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Quote: Originally posted by pinklizzie on 01/8/2007

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Campsite have said we just need the blue plug. Does this mean we dont need the continental adaptor? Also, campshop said reverse polarity only an issue for caravans? Is that right?

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Well, the campsite will know what their hookups use, so if they say they have the blue plug hookups I`d belive them...but you might need the adaptor later on other campsites, so why not just get one for the EHU bag?

As to polarity, it mystifies me why the campshop would think tenters and other non-vanners would be immune to the effects of an electric shock? My advice would to take the same safety precautions as anyone else...take a polarity meter (there may be one integral on your EHU, so have a look first) and a short length of EHU flex, with a male and female blue plug on the ends, wired for reversed polarity and marked as such. Won`t cost much, you`ll be set for future years and after all, what price the safety of your kids? (And your`s, and your OH, of course!)

Just back from France and yes the site had reverse polarity. We have a mains tester as mentioned above which told us it was reversed. I had previously constructed a reverse 1.5 meter extension as per instructions available here. I would stress tho that the site we used had old connections and had not been updated. You may be lucky and not have this issue at your site.

RSM

Well, if you run "reversed polarity" through the search function you`ll find some very good explainations....I`m a muppet when it comes to electricity, so I`m not going to try.

But the bottom line is what convinces me....yes, UK appliances will work fine off reversed polarity current and it won`t hurt them. BUT...if an appliance is damaged or faulty or gets wet or whatever, the "off" switch on the appliance has switched off the wrong wire, and the other wire is still delivering current to the device. So while it`s switched off, it`s still live and you can give yourself a shock.

For the sake of a few pounds, I want "Off" to mean right off, same as here. When you go camping, there`s a lot of water around in the form of puddles and condensation. Electricity on a campsite can`t be as safe as it is at home just because of this factor, and I`m not adding in another problem.

the switches for a device are on the live cable, if there reversed then the appliance still is in effect live,although the neutral is disconected,to stop the thing working,

Continental wiring uses circuit breakers in both live and neutral lines so polarity is not an issue. UK systems generally have switched live but some use double pole switches.

The issue is in protection-UK fuses/cct breakers are in the live line only, so a shock could occur in a reversed polarity system, because the system will not have been cut off, you could provide the alternative circuit path-eek! The circuit breakers (or fuses) are designed to protect users in the event of a fault.

It is well worth having a polarity tester and reversed polarity adaptors-what price safety? I have seen cables across roads on camp sites, they could easily be damaged by cars driving over them.

The french also like to use domestic type leads and adaptors which are'nt waterproof! First rain-circuit breakers go!

Electricity can kill! 

Quote: Originally posted by Valk_scot on 02/8/2007

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Well, if you run "reversed polarity" through the search function you`ll find some very good explainations....I`m a muppet when it comes to electricity, so I`m not going to try.

But the bottom line is what convinces me....yes, UK appliances will work fine off reversed polarity current and it won`t hurt them. BUT...if an appliance is damaged or faulty or gets wet or whatever, the "off" switch on the appliance has switched off the wrong wire, and the other wire is still delivering current to the device. So while it`s switched off, it`s still live and you can give yourself a shock.

For the sake of a few pounds, I want "Off" to mean right off, same as here. When you go camping, there`s a lot of water around in the form of puddles and condensation. Electricity on a campsite can`t be as safe as it is at home just because of this factor, and I`m not adding in another problem.

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