I'm so glad I found this thread, we're going 'live' with EHU for the first time in less than three weeks and I'm going to be a tad more careful what I plug in.
If you have a proper EHU unit and you are using it in the UK, you shouldn't trip the site electrics. Most of the site electrics run on 16amps ( some do run on 10amps ). The EHU unit is supplied with a 10amp breaker and its also whats called a quick trip breaker ( type B ) whereas the site electrics are normallay type C ( take longer to trip ). So even if the site hook-up is the same ampage as your EHU, yours should trip first.
The only thing you should really trip is your own EHU unit which is just the case of reducing the power load, openeing the little glass windows on your EHU and flicking the switch back on again. You could be unlucky enough to be on a site with a low ampage hook-up, but generally yours should trip before theirs and the site owner wouldn't notice as it wouldn't affect anyone else.
The only time the site electrics should trip is if there was fault on the site side of your EHU, or you are not using an EHU that has a breaker and RCD in ( which is risky at best ).
Thanks Steve for all your input to this thread seems the risk of taking down part or whole site would be extreme, although it sounds like it does happen - I'll ask the owners what there ampage is - if it's above 10amp I'll know that our circuit breaker will trip first.
Thankyou all for your help. Other half is now happy that I will not blow up, burn down or generally wreck the campsite/tent. Will watch what I am plugging in together, and will remember the golden rule. Only one heating up appliance at a time! (oh and if I do short the whole campsite, I hide and send him out! Thats right, isnt it?
The simple way to work out how much current you re using is to go by the rule that 200 watts is 1 amp.
Power is the current (ampage) multiplied by the EMF (voltage)with an adjustment for power factor, so it should be about 230 watts = 1 amp if you've got no power factor, 200 watts is a safe figure.
2300 watts would be risky on a 10amp supply as you are on the limit - any 'surge' (you get them when you first turn a kettle on, for example) will trip the supply. I would never use a 'normal' electric kettle when camping (my kettle at home is 2kW - too close for comfort) - we have a 750 watt kettle bought from our favourite caravan shop. So it takes a little longer to boil the water, but it doesn't risk tripping the supply, even with the fridge and lights and water pump AND water heater on mains! (I do turn the water heater off to boil the kettle if the space heater is on mains, or if we have anything else plugged in, just to be on the safe side).