I Need Help To Answer A Question

[Deneb]

Just been on a site in Scotland where the owner only visits to clean facilities and collect fees. £15 per night flat fee for everything except EHU. The EHU bollards were coin operated at 2x £2 coins for 24 hours.

I remember an Aire in Normandy from a couple of years ago. Select what services you require at the barrier on entry. Pay by card machine at barrier. Following payment a ticket was issued with separate keypad codes for the services paid for, keypads at barrier, shower room door, EHU bollards.

That Aire also had twin sliding gate barriers, about 10 metres apart. PIN required to open the first barrier, and the second only opened once the first had closed again, so no access for tuggers or longer units.

10 euros a night gave access to everything, which always makes me wonder why the UK can't price similarly

 

[Gellyneck]

Spriddler
I knew I had "inadvertently" taken a photo of a caravan with a solar panel on the roof!
Not the biggest but .......

 

[scotzsue]

Friends have a cs they have put lower rated fuses in after finding heater in in awningswhlie th owners were out for the day. their fees didn't cover the cost of the electric, they have also had problems with people hooking up overnight and disconnecting in the morning before they (owners) went to the site. Family member on site in their van at the time , that's how they knew.

 

[scotzsue]

10 euros a night gave access to everything, which always makes me wonder why the UK can't price similarly

Possibly the cost of electricity checks rates, water checks, all much higher in the uk

 

[Spriddler]

Several replies seem to have referred to the arrangements at commercial camp sites. The OP's question is about aire type pitches.

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[Masman]

One site we stopped on outside York.Had electric. But was thinking of putting meters in.In the winter they we losing money due to campers leaving heaters on 24 hrs a day.Talking to a fellow motorhomer and mentioned this to him.His reply was a shrug of shoulders. I have paid for it so i will use as much as I like.

 

[Jim]

For me 6 amps is not good, in the summer I don't need electric as solar is fine in the winter or if it is cold I want to run my heating on electric to save the hassle of gas bottles etc so 10 amps is good and 16 amps better, I expect to pay extra for it. I have just had 7 nights on the CCC site at Charmouth I don't like the big sites much and normally stay on the CS ones, but I knew we would want heating and was willing to pay for it.

Yes in winter I understand that, but at £12 a night and 16amp electric, it would feel like I'm paying them to stay

 

[Clarky]

you have confused me even more now, i dont understand any of it

silvia

As a very simple guide, if it has a heater ie. kettle, hair dryer, toaster, water heater, it uses loads of leckie.
If its lights or electronics ie tv, phone/battery charger, fridge it uses very little.
So lights, fridge and battery charger plus tv should be fine on 6amps.
Kettle (unless a low wattage camper type), van/water heating will blow the fuse/ circuit breaker.
If you have 16 amps like you would get on most U.K. camp sites, C&MC and C&CC for instance, you can use everything.

 

[Gellyneck]

Several replies seem to have referred to the arrangements at commercial camp sites. The OP's question is about aire type pitches.

Sandra asked -
+++
I've been asked the following question but don't really frequent campsites or CLs so hopefully some of you can answer this. Its for an aire style parking area in Scotland.

A quick question – If we put in electricity hook up points – how are they normally monitored at other sites and how is payment taken and access given to the supply to motorhome owners?
+++
which to me says she is looking for info on how campsites \ CLs monitor electricity hook-up points?
Apologies if I've got that wrong. irnbru

 

[movan]

I take it that if you DO blow something, you just switch something off and go out and press a button or something on the electric pole? Or does it blow fuses in your mh?

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[Gellyneck]

I take it that if you DO blow something, you just switch something off and go out and press a button or something on the electric pole? Or does it blow fuses in your mh?

The bollard normally has an MCB \ RCD on it that trips so you just do as you say in your first sentence.

 

[Spriddler]

Sandra asked -
+++
I've been asked the following question but don't really frequent campsites or CLs so hopefully some of you can answer this. Its for an aire style parking area in Scotland.

A quick question – If we put in electricity hook up points – how are they normally monitored at other sites and how is payment taken and access given to the supply to motorhome owners?
+++
which to me says she is looking for info on how campsites \ CLs monitor electricity hook-up points?
Apologies if I've got that wrong. irnbru

I assume 'Sandra' is also the OP and read it as asking about setting up an aire style parking area but I'm not really concerned whether my understanding was right or wrong, it's all worth a read.

I've been asked the following question but don't really frequent campsites or CLs so hopefully some of you can answer this. Its for an aire style parking area in Scotland.

 

[Puddleduck]

Is the aire going to be free or charged?

Charged at £10 per night without electric.

In the summer usually charged £10 without and £12 to £15 with - and the with EHU pitch will also have some additional extra so that the charge is not just for electric. In the winter the charge is lower for the pitch but higher for electric and some places have meters / cards.

I'd rather have electric than not even if we don't use even £2 worth.

One place we will never go back to insisted that a prepay card of £20 was bought for the electric and there was also a deposit on the card. When we checked out (or tried to) no one was in the office (it was supposed to be "open") and there was no answer to any of the phone numbers given. I sent the card back using "signed for" Royal Mail but never got the money back - the site owners claimed they never received it even though I had a copy of the signature. I really should have gone to small claims just to make a point but had other things to concern me at the time.

