Hose and EHC lengths

[Triple Point]

Hi All,
I've just purchased my very first Motorhome, a Compass CV20 van conversion.

The van came with a 10m EHC cable but no water hose.

Is the EHC cable a suitable length? Or do you find you need more?

Also what length of hose to you find useful? Food safe or garden hose?

Many Thanks

 

[Skaggs]

We carry a 10 and a 25 although I have only needed both on a couple of occasions. As an aside here ( I am new to this group so do not know if this has been covered before), but in my 10 years of camping in Europe I have never seen anyone other than us Brits using the heavy duty cable that we all carry. Without exception the Europeans seem to just use standard household reels with the required plugs. To me this makes perfect sense as we are not running loads of high wattage equipment, is there a reason that I am missing?

 

[two]

Without exception the Europeans seem to just use standard household reels with the required plugs. To me this makes perfect sense as we are not running loads of high wattage equipment, is there a reason that I am missing?

It is a 'Brit' thing to have kettles and electric heating (for starters), even electric hobs and anything else to avoid using gas. I believe that is because so many sites provide an all inclusive pitch fee and the common attitude is to 'eat' as much as you can. A few EU supplies are less than 6A, something many Brits would not be able to cope with and hence why our 'standard' tends to be 16A.

 

[MisterB]

so long as the cable can carry 16amps then i am with you, although that means we might both be wrong LOL

i suspect that cable on a reel isnt designed to get the rough treatment the 'exterior' leads do though and i have been tipped off some of the 'clubs' wont allow blue arctic cable leads for some reason?

 

[Vic. Parsons.]

Expanding hoses are the way to go, they're light weight, take up little space and are dead easy to empty of water before packing away.

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[peterc10]

We carry a 10 and a 25 although I have only needed both on a couple of occasions. As an aside here ( I am new to this group so do not know if this has been covered before), but in my 10 years of camping in Europe I have never seen anyone other than us Brits using the heavy duty cable that we all carry. Without exception the Europeans seem to just use standard household reels with the required plugs. To me this makes perfect sense as we are not running loads of high wattage equipment, is there a reason that I am missing?

As said by two us Brits seem wedded to EHUs to heat our caravans and motorhomes. Some caravanners use it to heat their awnings too. Same attitude as in an all you can eat buffet! On the few occasions we are on EHU in the UK we tend to use gas to get the motorhome warmed quickly and switch to electricity to maintain the temperature.

The Truma and Alde heaters are sold as gas (or diesel) only in most European markets whereas most motorhomes in the UK have the optional extra (lower heat output) electrical elements added as standard. The dealer of the new stock motorhome we bought chose to add the electrics, but if I was specifying new I am not sure I would pay extra for it. Having said that ours came as part of a "Premium Arctis Pack", so it was probably cheaper than not having the electrics!

 

[Catpirate]

I have never had a problem using arctic cable, this is available on a well known website Amazon product ASIN B075F8YR1K
I make my own cable runs using the correct connectors

 

[Vic. Parsons.]

As said by two us Brits seem wedded to EHUs to heat our caravans and motorhomes. Some caravanners use it to heat their awnings too. Same attitude as in an all you can eat buffet! On the few occasions we are on EHU in the UK we tend to use gas to get the motorhome warmed quickly and switch to electricity to maintain the temperature.

The Truma and Alde heaters are sold as gas (or diesel) only in most European markets whereas most motorhomes in the UK have the optional extra (lower heat output) electrical elements added as standard. The dealer of the new stock motorhome we bought chose to add the electrics, but if I was specifying new I am not sure I would pay extra for it. Having said that ours came as part of a "Premium Arctis Pack", so it was probably cheaper than not having the electrics!

We have Truma aquatherm in our Hymer S740 (2002) and it has the electric option fitted of 500w, 1000w or 2000w. Depending on the sites EHU rating, we can usually get away with 1kw on most sites but in all honesty, that is more than enough to heat the van effectively so we never use it on 2kw.
We also have the electric option on our Truma boiler which is not generally included on the ones sold for the European market.

 

[Catpirate]

The reason you should not leave your excess cable on a roll is that AC current induces heat into the cale i.e. it acts as a transformer, this causes heat build up and can result in a fire, you nee to lay out the entire length to prevent this occuring

 

[two]

The Truma and Alde heaters are sold as gas (or diesel) only in most European markets whereas most motorhomes in the UK have the optional extra (lower heat output) electrical elements added as standard. The dealer of the new stock motorhome we bought chose to add the electrics, but if I was specifying new I am not sure I would pay extra for it. Having said that ours came as part of a "Premium Arctis Pack", so it was probably cheaper than not having the electrics!

