Joys of permanant caravan living! Electrical fault

[nichio3478]

Morning everyone.

My girlfriend and I are currently living full time in our 2002 Lunar Clubman 530. We have bought the caravan to keep but are living in it at the moment whilst we refurbish our house.

We have battled pretty much every fault issue I can imagine thus far including water heater blowing up, pump failure, leaks etc (hopefully all now repaired). All of which seem to involve running around in boxer shorts in the middle of the night trying to fix!!!!

Last night the power blew when we put the heater and microwave on at the same time. There is a relativelty substantial breaker/ battery charger box under the seat in the side dinnette. This all seemed to be on and OK. There was also power through the lead to the caravan.

I cant get to the external electrical locker as its hard against a wall without fully dismantling our awning and living setup which would take a few hours.

Does anyone know if there is a secondary breaker in the electrical locker?

Any guidance would be hugely appreciated.

Many thanks,

Stumped of Streatham

 

[Damian]

As far as the caravan is concerned there is only the one RCD in the distribution box in the van, there is nothing more than the hook up socket in the external locker.
However, where are you taking the power from to the van?
You need to go to the main fuse box, assuming you are taking the feed from the house, and check the circuit breakers in there, where you should find one of the MCB's (or fuse if an old system) tripped or broken.

 

[nichio3478]

Thanks for the reply.

I thought the same as you as the incoming power supply works (ie the socket we take power from) as we tested it with other appliances.

This means that the break must have happened at the caravan end.......

 

[Damian]

So the supply socket is working.
How do you know if power is still available at the caravan end of the hook up cable?

 

[nichio3478]

I don't.

Not sure how I would test this - voltmeter perhaps?

 

[Damian]

Hi,
You would need to get to the caravan end of the hook up cable and use a multimeter set to a setting above 230v AC and check the power from the end of the cable.

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

Hi,
You would need to get to the caravan end of the hook up cable and use a multimeter set to a setting above 230v AC and check the power from the end of the cable.

or use a 16A to 13A adaptor like this and plug in a small table lamp or similar.

 

[Sproket]

Are you using one of these adapters from your house socket to connect to your EHU cable ?... if so have you checked the fuse in the plug as it will only be a13amp one .....

 

[nichio3478]

Many thanks for everyone's suggestions and assistance.

When we bought the van, it came with a hookup lead which bizarrely was 2 leads with caravan ends joined together with a 3 pin plug and socket, waterproofed by judicious use of duct tape and a tesco's carrier.

It was this 'hidden' plug where the problem lay.

Swapped the fuse, lights came on. Only casualty was the girlfriends hairdryer which is now bereft of a fuse.

Next problem....... Mystery leaks. Can water travel upwards???

 

[ProfJohnL]

Yes, Water can travel upwards through capillary action or osmosis. It can also be very humid air rising until it finds a cool surface where the water is deposited as condensation.

 

[emowbray]

Hi there,
Just read your thread and i see you have it all sorted FOR NOW.

just a thought, you must only have a 13 amp fuse supplying the caravan for all its electrics at present? this will course you problems with the cold and dark nights approaching.

usually a caravan has a round blue plug (16 - 32 amp) which is perfect for these night that are coming to get us. 13 amp is not alot of power meaning you WILL NOT be able to have your heading on as well as any other electrical heat source ie a toaster kettle or hair dryer as this COULD pop the 13 amp fuse.

if you go to b and q you will be able to pick up a round blue plug and socked for less than £20 and this should supply your van with all the power you need safely during the winter.

hope this helps you

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hi there,
Just read your thread and i see you have it all sorted FOR NOW.

just a thought, you must only have a 13 amp fuse supplying the caravan for all its electrics at present? this will course you problems with the cold and dark nights approaching.

usually a caravan has a round blue plug (16 - 32 amp) which is perfect for these night that are coming to get us. 13 amp is not alot of power meaning you WILL NOT be able to have your heading on as well as any other electrical heat source ie a toaster kettle or hair dryer as this COULD pop the 13 amp fuse.

if you go to b and q you will be able to pick up a round blue plug and socked for less than £20 and this should supply your van with all the power you need safely during the winter.

hope this helps you

I feel this post is rather misleading, and it needs more clarification.

The standard caravan mains power input connector uses an 16A IEC CEEFORM blue plug. The standard EHU cable is also rated for use up to 16A.

You must not fit a connector rated above 16A to the cable.

In terms of connecting to a normal mains supply in a house, the standard practice is to use a 16A free socket wired to a standard FUSED 13A plug. This limits the current to 13A.

IF you want to fit a blue 16A CEEFORM socket to your mains supply,so the EHU cable can connect directly to it, then you mustn't simply replace a 13A wall socket with the CEEFORM as it wont have overcurrent protection. YOu must use a supply unit with an RCD and MCB (Just like a site bollard) for safety protection. Suddenly the £20 will be more like £100 - but might be worth it considering the situation.

The normal electric hook up orange cables should use 2.5mmcsa conductors and will be safe to use with 16A, and of course the EHU cable is also terminated with a blue 16A plug for connection to a suitable bollard.

 

[Phil.Q]

Nicely said prof, good advice.
Has anyone considered volt drop ?
How far is the van from the supply ?

 

[Damian]

Quote " if you go to b and q you will be able to pick up a round blue plug and socked for less than £20 and this should supply your van with all the power you need safely during the winter."

As has been pointed out, the above quote is misleading at best and downright stupid at worst.
Posters should not post misleading information, it could cause all kinds of problems for unsuspecting readers who may take incorrect advice on board.

Changing a plug and socket is NOT as simple as it seems, and when the van is being used as this one is it is not necessary.
As a lot of sites have 10Amp limited supplies, to have , using a standard connector from van cable to standard household plug with 13A fuse is quite enough, providing you take sensible precautions and not try and run several high draw items at the same time.

It has to be remembered that using a caravan as "permanent" living accommodation is NOT the same as living in a fully functional house and has limitations, which means knowing what power each item uses and working out what can be used at the same time and what needs switching off whilst another item is being used.

As far as volt drop is concerned, as the van is quite close to the house that would be negligible and nothing to worry about.