 

[Puddleduck]

6 amps is plenty,,Charges battery and runs fridge,pump and lights..BUSBY.

and CPAP machine

 

[Gellyneck]

On my screen the OP wrote...

I've been asked the following question but don't really frequent campsites or CLs so hopefully some of you can answer this. Its for an aire style parking area in Scotland.

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[Nirvanauk]

Presently staying on a site in Leeds - metered.
stay in the summer Coniston - metered.

I much prefer this method as some people put up big awnings and a couple of fan heaters in side and leave them running - I call this taking the piss!

 

[Ninjabob]

Sorry. Stupid question. Whatdoes 6amp cover?

TV
Heating
Fridge I havn't a clue.

6 AMP becomes a bit of a dance. ALDE heating/water on 1KW plus fridge plus battery charger plus water pump operating plus LED lighting turned on. Should be able to have the TV on as well. As soon as you want to use an electric kettle (travel low wattage) it would mean turning off the ALDE to be assured it had got hot enough to be idle. Microwave - the same thing would apply. Shower still works on 1KW but to recycle quickly gas can be added.

 

[Gerby]

Not sure how good my figures are (got them from google) but for a 6 amp supply at 230 Volts you would use 1.38 KW (6 x 230/1000) after which you would trip the system, therefore you would (simplistically put) use 33.12 Kilo Watt Hours per day maximum, the average cost per KWH (according to google and not including any standing charges or allowance for infrastructure costs) is 14.37 Pence so if the full use is made of 6 amps for the whole 24 hour period total cost would be (subject to previous non inclusions mentioned) £4.75 needless to say a 16 amp supply would be considerably more (£12.69) but again only based on full use of every available amp for the full 24 hours

Feel free to rip my figures apart if they are wrong (though they are only based on Google averages)

 

[Pickygame]

Offer it for free to test usage for a trial period then just add an average per day. Some you win, some you lose. But you can monitor and adjust accordingly.

 

[berni109]

irnbru tell them not to bother providing power.
The cost of installing and maintaining makes it a non starter. 1 less thing to worry about.
Space, water and dump is all most people want for a couple of nights.

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[TheBig1]

The only fair way to supply and use EHU is the PAYG principle with meters on the bollard. If they have WiFi installed, then there are modern meters that take a credit/debit card

 

[Odd-no-more]

Yes in winter I understand that, but at £12 a night and 16amp electric, it would feel like I'm paying them to stay

Would normally pay about£20 with 16amp

 

[Langtoftlad]

Surely the question is how much will it cost to install and maintain 5 EHU bollards, and then whether that facility will attract more business... and whether that investment would be better spent elsewhere.

 

[denisejoe]

We don't usually bother with EHU but it seems in this country it's getting more and more difficult to find sites without EHU so you pay for it whether you want it or not.

For an aire type site, assuming it's just for motorhomes the same as in France then I don't think it's necessary to provide EHU so no ongoing maintenance costs. Just need fresh water, grey waste and toilet dump.

 

[Tea Bag]

Been there many years ago when we worked on the motorways, after all no one wants to have that massive genny running day and night to power the site office and caravans.

Hi
Pipelines a long time ago. Had to have massive genny running day and night to keep water levels stable... Surrounded it with wall of Bales of Hay..... Job was a good 'un.
Tea Bag

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[tonyidle]

No, It comes on when the street lights come on, it's obviously not fed directly FROM the street lights but would go through a transformer I imagine.

Street lighting will be connected to a very capable supply. I doubt it would notice a few hook-ups.

 

[tonyidle]

you have confused me even more now, i dont understand any of it

silvia

Watt do you need to know?

"James Watt (19 January 1736 – 19 August 1819) was a Scottish mathematician and engineer. He did not invent the first steam engine, but he did modify it to work better. There were other patented steam engines (such as the Savery and Newcomen steam engines) in use by the time Watt started his work on them. His major contribution is in developing the modern form of the steam engine. The Watt steam engine is credited for driving the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries. James Watt was a brilliant engineer and he also transformed the Newcomen engine.

Today, most people honour him by naming a unit of power, the watt, after him."

His work also led to the phrase "Balls Out" when referring full power / speed.

I'm nothing if not helpful .

 

[TonyEmm]

Sorry. Stupid question. Whatdoes 6amp cover?

TV
Heating
Fridge I havn't a clue.

No heating, no kettle, no coffee maker, no toaster, no microwave.... basically nothing with a heating element unless specifically low-wattage.

 

[Odd-no-more]

One of the problem with 16amp is a much increased cost of installation. Domestic meters supply 100 amps. On a CL with 5 posts @ 6 amps the 30amps needed can be run on a 32 amp breaker. If that goes up to 16 amps a complete new installation including meter and supply is required.

 

[Jaws]

I've been asked the following question but don't really frequent campsites or CLs so hopefully some of you can answer this. Its for an aire style parking area in Scotland.

A quick question – If we put in electricity hook up points – how are they normally monitored at other sites and how is payment taken and access given to the supply to motorhome owners?

Not a direct answer, but it might help
Many marina set ups have a prepaid card type meter.. Having recently been asked about servicing them I discovered the meters were less than £70 to buy..
The cards could be sold at a local shop ?

But a caveat
I have no idea about the laws in Jockland but here in England it is illegal to charge more for electric than is being charged by the supplier

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