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

 

[Richard n Ann]

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.

Wonder if that would pass an insulation test, it must be referencing earth to be able to tell the difference between L&N

 

[Pausim]

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.

I think he was working on an appliance and had wrongly assumed that turning off the single pole switch on the socket would be enough.

 

[Richard n Ann]

I think he was working on an appliance and had wrongly assumed that turning off the single pole switch on the socket would be enough.

Would be enough normally, you have to touch both live output wires at the same time to get a shock off an inverter (or generator) someone must have been playing about with it. Or it's been connected to a ringmain with an earthed neutral or something.

 

[cmcardle75]

I think he was working on an appliance and had wrongly assumed that turning off the single pole switch on the socket would be enough.

Well it should be. You shouldn't be able to get anywhere near the neutral or live, switched off or on. Obviously, it is safer if both poles are switched. But it shouldn't be possible to get a shock with it switched on.

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[Pausim]

Well it should be. You shouldn't be able to get anywhere near the neutral or live, switched off or on. Obviously, it is safer if both poles are switched. But it shouldn't be possible to get a shock with it switched on.

Why would it be safe, it strikes me as risky to put your hand onto something carrying a live 115V. If there was no risk why does anything need switching off before you pull it apart.

 

[thebriars]

Wonder if that would pass an insulation test, it must be referencing earth to be able to tell the difference between L&N

You are right, there's something dodgy with it. Assuming it has an RCD then the RCD does not have any connection to earth. Rather than making a reverse polarity lead, I'd have binned it and bought a decent one.

 

[thebriars]

Why would it be safe, it strikes me as risky to put your hand onto something carrying a live 115V. If there was no risk why does anything need switching off before you pull it apart.

Either way, the original example of an inverter in a boat is irrelevant to reverse polarity on the EHU bollard with modern motorhomes.

 

[cmcardle75]

Why would it be safe, it strikes me as risky to put your hand onto something carrying a live 115V. If there was no risk why does anything need switching off before you pull it apart.

Sorry, I missed the bit where he was dismantling the appliance. You should never dismantle an appliance that is plugged in, regardless of the switch. Only a few sockets have dual pole and you can get a (usually smaller) shock off the neutral anyway.

 

[Pausim]

Sorry, I missed the bit where he was dismantling the appliance. You should never dismantle an appliance that is plugged in, regardless of the switch. Only a few sockets have dual pole and you can get a (usually smaller) shock off the neutral anyway.

I think he learned the hard way the folly of not pulling the plug first, fortunately he wasn’t seriously hurt.

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[Pausim]

Either way, the original example of an inverter in a boat is irrelevant to reverse polarity on the EHU bollard with modern motorhomes.

I thought it was worth mentioning that some inverters need 2 pole switching. Not totally dissimilar to reverse polarity, they both result the neutral not being neutral.

 

[Jonno1103]

You are right, there's something dodgy with it. Assuming it has an RCD then the RCD does not have any connection to earth. Rather than making a reverse polarity lead, I'd have binned it and bought a decent one.

This is what they use...

Camping Site Mains Supply Unit - 3 Outlet

3 Outlet complete mains kit for outdoor use in tents and awnings.

www.towsure.com

.

The one my brother in law made I threw in the shed.

 

[Ian Bosman]

We don't use a water hose just a 10 litre watering can and top up as necessary.

10 metres Electric hook up cable is no way long enough to be usable on most sites. I would add at least another cable of 25 metres.

I have just come back from Ashbourne Heights Camping where 25metres was only just enough but then I carry three 25 metre lengths fo EHU. My water hose of 25 metre was also insufficient so will buy another and connect the two together if necessary. First time that the water hose has been insufficient forcing me to move the van when I needed the water. In the end, because I had mislaid the screw connector to the tap, I ended up using a bucket direct into the tank under the trapdoor in the upper floor (the tank is between the two floors)

 

[Ian Bosman]

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

Welcome to the exciting world of motorhoming!

What you need will depend on your circumstances: Your van and how much you can carry, and where you plan to travel.
To be practical, you only need one EHU cable but that should be 25m. The CMC (Caravan Club, as was) can be stuffy about joining cables, so I wouldn't plan to join (them or) two cables together. Their EHU points are within 25m for each pitch, so you would be unlucky not to reach. They will sell you a 25m for £45! and it will be horrid (stiff). 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. Use the shorter one at home. Cables are heavy and can be awkward to store (less so with Arctic). Don't bother with a reel - they tadd faff, take up more space and invite more 'bother' from the those want to tell you it will burst into flames. If you go abroad, you may need an adaptor to convert your plug to one of theirs. Talking of plugs, get to recognise the difference between each end; it can be annoying to discover that you'd laid it out neatly, but the wrong way around!
You will soon learn about Payload. Only carry what you really need and try to avoid the "just in case".
As for water: A hose is useful when you can get close to a tap. Any length will do. You can join as many as you like but I only have one short one (an expanding type because it takes little space and is surprisingly light). Sod will often conspire to make sure your hose is a foot too short, whatever its length, so I carry a watering can as well. Actually, I have two, for balance and speed. They are light but do take up space. I'm not fussy about "food grade". You could change your hoses and cans each year if you are. The water in the pipe must get stale when not used and taste, whatever the type of container. Keep them out of sunlight, though, to avoid bacteria growth. Maybe I've built-up a resistance to the nasties that trouble some people but I've been working this casual way for over 50 years and not died, yet!

