Hook ups

[rambler1]

Travelling to Germany,Austria and possibly Italy With regards to these countries do they all use the same 2 pin hook up as in France or the Uk style 3 pin or a mixture or is there something different required
Thanks

 

[Wigandiver]

A mixture I'm afraid, and take a Reverse Polarity checker just in case.
If you get stuck; sites usually have a spare that you can have/rent, or leave a deposit on.

Jim.

 

[Lutz]

You have to be really off the beaten track to encounter 2-pin hook-ups in Germany or Austria. By far the majority have the same 3-pin connections as in the UK. I don't know when I last came across a 2-pin hook up in Germany, and I live there.

 

[DianneT]

Actually we have come across some. Here in Southern Austria where we are at the moment is a 2 pin plug and Reversed Polarity. So you do need a selection of adapters.

 

[Lutz]

If it's 2 pin, how do you know that it's reversed polarity? There is no set way in which the leads are connected to a 2 pin power point because the plug goes in either way round.

 

[Gafferbill]

......perhaps DianneT has one of these and it is not possible to rotate it 180deg due to the confines of the supply post!

 

[DianneT]

Yes we have and there are 3 UK caravans here at the moment and they have the same. We have a, plug in, Polarity Tester which also tests earth.

 

[Lutz]

......perhaps DianneT has one of these and it is not possible to rotate it 180deg due to the confines of the supply post!

Yes, that would explain it. However, there is no standard in Germany which defines which way round the leads should be connected in the power socket. As there is no 'right' way and no 'wrong' way, one cannot logically refer to reverse polarity in this system.

 

[MOsten]

Empty post (likely not intentional - probably an Internet Explorer issue!)

 

[Woody3]

......perhaps DianneT has one of these and it is not possible to rotate it 180deg due to the confines of the supply post!

Yes, that would explain it. However, there is no standard in Germany which defines which way round the leads should be connected in the power socket. As there is no 'right' way and no 'wrong' way, one cannot logically refer to reverse polarity in this system.

The curious bit is that the CEE017 plugs are actually marked L and N but outside th UK no-one seems to take any notice of it.

Lutz, in the UK we use ring mains and single pole switching on our outlets, hence it is important to know which is the live connector. In most of Europe sockets are radially wired and appliances double-pole switched, so polarity is not so much of a consequence.

 

[Lutz]

The curious bit is that the CEE017 plugs are actually marked L and N but outside th UK no-one seems to take any notice of it.

Lutz, in the UK we use ring mains and single pole switching on our outlets, hence it is important to know which is the live connector. In most of Europe sockets are radially wired and appliances double-pole switched, so polarity is not so much of a consequence.

Theoretically, even on the Continent they should connect L and N the right way round on a CEE plug, but probably some electricians figure that if it's not important which way round on a Schuko (Continental) plug, then why bother on a CEE plug.
I don't know of any appliance in our household that has double pole switching. All that I have had cause to open up to have a look inside were single pole.