I bought a European van and think the additional cost of electric heating was around £700.
£700 buys an awful lot of gas and gas is much more effective for heating anyway.

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[Jonno1103]

We carry 3 EHU cables, the 10m the van is on at home, 25m which came with it and a 50m which I put together for European sites where the EHU bollard is miles away.

Don't forget the additional connectors, 2 pin for many Euro sites and a similar one cross wired for reverse polarity.

We now tend to go for expandable hoses at differing lengths or use the aqua roll and a small pump. Keep your freshwater system clean and a food grade hose isn't important especially if you have a black nylon tank and not subjected to direct sunlight. We always add a dose or two of Edsil.
No narrowboat owner or hire boat company uses food grade hoses to fill their water tanks.

Many mixed outfit sites don't like the Artic blue cables as those camping in tents can't see them of a night which is why many EHU cables on sale for tent owners have fluorescent green or yellow cabling.

 

[Clive and Sally]

so long as the cable can carry 16amps then i am with you, although that means we might both be wrong LOL

i suspect that cable on a reel isnt designed to get the rough treatment the 'exterior' leads do though and i have been tipped off some of the 'clubs' wont allow blue arctic cable leads for some reason?

Artic cable is also available in yellow which is normally used for 110 volt but there is no reason for not fitting the normal blue 240 volt 16 amp connectors on to it if you are confident to do this. This yellow cable will be more visible at night than the normal orange cable.

Cheers

Clive

 

[SMB]

2 x 25m ehu cables, bought one when I bought my first moho only to find another in a compartment I didn't know about! Have used them both connected a lot abroad so very practical. Also got a cover box for where they join and a 2 pin adapter and reverse polarity adapter (another topic!). 15m collapsible hose with a tap on the end so you can fill it solo. Normally use a 20L jerrycan to top up daily when on aires, good exercise as well!

 

[Pete_drums]

Hi All,
I've just purchased my very first Motorhome, a Compass CV20 van conversion.

The van came with a 10m EHC cable but no water hose.

Is the EHC cable a suitable length? Or do you find you need more?

Also what length of hose to you find useful? Food safe or garden hose?

Many Thanks

You need 25m and if you have space a 25m spare as some sites can be a long haul to power blocks?. Having used all sorts over the years I now use a 100foot magic hose or whatever they are called. Winds up into a tiny ball with ease but never fails to reach a water point somewhere?. Think someone has already said a 10litre water can brill for top ups, cheers

 

[Abgs]

I cut my 25 metre EHU cable into a 15 and a 10 metre length and added a plug and socket. 25m is usually way too long but now I have the option of 10m, 15m or 25m if I join them together.

I probably wouldn't have bothered but I had the plug and socket kicking around in my spares box. Glad I did - shorter cables are much less hassle.

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[thebriars]

[EHC should be EHU (Electric Hook-Up) - the Cable is silent]

There is a type of cabling called Arctic that is much more flexible and easier to handle. I'd pay the extra for that but make sure it'll carry 16A (2.5mm2, I think). Colour is unimportant.

As has been said blue is for 240v, yellow is for 110v.

1.5mm cable will handle 16amps, no problem, and unless you use very long cables, the voltage drop is insignificant. The thinner cable is both lighter and easier to wind up.

My blue arctic 1.5mm cable is now 20 years old, but as good as new.

 

[Don Campbell]

We used to carry a 10m cable as well as a 25m and the 10m was so seldom of any use that we stopped carrying it and it's been in the garage at home for years.

 

[Spriddler]

As has been said blue is for 240v, yellow is for 110v.

Mine's yellow (it may have been more orangey when new) and came from a pukkah caravan accessory store and was sold for 240v use.

 

[dodfloss]

2 x 25m ehu cables, bought one when I bought my first moho only to find another in a compartment I didn't know about! Have used them both connected a lot abroad so very practical. Also got a cover box for where they join and a 2 pin adapter and reverse polarity adapter (another topic!). 15m collapsible hose with a tap on the end so you can fill it solo. Normally use a 20L jerrycan to top up daily when on aires, good exercise as well!

Hi SMB, sorry for been ignorant, but what is this reverse polarity adapter do we have to use them in Britain .? Thanks Danny

 

[Pausim]

Polarity seems to be a bit of a UK obsession. On the continent they don’t seem troubled by it and protect themselves by assuming both wires could be live.

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[thebriars]

Mine's yellow (it may have been more orangey when new) and came from a pukkah caravan accessory store and was sold for 240v use.

Probably faded orange. I've got a similar faded orange one to hook up at home. Yellow Arctic cable is quite distinctive.