Can you absolutely guarantee that last phrase!?

 

[Richard n Ann]

Can you absolutely guarantee that last phrase!?

You can't post on a forum if you're dead unless we've got a poltergeist

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[Triple Point]

Thank you everyone for your help on this. It's my first post on here and I'm greatly impressed by how helpful you've all been.

 

[EdwardFT]

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.

This is also true of domestic wiring. German Schuko mains plugs were deliberately designed not to have a polarity, with appliance safety depending on insulation rather than earthing, and trips rather than fuses. French mains plugs were designed to respect polarity but that was effectively abandoned, you can now even buy double sockets where the polarity is opposite between the two individual sockets.
So I wonder if that thinking carried over to British van design? In which case if you have a British van you might need to pay attention to it.

 

[EdwardFT]

2 tips if you have the space: an extra 1.5m or so hose is really convenient if you do get to stop right beside the tap; and a second screw-on adapter is very useful for when you find that you left the other one at the previous site.

 

[EdwardFT]

And finally...
I have found French sites with only domestic French sockets. A short adapter is useful, and it will probably have the now standard combined French/German plug so you'd be good for Germany too, though I have never seen domestic sockets on a German site.
And I have found French Aires with only one socket for the whole aire, sometimes with free electricity but you can't get it because someone is already connected. In that case, if you have a 2-way blue adapter, you will get to be one of the people connected.

 

[busby]

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 another 15 mtr cable and a big watering can.Forget the hose.BUSBY.

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[busby]

I have just come back from Ashbourne Heights Camping where 25metres was only just enough but then I carry three 25 metre lengths fo EHU. My water hose of 25 metre was also insufficient so will buy another and connect the two together if necessary. First time that the water hose has been insufficient forcing me to move the van when I needed the water. In the end, because I had mislaid the screw connector to the tap, I ended up using a bucket direct into the tank under the trapdoor in the upper floor (the tank is between the two floors)

Buy a watering can and ditch the hose..BUSBY

 

[pandas]

Norfolk CCMC site, a 25m electric cable just enough.
Haven’t used a hose in years as prefer to fill/top up with a 10 Ltr water container but now with COVID restrictions need a hose but our flat hose although very compact has a small bore so would take a week (exaggeration) to fill with 170 ltrs so looking for an alternative.

 

[thebriars]

So I wonder if that thinking carried over to British van design? In which case if you have a British van you might need to pay attention to it.

Certainly for the last 10 years all the British caravans I've had have been fitted with double pole mcbs. This is the only difference electrically you will find with EU vans. Obviously mh from the same manufacturers will be the same.

 

[Gizmouk]

[EHC should be EHU (Electric Hook-Up) - the Cable is silent]
he CMC (Caravan Club, as was) can be stuffy about joining cables, so I wouldn't plan to join (them or) two cables together. Their EHU points are within 25m for each pitch, so you would be unlucky not to reach.

The CMC have (sort of) taken than from the Electrical Regs which states:

The connecting flexible cable
The means of connecting the caravan to the pitch socket-outlet should be provided with the caravan. This must have a plug at one end complying with BS EN 60309-2, a flexible cable with a continuous length of 25 m (±2 m). The connecting flexible cable must be in one length, without signs of damage, and not contain joints or other means to increase its length; and a connector if needed that is compatible with the appropriate appliance inlet. The cable should be to the harmonized code H05RN-F (BS EN 50525-2-21) or equivalent, include a protective conductor, have cores coloured as required by Table 51 of BS 7671 and have a cross-sectional area as shown in Table 721.

The 18th edition (BS 7671:2018) launch - revisited

Geoff Cronshaw takes another close look at the launch of this years 18th Edition of the IET Wiring Regulations.

electrical.theiet.org

 

[Guffy60]

I have just come back from Ashbourne Heights Camping where 25metres was only just enough but then I carry three 25 metre lengths fo EHU. My water hose of 25 metre was also insufficient so will buy another and connect the two together if necessary. First time that the water hose has been insufficient forcing me to move the van when I needed the water. In the end, because I had mislaid the screw connector to the tap, I ended up using a bucket direct into the tank under the trapdoor in the upper floor (the tank is between the two floors)

I would carry something like this as well, makes it easier to pour water into the tank via the filler