Electric hook up , max 6 amps ?

[77W]

I was looking at going to the Moterhome show at the NEC in Oct & saw on there web site that you can camp there if you wish & they do have electric hook ups but it said 6 amps max

see link


The Motorhome & Caravan Show 2012 - Temporary Onsite Camping Available


What does this mean, forgive my ignorance up until now I have just bought something plugged it in & used it without giving any thought as to amps voltage or anything really to do with electric ( appart from paying the ever increasing bill that is )

I took it for granted that a hook up was a hook up & that was that, would I be right in thinking that this means yes there's electric but not much of it so only have a few things being used at once?

your thoughts greatly apprecated

 

[Firefox]

6A at 240 V gives you 6x240 W = 1440W

So your total load on the system should be less than 1440W. Be careful of microwaves. An 800W microwave is 800W cooking power. It could be double this on start up and 1.5 times on running. You'll probably just get away with a 700/800W microwave if that's all you are using at that time.

Obviously kettles and big fan heaters are out, but anything less than 1000W should be OK leaving you a bit spare for caravan battery charger and some lighting/TV/fridge maybe

 

[Smaug]

Most campsites EHU's are limited (sometimes as low as 4A or 1kW) & will trip if you overload them with too much stuff.

 

[Firefox]

(By the way, I wild camp or stealth camp or pub camp near the NEC. The temporary campsites are usually a complete rip-off costing £30 a night to be stacked like sardines on tarmac or gravel!)

 

[Northerner]

It will be adequate for charging your battery and running your fridge. You may get away with water heating depending on your model of heater and its consumption but if you use the water heater you'll be wise to make sure that there isn't anything else on that has a highish power consumption.

Amps is arrived at by dividing watts by volts so my Truma Combi heater uses 1800 watts, which divided by 240 volts is 7.5 amps. In my experience you may get away with it unless everyone else near you is over the limit as well.

But don't worry too much, if you want to use the electricity for water heating, run your fridge off gas, it doesn't use much. It's not the end of the world if you trip the supply as all that will happen is just like at home, a lever flicks up in the supply point where you plug in and has to be reset, so my advice would be to suck it and see. Try your fridge and water at the same time and, if it trips, either you or whoever's in charge can reset it.

However, no normal electric kettles, fan heaters etc. You'll need 16 amps for them.

Edited to say, 'crossed in the post' with similar advice, I got a phone call half way through starting the post.

 

[Northerner]

Most campsites EHU's are limited (sometimes as low as 4A or 1kW) & will trip if you overload them with too much stuff.

That's not my experience. Caravan Club sites are nearly always 16 amps as are many others that I've used occasionally. Things have moved on a bit!

 

[Smaug]

That's not my experience. Caravan Club sites are nearly always 16 amps as are many others that I've used occasionally. Things have moved on a bit!

Oooh, rich beggar, eh? :bow: I can't afford CC rates!

 

[77W]

Thanks for the prompt & detailed replies folks.

I would probably only really want to use a small lamp ( 40 watt bulb ) my tv ( 240 volt ) & finally a small fan heater ( dread to think what that is ) maybe the heater or more likley the tv would have to be sacrificed ? not a huge issue though.

Cooking & heating of water woould be done on gas so no worries there


I did think about wild camping & it may be an option it's £ 30 a pitch so quite expensive ( maybe i'm just tight lol ) I roughed it for years in the back of my transit with a camping stove & hammocks ( thought it was luxuary at the time , a cup of tea amongst the tools :lol-053: how times change ) so a night on my leisure battery will be ok i'm sure .


Thanks again for all your replies much appreciated !

 

[Firefox]

It depends on the fan heater. I've got one which is 700/1400W so I would just run it on the no1 setting at 700W off that supply.

You can pub camp at the Toby Carvery:

Toby Carvery

Stonebridge Island
Coventry Road, Coventry CV7 7HL
01675 442326

Or stealth camp down Old Station Road, Hampton-in-Arden:

NEC - Google Maps

 

[77W]

Thanks firefox for the heads up on places to stay

I will check the wattage on the fan heater

better start saving , there must be something else I can buy for my camper at the show, there must be, there must be !!!! :lol-053:

 

[Firefox]

Thanks firefox for the heads up on places to stay

I will check the wattage on the fan heater

better start saving , there must be something else I can buy for my camper at the show, there must be, there must be !!!! :lol-053:

Low wattage heater?! (if needed)

 

[Oasis]

Quote from the website mentioned in the first message:

"Dogs are allowed provided they are kept on a lead at all times and should not be left unattended " - so how do you visit the show as dogs are not allowed inside?

 

[77W]

Low wattage heater?! (if needed)

That may well be top of the list, I checked my one ( a cheapo one from currys ) it was a whapping 1900 watts :scared:


As for the dogs well yer a bit tricky , one person looks at the show whilst the other looks after the dog , erm that will work out nicley, :lol-053:

 

[John H]

We spend much of our time on the mainland of Europe, where it is more common than not for campsites to have limited ampage (6 is the norm in many places) so we limit all our electrical equipment to a maximum of 1000W (just over 4 amps if my schoolboy physics is correct!). We have an electric fan heater, an electric hob, a George Foreman grill, a Remoska cooker, an electric kettle, a toaster and various other small bits of electrical equipment. Providing you use no more than one of them at a time then you can also run the lights, television, fridge, water pump etc with no danger of blowing the system. But if you have anything over 1000W then be careful.

 

[77W]

cheers john , I think that's the way to go, I will pay more attention to wattages on the things I buy from now on