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Probably obvious to all you seasoned EHU campers, but is there anything (and i mean anything!) we need to know before pitching our tent later today (please don't rain) with regards EHU?

thanks,

Good morning

Just don't try using a heater and a kettle at the same time. Fridge, light and heater all at once should be okay, but only one hot thing , ie, EITHER kettle/ toaster/ heater, not 2 together, or it will trip the elctric out. Have a great time.

Yes, one heat-generating device at a time.

Other thing....first time out with my EHU I was very puzzled at the red warning light on my model. For some reason I got it into my head that this light was supposed to be on, as in my car phone charger, to say it was working. I didn't have anything instant like a light or hair dryer to plug into it to check and this caused me much anxiety on our first night. Turned out (once I found and read the instruction leaflet the next day) that this red light was in fact the "something is wrong" warning light so of course I didn't want it to be on, lol. Very useful feature, especially as reversed polarity on French campsites is one of the things it detects. Your model may be different though, so take and read your instructions.

Other important things. Don't leave your excess length of cable coiled together tightly otherwise it will start heating up. The best place to put it is in long loops on the ground, zig-zagging up and down the length of your tent between the guylines and the canvas so that no-one will trip on it. Also it goes without saying that the unit needs to be kept in the dryest place possible inside the tent and also off the ground.

All read and also appreciated here, just bought ours yesterday and will be using it for the first time in a week and a half

Can you tell us about the 'reverse polarity' thing?. Will an EHU bought in the UK work in Europe?

We are also using ours for the first time this weekend in the Uk, but we are planning on a trip around Europe in the summer and need to know if the equipment we have is suitable.

Many thanks

Quote: Originally posted by Kerryred on 23/5/2008

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Can you tell us about the 'reverse polarity' thing?. Will an EHU bought in the UK work in Europe?

We are also using ours for the first time this weekend in the Uk, but we are planning on a trip around Europe in the summer and need to know if the equipment we have is suitable.

Many thanks

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Right, I'm no electrician, I don't really "get" electrics and it would be better for you to put "reverse polarity" into the search function and read some posts written by people who do.

But basically yes, your EHU unit will work in Europe, either using the standard blue connector plug we use in the UK OR a two pin  connector plug. To use this latter you need to buy a blue connector->2-pin connector adaptor section from any camping shop here.

The polarity thing is because Euro-made appliances are not wired/earthed in the same way as ours. There is the potential for a faulty UK made appliance to become live during use because of this. Thus if your EHU unit flags up a fault in the line on a Euro-campsite, best bet is because of reversed polarity. To be prepared for this you alsoneed to carry a short lenght of the same outdoor rated flex that your EHU unit used, with a male blue euro-connecter on one end, a female connector on the other but the wiring reversed to put live to neutral (i think...best check thesae more knowlegable other posts!) This will reverse the reverse polarity back to normal UK running when it gets to the appliance and all will be safe again.

Clear as mud? Anyway, bottom line is to carry the 2-pin adaptor, the male-female reversed section and make sure your EHU unit has either a polarity detector function or buy a seperate device for this. Then it's a very quick and easy thing to sort out on campsite, and you're prepared for all contingencies.

 

 Reverse polarity means that the live and neutral conducters are the wrong way round ! the appliance will still work but any single pole switches are supposed to isolate the live conductor but on reverse polarity it would be the neutral , this would mean the  the appliance that is plugged in is still potentially live

Sparky