Cable cutting

[Lakey]

Just wondered who has done this?

On a visit to the forest of dean last weekend we had a problem with our electric hook-up. 3 vans in a row kept tripping. We tried testing all vans in sequence to establish what was rong. to cut a long story short, it transpirred that my father (in van next to us) had put a peg through his electric cable!!!!! Luckily he had a plastic!!

Anyone else done this??

Gareth

 

[Lakey]

oops, should have said, plastic step, so no current was sent through our feet!!

 

[machighlander]

shocking post gareth

 

[joeby]

no never

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

We did keep tripping the electrics at Marazion once. Between myself and the warden we found out it was an electric fan we were using that caused it. Warden was as good as gold with his help.

 

[Lakey]

amazingly, the man on the site could not establish what was wrong! My parents caravan had been ok for a day without the mains tripping. it was only when i started playing with the cables that i thought maybe a cable inside the plug had frayed! cut and re-connected the plug into site electric, but tripped again! then i tried the caravan end and found i could not get any loose cable to cut i realised it was snagged!! not for one minute did i think it would be snagged by a peg right through it!

Makes you think!!!!!!!!!

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

The grass must have been long then Gareth if he failed to see the cable. Tell him I can recommend Specsavers :O)

 

[Lakey]

He blames it on the snow Lord B! but i shall pass on your advice!

 

[emmerson2]

A CL owner once "shaved my hook up lead when cutting the grass. Didn't notice it until the dew settled on the grass, then the lights went out! He did buy me a new lead, though.

 

[Dustydog]

Rabbits knibbled through part of my cable at Gairloch some years ago.

Dustydog

 

[TD42]

Rabbits knibbled through part of my cable at Gairloch some years ago.

Dustydog

I find fried rabbit quit tasty

morning Dusty

 

[DenisD]

I had my lead chewed by squirels several years ago at CC New Forest site. They were also partial to the grease on the jockey wheel. It got dangerous when they nipped the gas hose and a smell of gas alerted me to this. In those days the front lockers were more open at the bottom tha they are today. I cut the lead at the chew point and have used it when near to service points

 

[ProfJohnL]

I have camped at the new forest, and I could not believe it until I saw it with my own eyes, but the squirrels were chewing through plastic boxes (Tupperware type) and rolling tinned food away from the tents and were managing to open some!

Some campers even found their plastic cool boxes severely chewed in places. and some with loose fitting lids had the lids flipped off and bags of food opened.

We found they had trouble getting through old army munition boxes.

 

[Guest]

We have 4 little round orange plastic fishing floats on the EHU cord. When it's likely to be in anyones way we just slide them along so they can be seen.

I'm always amazed at the number of caravanners who dont bother to neatly coil up the excess cable and leave it strewn around the pitch for them or kids to trip over. We've even the cable thrown unter the van and then have a steady wound down on it resulting in all the powertripping out. Our cable has some of those velcro ties that the DIY stores sell, keeps them all neat and tidy and stops the tangles without the need for a tidy or drum adding clutter.

 

[Lutz]

Excess cable should not be coiled as this could result in the cable overheating due to inductive heating.

 

[Pat_374304630]

Hi,

We stayed at The Forrest of Dean a couple of years ago. It was freezing. Anyway the electric kept tripping. We were told that the site had been upgraded to cope with higher use of electricity. Fine,

but guess what. They didn't upgrade the supply to the site.

 

[Guest]

;( Please get the facts correct Lutz.

The following taken from a general electrical guide

"Extension leads that are coiled up on a DRUM can overheat causing damage to the lead and a risk of fire"

A long length of extension cable TIGHTLT coiled or coiled TIGHTLY on a metal drum can heat up and lead to a fire.

An EHU plugged at one end into the caravan and the other into the

 

[Guest]

supply with a few metre long loosely hand coiled loops under the caravan will pose no danger.

Lutz if you can get that to heat up good luck to you.

Inductive Heat is another reason apart from clutter as to why I would never bother with a cable drum

 

[Lutz]

One doesn't need a drum to heat a coil up by induction, but excessive heat build-up can be prevented by keeping the loops as large as possible and not making the coil too tidy.

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

I never leave the cable coiled up for the reasons Lutz mentioned, even on extension leads at home. This is what I've been told by electricians over the years. Whether it's true or not I don't know but I don't mess with electric so try to edge my bets and stay safe.

There's no chance of me winding the steadies down onto the cable because I don't hook up until the caravan is sited and level.

 

[Guest]

Without having another Luts war.

Most good extension lead reels come with a warning telling you to unwind the cable fully and even on vaccum cleaners we've had there was an instruction to fully extend the cable from the rewind system when in use.

A cable wound around a metal reel is prone to heat faster than a tightly wound cable that is not on a reel that can heat up as I said above.

A loosely hand coiled cable doesn't ever seem to become prone to taking on a curved state and tangling like some cables stored on winders and a few loose loops stored out of harms way under tha caravan stop people falling over them and does away with the need to carr winders that need to be fully extended for the reasons Lutz gave.

During my working days we went to a safety seminar where they demonstrated an unwound cable on a drum heating up, SCARY. We also have a retired ex boff caravanning friend from the old CEGB research labs at Leatherhead. He knows more about electricity, electrical conductivity and high power grid glass insulators than most and electrical safety than most people.

I would have had a right B--------- and Lecture by now if I messed up with electrical safety

 

[Guest]

I can put my hand up and admit that I inherited a 20 meter orange hook up cable when my father passed away. As it was newer than mine I adopted it. However, on one site I found my polarity was wrong and being dumb started swopping to other sockets with the same result. Being even dumber I then asked the van next door, and he checked his, and found it fine. Then of course I undid each connector and discovered that my dear old Dad had swopped the leads probably due to a French connection in the dim and distant past.

Moral, always assume the obvious is likely, even if your mind does not accept it.

As for coil leads I have noticed that some nowadays allow you to keep them coiled but limit the current you can pass through them to 3 amps or so. Only when fully unwound can you put the whole allowable current through them.

Of course that policy has not penetrated a number of our EU cousins who insist on keeping a very long tightly coiled cable drum as part of their hook up and slamming a full 10-16 amps through them.

 

[xtrailman]

Overheating of a coiled lead supplying a caravan is NOT due to induction, you need an inductive load for that, the odd coil or pump, isn't usually enough to cause induction heating, usually associated with heavy inductive loads, or high frequency supplies.

The reason is much simpler, all cables warm up, when used at there maximum rating, more heat is given off, if the cable is coiled closely together, the heat cannot escape, the temperature can then lead to insulation damaging temperature, and possibly cause a fire.

 

[Lakey]

hi everyone,

coiled or uncoiled cables, electro-magnetic force or no electro-magnetic force, heat generation or no heat generation from coiled cables???????????????

i don't get it!!!!!

the original question was ----

Has anyone stuck a peg through their cable???

what happened to you, if you did? it frightened me as my kids could have touched that short circuit, and god forbid, may not be here with me today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Lakey]

mean't to say, it is really interesting to hear about the ways others cables have been tampered with! so i don't mean to be short (forgive the pune) with those. It's just why ow why do these threads go off the point and start to be discussions about how one coils ones cables????

Again, i don't get it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But please, keep the stories going about how your cable has been tamppered with, cos it's all knowledge and something to be looked for in the future!

Gar