Polarity Tester

[andyelbac]

Starting to do some research around our first overseas trip in the MH next September (France). My first task is to make sure I have all the necessary kit. One thing that I seem to need is a Polarity Tester. Can any funster provide a link to a tester that they have used abroad which they can recommend?
Thanks

 

[Lenny HB]

Loads of threads on it, something I never worry about. The pitch has an RCD your van has an RCD, nearly everything we use these days is double isolated so no danger with reverse polarity.

Broken Link Removed

 

[Odd-no-more]

Far less important now than it used to be, unless you have a very old van don't worry about it.

 

[Fragle]

Simple martindale plug will do.

 

[The Wino]

The old chestnut! I have never ever seen a continental motorhome use a reverse polarity lead yet there are many hundreds of thousands of them and all seem to get along fine! I know British MH used to have inferior protection but I don't think thats been the case for a while

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[xsparks]

Here you go.

 

[Pausim]

Just unplug rather than rely on single pole switches. As far as I can tell the only real difference is that continental motorhomes have no single pole switches whereas UK ones sometimes do. Better no switch at all than one that only turns off one wire. Unplugging disconnects both.

 

[IRHP]

These

 

[pappajohn]

Take a look at any European mains plug.... It can be inserted into the socket either way up...... If it was polarity critical it would be made in such a way as to only fit one way up.
The only time you need worry is if you start dismantling electrical equipment while still plugged in even if switched off at the socket... And if you do that you deserve a shock.

 

[ctc]

Don't bother, with the money get a bottle of cheap wine and a bottle of cassis and watch the world go by.

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[Revolvor]

When I was young, my parents had an electric fire with coiled wire elements behind a metal grille. With it switched off, I poked my finger through the grille and got a shock, because the switch was in the neutral wire, making the element live all the time!

 

[The Wino]

Don't bother, with the money get a bottle of cheap wine and a bottle of chassis and watch the world go by.

Do you mean chassis grease each to their own!

 

[ctc]

Do you mean chassis grease each to their own!

Bloody American software, cassis of course.

 

[bigtwin]

On average, HALF of all continental sites have ‘reverse polarity’ yet there is an absolute dearth of instances of electrocutions amongst campers.

Why ever might that be; because it is a non-problem.

Ian

 

[mitzimad]

we no longer worry about reversed polarity its only a problem if your delving into the workings of an appliance for every day use it realy makes no difference

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[offagen]

I have to admit I've always carried a socket tester of the type linked to above by xsparks. It goes back to the days of playing in bands and not wanting to get electrocuted on stage. I've seen some pretty dodgy wiring on a few of the older French campsites and a quick check with the tester puts my mind at ease that there is a good sound earth and nothing else untoward.

Having said that, we spend 90% of our motorhoming 'off grid' so the tester doesn't see a lot of use.

 

[autorouter]

Starting to do some research around our first overseas trip in the MH next September (France). My first task is to make sure I have all the necessary kit. One thing that I seem to need is a Polarity Tester. Can any funster provide a link to a tester that they have used abroad which they can recommend?

I would definitely recommend a socket tester that fits in a 13A UK socket, as several people have already recommended. It will test for any of the many possible faults that can be dangerous. Nowadays the worst one is a missing earth, either in the hookup post, a cable connector or in the MH wiring. An RCD in the hookup post and one on the MH inlet will protect you in most situations, if the earth is present. I carry a socket tester, and a round blue plug to 13A socket adapter, and can test the hookup post, hookup cable and MH sockets to see where the fault is. And the socket tester will detect reverse polarity too.

 

[IRHP]

.

 

[MisterB]

and if you do find reverse polarity, by driving into the pitch it will automatically reverse the direction of the flow of neutrogenes to unreverse the negativity .....

although personally i do love a good school negativity play at christmas .....

 

[Lenny HB]

I would definitely recommend a socket tester that fits in a 13A UK socket, as several people have already

Nope, can't agree with that - my vans got contental sockets.

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[Pausim]

I don’t care about polarity but knowing there is a proper earth seems a good idea. Does testing the RCD prove there is an earth or just that the device is working?

 

[Lenny HB]

I don’t care about polarity but knowing there is a proper earth seems a good idea. Does testing the RCD prove there is an earth or just that the device is working?

Just the device is working, there is no earth connection to an RCD.

 

[Odd-no-more]

I don’t care about polarity but knowing there is a proper earth seems a good idea. Does testing the RCD prove there is an earth or just that the device is working?

An RCD is there to protect against a fatal electric shock by tripping out at a level that should not be fatal. The most important thing you can do to keep safe is push the test button at least once a month to keep the mechanism working quickly

 

[DDJC]

I have one. A couple of quid off Amazon. Used to use it every stop, but I can't remember when I last used it. Unlike the lightning rod, knockout gas detector, sasquatch repeller and other essentials, which are religiously turned on, every stop.

 

[PDrill]

What is this polarity tester and when is one needed?

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[Pausim]

What is this polarity tester and when is one needed?

As far as I am concerned never. In the UK 230V safety assumes that one wire is always live and the other is not. A polarity tester tells you if the connections have got swapped around. Most of the rest of the world don’t bother and make sure they unplug appliances to isolate them or use switches that disconnect both wires, known as double pole switches.

 

[Reallyretired]

Although you don't need to test for polarity as it doesnt matter anyway, it is useful as the same tester will show whether there is an earth connection which is important.

 

[autorouter]

As far as I am concerned never. In the UK 230V safety assumes that one wire is always live and the other is not. A polarity tester tells you if the connections have got swapped around. Most of the rest of the world don’t bother and make sure they unplug appliances to isolate them or use switches that disconnect both wires, known as double pole switches.

The technical issue is that UK '13A' plugs have a fuse inside, which is a single-pole protection device. Most of the rest of the world doesn't have a fuse in the plug. If the fuse blows, and the polarity is reversed, then the appliance can still be live.

However if there is an RCD in the hookup post or the MH consumer unit, it protects against any danger of electric shock. So nowadays it's not really an issue. Except for old motor homes and DIY conversions which are wired with single-pole breakers like in UK house consumer units.

 

[Pausim]

The technical issue is that UK '13A' plugs have a fuse inside, which is a single-pole protection device. Most of the rest of the world doesn't have a fuse in the plug. If the fuse blows, and the polarity is reversed, then the appliance can still be live.

However if there is an RCD in the hookup post or the MH consumer unit, it protects against any danger of electric shock. So nowadays it's not really an issue. Except for old motor homes and DIY conversions which are wired with single-pole breakers like in UK house consumer units.

They have a fuse and often a single pole switch on the socket too. Why do we need fused plugs? As far as I can tell it is because we have ring mains rather than radial ones, where the fuse would be back in the consumer unit.

 

[bigtwin]

Most of the rest of the world doesn't have a fuse in the plug. If the fuse blows, and the polarity is reversed, then the appliance can still be live.

Tis true, but who would undertake any activities that could, in the extremis, cause an electric shock without first unplugging the device?

Ian