French electric for idiots
What an inspired title in view of the replies
Could a truce be called ???
What an inspired title in view of the replies
Could a truce be called ???
French electrics for idiots
Page 2 - Passionate about caravans & motorhome? Join our community to share that passion with a global audience!
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
Well done Graham. Brian C I can only reiterate my comment before, let His Moddyship do his job (which he did and I hoped sense would prevail but obviously not) and stop trying to be a self appointed lawyer for the forum :O)
Stuart you do not have to justify your posting, it was ok with the Moderator and 99.99% of other members. There were one, maybe two, who complained but that is the norm for any forum. You will always get the attackers/denigrators but thankfully they are in the minority.I think one last post from me just to clarify things.
I'm sorry that some of you seem to think that all I do is promote our business at any opportunity. Nothing could be further from the truth. Some of you may have realised that I've been a member of the board for quite some time, posting on a variety of subjects. I was a member of this board way before we even thought about moving to France. In the past, I've helped (I hope) on a variety of subjects. I would have liked to continue to help others enjoy their camping/caravanning. My family & I have been campers/caravanners for over 25 years, so there's a wealth of experience there. It's not the case that we're simply campsite owners trying to cash in on free advertising. I post infrequently on this board and usually only when I feel I can make a contribution. Looking back on my post that so incurred the wrath of Cris & others, maybe what I should have said was something to the effect that there are other sites out there (in fact the vast majority) that use the blue europlug. That would no doubt have laid many minds to rest, knowing that there was a choice. Some people seem to revel in the fact that there's a slightly confusing electrical issue here. All I wanted to do was show that there is an easier way. That's all.
I didn't mind the first lines of Chris's post, but the rest of it degenerated into a personal attack, and that needs to be corrected as much as removing my website link.
As for a 'sympathy vote', I find that's a bit crass and uncalled for. I was explaining my personal circumstances. The 'need' to promote our business to ensure that we're able to stay here in France to provide a service that many of you require. To those of you that were offended by my post I can only say 'sorry'.
To those of you wanting further information, I'm afraid you'll have to search for us on Google, as I'm not about to run the risk of upsetting any more folk on here.
Thanks.
Just looked at your site Stuart and it looks very nice. Good luck to you and hopefully you might have a few more customers because of this :O)Well done Graham. Brian C I can only reiterate my comment before, let His Moddyship do his job (which he did and I hoped sense would prevail but obviously not) and stop trying to be a self appointed lawyer for the forum :O)
Totally agree with you Nick but as they say "there's nowt as queer as folk" :O)We are retired so have NO business interests or connections. However, I find it a little bizarre that a site owner who does not attempt to conceal the fact puts in a plug for their own site and is then hevily censored and criticised for it.
Members of the forum regularly recommend sites. perhaps they should be hung , drawn and quartered in case they are secret agents working for the owners. I fail to see why this precludes a site owner from mentioning their own site. Or perhaps some of them are asking members to post for them in order not to offend the moderators.
In every news bulletin and every interview both in the press and on radio/television there is a potential for businesses and organisations of all types to promote themselves.This happend on a regular basis also within the BBC with whom I had varied business connections during my working life, and certainly managed on a regular basis to plug my own business interests.
I think the presence of industry representatives on all the forums can only be positive as it gives many people a chance to air their views and maybe even get lsitened to.
More power to you Stuart. if you could email me sulumor@btinternet.com with your site details I will then let you have my normal email adress.... assuming that is that the moderators of the forum are prepared to allow open debate and leave this post on the board, which reading some of the posts seems unlikely.
And incidentally, before being accused of racism,sexism or any other 'ism that comes to mind I speak fluent German, and can get by in French,Spanish and Italian. Unlike many travellers of varying nationalities I always try and communicate in the language of the country I am visiting. So we certainly do not look for English Enclaves of embittered ex-pats when we travel.
