scud24 Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 Hi all as i mentioned in an earlier thread iam off to France in a few weeks with the idea of staying on the Aire sites (ie no hook up).This trip is a bit of a learning curve for me and because i have no idea how iam going to get on being "self suffient" i thought i better have a Plan B,that means staying on a proper campsite with hook up.I very unsure what sort of connections they have and how reverse polarity would affect my electrics in my van (2002 AS Ravenna)if i plugged in to a French socket.I obviously have the hook up lead to use in the UK but can anybody tell me what bits i need to safely use hook up in France.As always thankyou for your help and advise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 scud24 - 2012-09-03 5:23 PM Hi all as i mentioned in an earlier thread iam off to France in a few weeks with the idea of staying on the Aire sites (ie no hook up).This trip is a bit of a learning curve for me and because i have no idea how iam going to get on being "self suffient" i thought i better have a Plan B,that means staying on a proper campsite with hook up.I very unsure what sort of connections they have and how reverse polarity would affect my electrics in my van (2002 AS Ravenna)if i plugged in to a French socket.I obviously have the hook up lead to use in the UK but can anybody tell me what bits i need to safely use hook up in France.As always thankyou for your help and advise. First a lot of French aires do have hook up. many French sites/aires have the blue type plug you will have but take an adaptor that has blue plug one end and the french two pin on the other, plenty around you can buy cheap. Reverse polarity forget it, why bother about something that will not effect you, many like to mess around with meters but not sure why perhaps they can explain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallii Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 I stay on Aires for most of my time in France, maybe one or two months a year. The hook ups are useully OK, sometimes they don't work, and if they do then it matters little that they might be wired up the other way round. They will still work, and if the French use them why worry. They can be expensive for more than a couple of hours, but then some hook ups are free! It depends where you are. I manage without hook up for months, I have solar panels and move about every three days or so. Good luck, and don't be shy in asking other M/H owners for any information you may not have, it is the best way to find out things at a new (to you) aire. H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave225 Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 As mentioned reverse polarity is not really an issue unless...........you have dodgy equipment in which case there is no fuse protection. However, do take a polarity checker mainly to check the earth connection is good, it may not always be the case and you definitely do not want to have no earth. Also be aware that although the French 2 pin plug may look the same as the/Dutch/German/Spanish Schoko type, they are not as the German/Spanish ones have cut off sides and the French plug will not fit, or vice versa. I found out trying to use a Schoko adapter in a French hotel and no go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowie Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 Hi there scud24; just go on Amazon, type "continental hookup" and all will be revealed. You can check prices and buy if you so wish. I take 1) Euro connector 2) Euro connector reverse wired 3) French plug to Euro connector 4) as 3) reverse wired. Not had any prob's. Reverse polarity is a nuisance, but we've never had a real problem, just avoid putting our fingers inside the toaster, and certainly don't lick them first!! Said tongue very firmly in cheek!. I'm not comfortable with electricity, so I'm pretty cautious. I believe it's something to do with an appliance possibly being "live" even when switched off. I'm not aware of any devices which might be damaged by use in a reverse polarity situation, but others, the electrical gurus on this forum will probably enlighten us both. You can buy a polarity tester, but most vans probably have a little red light on their charger/battery control panel enjoy France regards alan b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 Don't be surprised if on a busy aire with not enough sockets to go around you'll be asked to share ;-)................We had three running of our socket in Biarritz 8-)...................It would make a CC warden have kittens (lol) (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 The only difference between a Schoko plug and a French plug is that the Schoko has the additional side scraping earth connection as well so that it will fit both French & German outlets. The sockets in the hotel were probably type c which are for current of less than 2.5 amp you won't find those on a campsite hook up. Polarity reversal is debatable I don't worry about as I have unswitched sockets in by van. The French don't need to worry about it as they use unswitched sockets & where switches are used they are always double pole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sshortcircuit Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 Dave225 - 2012-09-03 6:03 PM As mentioned reverse polarity is not really an issue unless...........you have dodgy equipment in which case there is no fuse protection. However, do take a polarity checker mainly to check the earth connection is good, it may not always be the case and you definitely do not want to have no earth. Also be aware that although the French 2 pin plug may look the same as the/Dutch/German/Spanish Schoko type, they are not as the German/Spanish ones have cut off sides and the French plug will not fit, or vice versa. I found out trying to use a Schoko adapter in a French hotel and no go. In a healthy circuit and providing you do not tamper, reverse polarity is not a problem. Not quite sure how reverse polarity takes away fuse protection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 Only relevant to SP fusing, or MCBs. If either are DP, then feed and return become interchangeable, and the circuit is protected whichever way the feed runs. However, do remember the fuse/MCB is there to protect the wiring, not you! To protect you, you must have an RCD, or RCBO, as a main switch. If you have a main switch on your mains unit that has a test button beside it, which, if pressed, throws the mains switch off, you will be fine, and can forget about polarity issues. These test buttons should be tested periodically, just to be sure they are working properly. If any current goes anywhere it should not, whether or not through you :-), the cut off is virtually instantaneous. Operation of these is not dependant on a wired earth, but checking for the presence of an earth is a very wise precaution, so carrying a plug in polarity tester that will also identify a poor earth, and a few other oddities, is worthwhile for their modest cost. Available from most caravan/motorhome accessory stores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 This earlier forum thread may be helpful http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=27668&posts=7 (The final posting contains a link to another (long) thread discussing reverse-polarity) The "Schuko" (not "Schoko") plug referred to earlier in this thread looks like this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Schuko_plug_and_socket.png In fact, this particular design of Schuko plug would not attach to a French-standard socket. The latter is shown in the "TYPE E" section of this webpage http://users.telenet.be/worldstandards/electricity.htm Earthing of a French-standard socket is via a male pin and a standard Schuko plug lacks a female contact to accept that pin. A 'hybrid' Schuko plug will be needed for a French-standard socket. Besides the eathing clips on its outer edge, this plug has the female 'hole' to take the French socket's male pin. A (right-angled) example of a hybrid Schuko plug is shown in the "TYPE F" section. It's sometimes suggested that Schuko plugs can be used to correct reverse polarity by rotating the plug 180 degrees in the socket. This will be true if the socket is a genuine Schuko one, but it won't be practicable with a French-standard socket due to the presence of the male earthing pin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheer lunar-see Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Hi all, the reason the French dont worry about reverse polarity problems on their hook up is, the supply from the consumer board is fused in such a way, that both live and neutral are isolated by an mcb, unlike uk, where only live is switched. We dont have ring mains over here, on any of our circuits, they are all radials. The other reason is the supply conector on the side of the van, in many cases is also fused, live and neutral both fused. Other than that, we are not all being electrocuted daily over here so dont worry about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike B. Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 pelmetman - 2012-09-03 6:21 PM Don't be surprised if on a busy aire with not enough sockets to go around you'll be asked to share ;-)................We had three running of our socket in Biarritz 8-)...................It would make a CC warden have kittens (lol) (lol) We were on the aire at Meschers earlier this year-there are 4 hook ups on the borne and each hook up went to a 4 socket 'branch' as the French call an extension-from that there were something like 16 vans running their hook ups! I suspect there may have been even more extensions further on but not certain! The Capitanaire saw them all but didn't bother at all We didn't need street lights-the glow from the cables lit up the whole marina!!!! *-) :-D Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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