caravan body as obviously they have given it very little thought about implications"

It is not the NCC that has brought out this requirement, it is the The Institution of Engineering and Technology, formerly the IEE and IIE, now combined, and implementation by the BSI.

Quote "If this was to be taken seriously "

This is now in force, so should be taken very seriously.

As for implementation, it does not say that every site owner MUST insist on seeing proof of every vehicle as a matter of course, it says they "may " ask for proof.

Also, should an owner not have the relevant certificates, it may well reflect in problems when selling on their van .

I hope that campsite owners will exercise their freedom and not insist on foreign visitors producing the certificates mentioned, as no equivalents exist for such caravans. If they do, that will kill the tourist industry of visiting caravans.

Quite frankly, I don't see what the objective of producing certification to campsite owners is. The certificate may reassure the owner of the caravan that it is electrically safe, but what has this got to do with the campsite? Even potentially unsafe wiring in a caravan shouldn't mess up the campsite electrics.

 

[chris_374398963]

Is this law now or just a discussion paper

 

[Surrey_Chris]

Is this law now or just a discussion paper

When I use the term thought up, I actually mean constructed out of the latest health a saftey machine, all designed to take more money from the punter. Yes I do think the NCC as a representative body of the industry is capable of devising mnay methods of .. lets say making servicing more profitable. So what are site owners goint to do about tents ? get every camper to take their hook up for inspection. I think you will also find that this has been derived from the "17th edition" which refers to permenant installations. I would thought it more important to concentrate such testing to houses and commercial buildings rather than a caravan. Maybe the moderator could get the full statistics of accidents resulting directly from incorrect caravan electrical installations.

 

[Surrey_Chris]

When I use the term thought up, I actually mean constructed out of the latest health a saftey machine, all designed to take more money from the punter. Yes I do think the NCC as a representative body of the industry is capable of devising mnay methods of .. lets say making servicing more profitable. So what are site owners goint to do about tents ? get every camper to take their hook up for inspection. I think you will also find that this has been derived from the "17th edition" which refers to permenant installations. I would thought it more important to concentrate such testing to houses and commercial buildings rather than a caravan. Maybe the moderator could get the full statistics of accidents resulting directly from incorrect caravan electrical installations.

 

[Surfer]

My caravan is not due for a service until Feb 2010 so whose fault is it if I cannot prodcue a certificate?

 

[Pat_374304630]

I've never bought a new caravan, does this mean that a certificate comes with it and also, if I buy a secondhand van do I insist on a certificate. It now begs the question, Will all caravan dealers go out and get certificates for all the vans on their forecourts. Will it lead to other things like mots. Should I refuse to buy a van without the said certificate and again also how will this affect caravan insurance.

 

[Surfer]

As per Chris;

Is this law now or just a discussion paper

It will never be a law but will be a regulation therefore only a civil regulation and not criminal law. If implemented properly, no problem but at the moment a load of hogwash.

The only time you should have to produce a certificate is if any modifications are done or the caravan is over 20 years old.

What about someone who only uses their caravan once or twice a year? What about those whose caravans are on seasonal sites year in and year out? The regulation is not clear as it has not been thought through properly or I have missed a point or two.