Nick
www.loire-gites.com.....or you could just come to a site like ours, where we speak English, and have the UK type EHU's!
www.loire-gites.com
Couldn't agree more.Well done Graham. Brian C I can only reiterate my comment before, let His Moddyship do his job (which he did and I hoped sense would prevail but obviously not) and stop trying to be a self appointed lawyer for the forum :O)
Nick
Hi Stuart, since this was my original post I think I have a right to comment. I found your website great and your site looks really promising. If we hadn't already booked somewhere this year I would certainly have approached you. Please don't be put off from posting on this site. We should be more positive about encouraging all members to add to this service. I certainly will never know enough to put me off listening to other people's views and insights. If I can persuade 'im indoors we shall book a winter break. Good luck in your venture.
Thanks Roz. I'm relieved that good sense finally prevailed on this thread as it IS a very confusing issue for some. My point is that there IS a choice offered, and we here have UK style EHU's in the main field. On the end of the two gites are French style sockets, but we provide the adaptors to reverse the polarity for you. I also have a polarity checker which I make available to folk that want it.
Hope to see you sometime, the Loire's a lovely area in winter too!
Hope to see you sometime, the Loire's a lovely area in winter too!
So to summarise do I need the following?
Euro adapter normally wired
Euro adapter wired for reverse polarity
Blue plug and connector wired for reverse polarity
Normal electric hook up cable used on CC sites
First time abroad in 3 weeks time and only had a caravan for a year. Really looking forward to it but just a little anxious when it comes to the electrics!!
Euro adapter normally wired
Euro adapter wired for reverse polarity
Blue plug and connector wired for reverse polarity
Normal electric hook up cable used on CC sites
First time abroad in 3 weeks time and only had a caravan for a year. Really looking forward to it but just a little anxious when it comes to the electrics!!
Hi Sean,
No - you've duplicated some stuff - this is all you need:
1. Cable A - Normal electric hook up cable used on CC sites - the one with the blue plug and socket, and a small "IP44" logo somewhere on the body.
2. Cable B - A short (1 metre) length of identical cable, identical IP44 blue plug and socket but with the LIVE and NEUTRAL wires crossed
3. Cable C - A French / Benelux / German (Euro - more correctly called a Schuko connector) adaptor wired normally - this will have the Schuko plug at one end and a blue IP44 socket at the other end. About 1 or 2 metres of cable is enough
In France:
If the French site has the blue sockets - like at a caravan club site - then:
Connect up with the normal cable - Cable A - and check for polarity - if OK then you're done.
If reversed, then disconnect and join Cable A and Cable B - then reconnect - polarity should be OK.
If the French site has Schuko sockets - then join cable C to cable A - test for polarity - if OK you're done
If the polarity is reversed - join cable C to cable B to cable A - check polarity but you should be done.
What do we do?
We have a German van - Eriba - where everything including all our appliances are double switched cutting both the live and the neutral. So we only take cable C and cable A
Robert
No - you've duplicated some stuff - this is all you need:
1. Cable A - Normal electric hook up cable used on CC sites - the one with the blue plug and socket, and a small "IP44" logo somewhere on the body.
2. Cable B - A short (1 metre) length of identical cable, identical IP44 blue plug and socket but with the LIVE and NEUTRAL wires crossed
3. Cable C - A French / Benelux / German (Euro - more correctly called a Schuko connector) adaptor wired normally - this will have the Schuko plug at one end and a blue IP44 socket at the other end. About 1 or 2 metres of cable is enough
In France:
If the French site has the blue sockets - like at a caravan club site - then:
Connect up with the normal cable - Cable A - and check for polarity - if OK then you're done.
If reversed, then disconnect and join Cable A and Cable B - then reconnect - polarity should be OK.
If the French site has Schuko sockets - then join cable C to cable A - test for polarity - if OK you're done
If the polarity is reversed - join cable C to cable B to cable A - check polarity but you should be done.
What do we do?
We have a German van - Eriba - where everything including all our appliances are double switched cutting both the live and the neutral. So we only take cable C and cable A
Robert
I started reading this fed but got fed up when dawn came and the handbags emerged. So some input on topic.
If it has already been mentioned I apologise but have got very broad shoulders.
