Thread: 240V wiring in a camper trailer

OK, after some hunting around it appears i should be fitting two pole GPO's.

finally the camper trailer will be all sorted for the pending trips of the next couple of months

Hi,
Rob Gray has a summary of the required standards here

Have a look around the Electrica wholesalers for an intrinsic power inlet rated at 10 Amps. (weather proof with a screw in ability for a special socket) It will take standard 10 Amp line sockets.

If you don't have the need for 15Amp power consumption, this saves the illegal need for using 'cheater' cords with 10A plugs and 15A sockets.

You will need a 10A Circuit breaker - not the standard 15Amp.

cheers

Originally Posted by austastar

Hi,
Rob Gray has a summary of the required standards here

Have a look around the Electrica wholesalers for an intrinsic power inlet rated at 10 Amps. (weather proof with a screw in ability for a special socket) It will take standard 10 Amp line sockets.

If you don't have the need for 15Amp power consumption, this saves the illegal need for using 'cheater' cords with 10A plugs and 15A sockets.

You will need a 10A Circuit breaker - not the standard 15Amp.

cheers

thanks for that

i have read it twice but cannot see the the reference to 10A circuit breaker, pretty sure i have a 16A

Hi,
Most of the generic (cheap) retail caravan power inlets are rated at 15Amp because that is the amount of power designers imagine they will need.
Think toaster, electric kettle, hairdryer, electric heater etc in a caravan park.
Caravans usually have 3 or more power outlets.
This means that caravan parks typically have a 15Amp rated power outlet on the pole near where you park (now they also have Residual Current Safety devices as well )

Thus, you can plug your 15Amp power lead into the 15Amp socket and the other end into the 15Amp Power inlet on your van and all is hunky dory in the electric legal and safety departments.

However, Joe caravan owner parks at home, and finds his 15Amp power lead won't go into his domestic 10Amp power point in the carport or similar. The 15Amp Earth pin is made bigger so it won't go into the 10Amp outlet. If you force it, by filing down the bigger earth pin, or removing the 15Amp plug and wiring in a 10Amp plug from your friendly hardware store, all is not happy in the legal and safety departments.

BUT

If you get a 10Amp power inlet for your van, and the sparky wires it up with 10Amp in mind, puts a 10Amp circuit breaker in with a 10Amp Residual Current device, all will be happy and you will probably only get one 10Amp power point (it must be double pole to switch both sides of the circuit, i.e. Active and Neutral)
Why go to 15Amp wiring if you don't think you will need it.

NOW

You can use a 10Amp extension cord which will plug into your house power points, the power outlet on your little generator etc with out doing disastardly illegal modifications to your recently purchased, rated and safety checked, approved new shiny power cord.
Just don't try and draw more than 10Amps or the circuit breaker will trip, as it is designed to do, and will protect your wiring.

Ok, the legal bits.

I'm not an electrician, have no qualifications at all in electricity and being self taught, must advise you that the above could quite possibly be a large load of tod.

I was told by a licensed caravan electrician whom I was quizzing on was what I was wanting to get installed in my van legal, that if I was to plug any thing that I had wired up into his legally installed double poled power point, it was not going to affect his certification of my van.
i.e. if I wanted to plug in a small power board with single pole switched power points, it was entirely up to me. But his first (and only) power point must be double poled.

This is the 10Amp inlet I bought to have wired in.



I think it is much better designed and robust than the run of the mill inlets sold by the caravan industry.

cheers

What about this. I have one and works for me.

AMP-FIBIAN RV02, 10amp - 15amp adapter, Overload protection and RCD, Orange | Caravan Electric Cables & Parts | CaravansPlus

My camper had an earth leakage switch,,
or are the double poles in the C park to replace those?

As a licence electrician I will just mention that it is worth having your own RCD as I wouldn't trust my life on the caravan park mushroom outlet. I saw those 10-15 amp adapters yesterday at Camec, nice but pricey and there are 2 versions with or without RCD

installation completed yesterday.....by an electrician. we did have a good discussion about the requirement of an additional earth, i decided we needed it.

re: circuit breaker, the 16A is the right choice as 2.5mm wiring was used, all 600mm of it. as it was explained to me the circuit breaker is there to protect the wiring....not what you have plugged in, 2.5 can handle more than 16A