 

[peterc10]

Hi SMB, sorry for been ignorant, but what is this reverse polarity adapter do we have to use them in Britain .? Thanks Danny

Generally not needed in the UK, because we have a standardised position for live and neutral in the plug and socket and both are designed in such a way that they can only be inserted one way. That is not always the case in Europe, where it is pot luck in some countries as to which hole the "electrician" has decided is going to be positive. And it is compounded by the use the two pin plugs that can be inserted either way. But it probably isn't a problem as long as you are not stupid enough to stick fingers, screwdrivers or cutlery into your appliance without unplugging it first.

Polarity seems to be a bit of a UK obsession. On the continent they don’t seem troubled by it and protect themselves by assuming both wires could be live.

Actually they protect themselves by mandating twin pole switches in their sockets and appliances.

 

[thebriars]

Hi SMB, sorry for been ignorant, but what is this reverse polarity adapter do we have to use them in Britain .? Thanks Danny

Forget about it. This has been rattling round for years and years, and in all that time I've yet to see a plausible reason for getting one. Usually those who advocate them belong in category of those who think they know what they are doing, but actually have little knowledge. Search this forum to find more info. Meanwhile I'm off to get the popcorn.

 

[thebriars]

Actually they protect themselves by mandating twin pole switches in their sockets and appliances.

OK. First flaw in the argument. No mororhome has switched sockets. Second flaw. All UK appliances are made to EU standards anyway, so no difference.

 

[SMB]

Hi SMB, sorry for been ignorant, but what is this reverse polarity adapter do we have to use them in Britain .? Thanks Danny

You've seen the replies, told you it was another topic ha ha. I've read lots of posts about reverse polarity by people whose knowledge of electrics is way more advanced than mine (not hard). If the reverse polarity warning light on my van, which is British, comes on when hooking up then I use the adapter. This has always been abroad and my logic is that it does no harm to have the polarity correct even if there is no apparent need. I believe some of the foreign-built vans have built-in systems which correct reverse polarity. A problem which you can't do anything about is when the electricity supply has no earth, then it's up to you if you use the ehu or not. Again, I've only had this problem abroad and don't use ehu if there's no earth. But there's plenty of threads on here regarding this

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[Pausim]

Actually they protect themselves by mandating twin pole switches in their sockets and appliances.

That is kind of what I meant. I think there might be one area to be wary of, plug in RCDs. The UK ones seem to be single pole and only switch off the assumed positive. Particularly important when using an inverter some of which make both wires live but out phase. I recently read of a UK canal boater who electrocuted himself from his inverter, he switched off the appliance at the socket which only had the usual UK single pole switch and then got a 115V belt from what he thought was the negative.

 

[Richard n Ann]

got a 115V belt from what he thought was the negative.

He must have created a neutral by earthing one of the lives at the inverter output then. Normally they are a floating earth and are safe. A little knowledge is dangerous as they say.

 

[cmcardle75]

The reason you should not leave your excess cable on a roll is that AC current induces heat into the cale i.e. it acts as a transformer, this causes heat build up and can result in a fire, you nee to lay out the entire length to prevent this occuring

The heating is not caused by induction. There is only a tiny amount of inductance in a coil of cable carrying its own return current, as the magnetic fields induced by the neutral conductor has exactly the opposite polarity to the those induced by the live conductor and they cancel each other out. The excessive heating is simply caused by the wraps of cable insulating themselves and the heat having no where else to go. Regardless of this, the cure is the same, unroll the whole cable if you're going to carry any significant current.

 

[Pausim]

He must have created a neutral by earthing one of the lives at the inverter output then. Normally they are a floating earth and are safe. A little knowledge is dangerous as they say.

I don’t know much about floating earths but does a 50ft metal boat floating on a canal qualify?

 

[cmcardle75]

That is kind of what I meant. I think there might be one area to be wary of, plug in RCDs. The UK ones seem to be single pole and only switch off the assumed positive. Particularly important when using an inverter some of which make both wires live but out phase. I recently read of a UK canal boater who electrocuted himself from his inverter, he switched off the appliance at the socket which only had the usual UK single pole switch and then got a 115V belt from what he thought was the negative.

The neutral (I assume this is what is meant by negative) is considered a type of "live" conductor. There should have been physical protection and insulation preventing him from touching it.

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[Jonno1103]

Polarity seems to be a bit of a UK obsession. On the continent they don’t seem troubled by it and protect themselves by assuming both wires could be live.

We stayed at Le Brevedent (again!) in July which has reverse polarity, it's never bothered the motorhomes but my sisters EHU for their tent wouldn't work until I made a suitable adaptor for them.