I was at a site last year with Euro type plugs (the sort we have in good old Blighty). Just to be sure I still used my polarity tester and guess what - yes, reverse polarity.
This year I've made up another short piece of cable just in case I come across it again. So now I take:-
Normal cable
Short length with UK plug on one end with three pin socket other end into which is plugged polarity tested (You can do all your testing at the electric post).
French adapter wired a normal.
French adapter reversed.
Short length of cable with UK plugs on both ends but reversed wires.
Plugging in on French or Spanish (check their polarity as well) sites takes but a few seconds regardless of the surprises to be founf in the electric post.
Enjoy whatever part of Europe you travel in and please put the handbags away.
If it has already been mentioned I apologise but have got very broad shoulders.
I was at a site last year with Euro type plugs (the sort we have in good old Blighty). Just to be sure I still used my polarity tester and guess what - yes, reverse polarity.
This year I've made up another short piece of cable just in case I come across it again. So now I take:-
Normal cable
Short length with UK plug on one end with three pin socket other end into which is plugged polarity tested (You can do all your testing at the electric post).
French adapter wired a normal.
French adapter reversed.
Short length of cable with UK plugs on both ends but reversed wires.
Plugging in on French or Spanish (check their polarity as well) sites takes but a few seconds regardless of the surprises to be founf in the electric post.
Enjoy whatever part of Europe you travel in and please put the handbags away.
Simon,thats a lot of bits of cable,the tester should be plugged in the van as this is the end of the line so to speak so the the three pin cable not needed ,also why have a reversed french lead because if you introduce your short english reversed lead to the mains lead all will be well and then only need ordinary french adaptor.
I posted this early on in the thread
Short version :
It depends on whether the French site has the older domestic type of site socket (ie two pins and an earth socket on the plug you put in)
OR if it has the newer and increasingly more common Euro blue type of socket.
SO what you need is one adaptor to cover the first situation that converts the old type French socket to the newer Euro blue socket and thus your existing van lead.
If when you plug in the polarity tester in the van etc you have reversed polarity you then put in your reversed lead (clearly marked) which has a blue Euro plug at one end and a blue Euro socket at the other
When confronted by the Euro socket on the site electrics follow the same procedure but without the first adaptor.!!
You can not buy a reverse polarity lead but you can cut a foot or so off your hook up lead and fit a new plug to the long bit and a socket to the short bit with the live and neutral reversed
Make sure the reverse lead is clearly marked.
Short version :
It depends on whether the French site has the older domestic type of site socket (ie two pins and an earth socket on the plug you put in)
OR if it has the newer and increasingly more common Euro blue type of socket.
SO what you need is one adaptor to cover the first situation that converts the old type French socket to the newer Euro blue socket and thus your existing van lead.
If when you plug in the polarity tester in the van etc you have reversed polarity you then put in your reversed lead (clearly marked) which has a blue Euro plug at one end and a blue Euro socket at the other
When confronted by the Euro socket on the site electrics follow the same procedure but without the first adaptor.!!
You can not buy a reverse polarity lead but you can cut a foot or so off your hook up lead and fit a new plug to the long bit and a socket to the short bit with the live and neutral reversed
Make sure the reverse lead is clearly marked.
Good input, the short reversed length with the euro plug on each end is a new addition to my ensemble, I must admit that that it hadn't even crossed my mind to not take the reversed French plug. Gues what will be missing out on a trip abroad this year.Simon,thats a lot of bits of cable,the tester should be plugged in the van as this is the end of the line so to speak so the the three pin cable not needed ,also why have a reversed french lead because if you introduce your short english reversed lead to the mains lead all will be well and then only need ordinary french adaptor.
Why do I have a short cable with the polarity tester when I can plug it into the caravan - have you seen the distance the French sometimes have between pitch and plug. Unless I have previous experience of a site I take two mains cables with me and have been required to use them both on more that one occassion, especially smaller, older sites.
Finally - why - because I cam ;-)
Practical Caravan is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.
Facebook
Twitter