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I am meeting some friends at a site in Halesowen over Easter, BUT they booked well before me and when I booked there were no ELC hook ups left.  SO, I have bitten the bullet and booked without.  EEEEK!

My van is 19 years old - I have a 2 ring hob and a grill which are both gas, and the fridge can run off of gas.  Is there anything else I should think about since I won't have electric??

AJ x

Fab idea about the flask, thank you Twinone, would never have thought of that.

I did think about calling them and asking them to bear me in mind if somebody did cancel EHU.

AJ x

Hi, the best tip i can give is to leave the beer / wine outside the van at night,

nothing worse than warm beer,

Quote: Originally posted by dianebb72 on 24/2/2008

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we have done plenty of rallies without EHU and have managed for up to about 6 days.  Just remember to turn off unused lights and if you have electric flush toilet try and limit how many flushes you do.  Have you got a gas fire to keep the van warm at night???

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No - well I do but I have never been able to get it to work to be honest.  I was thinking of trying to borrow a gas heater from somebody before we go, though I wouldn't leave it on at night anyway.

As for the alcohol, I gave that up for lent (and smoking!!) so I don't need to worry about warm beer/wine!! 

AJ x

Quote: Originally posted by Safeway56 on 25/2/2008

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I know it could be a little alarmist but I would never spend the night in a caravan if the fridge is being powered by gas. Too risky I feel. Only needs a small fault and you could be brown bread.

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Quote: Originally posted by Safeway56 on 25/2/2008

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I know it could be a little alarmist but I would never spend the night in a caravan if the fridge is being powered by gas. Too risky I feel. Only needs a small fault and you could be brown bread.

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I would class that not as a little alarmist but exceedingly alarmist and downright upsetting and unnecessary.

It only needs a small fault on a 230v electrical system or a minor error in judgement when driving to the site and you could be equally brown bread, but you aren't pointing that out.

Gas fires and fridges in caravans are externally flued and if they have been properly maintained will pose no threat.

If they were as dangerous as you are implying they wouldn't exist.

Thousands of caravanners use their fridges on gas and use their gas heaters in their caravans every week without coming to any harm.

If you prefer not to use the gas option that is up to you, but please do not instil unnecessary fears into other campers.

Oh my goodness.  Well my caravan is incredibly old and I certainly haven't "maintained" the fridge at all.  I think I'll happily switch it off to be honest!  It's March time so it's not going to get warm I guess.  I shall plug it in at home before I go to cool it down and then not bother ... same as when I was camping in a tent anyway!

I've always been a bit wary of leaving ANYTHING on in the caravan overnight and I always take our audible carbon monoxide detector with us as a matter of course. 

Thank you for your tips everyone.  I'll let you know how I get on!

AJ x

Don't worry Alison, use the fridge.  Especially as you have the CO detector.    When we started caravanning in the 70s fridges only ran on gas and nobody worried.

In a boat the hull traps the CO, but in a caravan, especially an older one, there is loads of ventilation.

However, a service on the caravan would be a good idea, brakes, wheels, and especially tyres should be checked for safe towing. Ideally tyres should not be more than 5/6 years old as they do deteriorate with age.

This time of year you could pre-cool it at home and use ice blocks to keep it cool over the weekend if you were worried about running it on gas, I wouldn't keep it shut if not running as they soon get mildew and mould growing if not cool.

If you can't smell gas and the flame is a nice blue colour then it is ok.