Wandering Welsh Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 We are heading off to France for our first cross channel trip in new MH in September. We plan to use a mix of Sites, Aires and France Passion stopovers. MH has 2 x 110Ah Banner leisure batteries. When on sites - if we have only 6amp hook up - is this ok to keep the frig going & occasional hot water heating/lap top charging? All lights are LED so I think they'll be ok. Any advice greatly appreciated (as always!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tugga Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Hi Wandering Welsh We are just back from France and most of the sites we were on only had 6 amp EHU and it is fine. We were running the fridge, hot water on its lowest setting, low wattage kettle and or electric griddle plate. We used our lights (LEDs) and we watched some TV, also LED. We didn't fuse anything. On a couple of occasions we turned off the water and drank beer whilst the air con was on. I think you will find that 6amp will be ok. You may need to make or purchase a lead that has a french plug at one end and our ehu plug at the other as we used ours twice. Have a fab time and I hope the weather stays fine for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankkia Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 6 amp will keep your fridge going and your charger - so no problem there. You will also be able to run your laptop and any t.v. / sky box etc. Water heating is possible depending on what equipment you have - If you can select between 800/900 watts and higher - as long as you have nothing else running on 230v (apart from the fridge and charger) you will be able to heat water, slowly, on the lowest setting. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wandering Welsh Posted July 7, 2015 Author Share Posted July 7, 2015 Thanks both, good to know. We can run the water heater off 1, 2 or 3Kw so will keep it on low or use gas. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Just to be on the safe side. I always make sure that I do not have the hot water on and the kettle at the same time. Do take a low wattage kettle, mine is only 1000., then should you have the heating on (in the evening, maybe?) putting the kettle on will not , trip the electric.. Enjoy your first trip. We also will be crossing end of August, but for us, it's a drive down to the sun in Spain. PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Wandering Welsh - 2015-07-07 11:08 AM Thanks both, good to know. We can run the water heater off 1, 2 or 3Kw so will keep it on low or use gas. ;-) 6A, at a typical continental 230V, gives you just on 1.4kW. (V x A = W). Use low wattage mains appliances, and you won't have any problems. But if on EHU you are likely to be on a site, so you could avoid the whole hot water issue by using the site's facilities, at least where available amperage is low. On aires, where EHU is available, it is often time-limited, and may also be at a low Amperage. The lowest we have come across was 2A on a site in Portugal. That was tricky! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 A two pin French plug on a connector, a short lead to your normal blue plug is sometimes needed. And I carry a 3 way adaptor for when all the available sockets are taken up. About £10 on eBay. You will hear stories of reverse polarity, where the positive and negative are wired the wrong way round on some sites, and some folk carry a reversed adapter, but I've never come across it. Just don't put everything on at once, site managers sometimes have to come out to reset it, you won't be popular. I use gas most of the time as I have a refillable system I also have a 10m and 25m lead for convenience, which I have had to connect together in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Joe90 Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 I'm astonished that no one has suggested fitting say a 120/140 watt solar panel. We have been over here since mid May, never once have we needed to use mains power, and for the very few Aires that do have electricity, well all I can say is don't bank on it, nearly saw a fight break out on this trip between a couple of French guys when one momentarily unplugged the one guy to use his spitter so he could have power as well. I'd also suggest as the poster above a refillable gas bottle, the hassle it saves, not to mention the sheer convenience of obtaining gas at very low cost would be high on my list if I was you, enjoy the trip anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wandering Welsh Posted July 7, 2015 Author Share Posted July 7, 2015 Thank you all for the useful information. A refillable gas system is something we are considering - that will probably be another post, as will the solar panel - just seeing how we get on at the moment before deciding on any further major outlay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Very wise, solar panels and refillables are a big outlay, see how you get on and what you actually use. We now have them both, but they are heavier than calor lites so watch your weight as you buy bits and pieces. Spare wheel, 30kilos? Awning 50-60k? Gaslow 10k ? Bike rack 15k? Tow bar 50k Solar panel 20k? Extra battery 10k? Suddenly my payload is disappearing. Air con out of the question now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Joe90 Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Quite easy to run on one Gas low ( or similar ) bottle, so no additional weight And our 120 watt solar panel comes in at 9kg, and the single 110 amp battery is more than sufficient for all our needs, so no additional weight there. The useless Fiat jack went down the tip, so in short our payload is actually less than would be the case carting two gas bottles as many folk do, added to the further complication of obtaining foreign bottles if away from the UK, but yes the two items came to approx £350, but against the price of even a modest van its peanuts, and the outlay was very quickly recouped. Just filled up my LPG at Boulogne at approx 45p a litre, do the maths, approx half that of an exchange Color bottle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallii Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Kipor do a nice little generator, a bit noisy and the fumes are a bit smelly but after a few hours running you won't even notice. Sorry just being facetious, a lot of us dislike generators very much. Solar panels are the way to go, I have two giving about 160w and never, repeat never, needed to use hook up. If it's free I will use it but not as a result of need. You will love the Aires, if you don't like the look of one just move a few miles to the next one. Enjoy. H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wandering Welsh Posted July 7, 2015 Author Share Posted July 7, 2015 So much to think about! Do you have the external filling point for your Gaslow system? Also, thoughts re roof mounted solar panels or the portable variety that you can alter position of to follow the sun? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 If the OP wishes to calculate the cost of a refillable system vs exchange cylinders, the following may help. Gaslow are currently quoting £327.40 for a single 11kg cylinder refillable kit. The last exchange cylinder I bought (Calor, 13kg, March 2015) was £27.50, so about £1.07/litre. If Joe 90 bought autogas at £0.45/litre, the cost difference per litre is £0.62. Therefore, to break even on the cost of the Gaslow system (assuming DIY fitting), at today's prices, one would have to buy 530 litres of autogas. If you know the rate at which you use gas, you can work that back to time. The Gaslow system can be transferred from van to van at fairly minimal cost, so there is no need to start again if changing vans. The further advantage of the refillable systems (that may be the clincher for some) is that there is no need to move manoeuvre heavy (about 28kg when full for a 13kg cylinder) exchange cylinders into the m/h gas locker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 The quickest way to blow a low amperage electricity supply in France is to switch on a microwave. It takes a ' surge ' of power to start up. (Preferable if you have at least 10 amps ). ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Joe90 Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Brian Kirby - 2015-07-07 4:51 PM If the OP wishes to calculate the cost of a refillable system vs exchange cylinders, the following may help. Gaslow are currently quoting £327.40 for a single 11kg cylinder refillable kit. The last exchange cylinder I bought (Calor, 13kg, March 2015) was £27.50, so about £1.07/litre. If Joe 90 bought autogas at £0.45/litre, the cost difference per litre is £0.62. Therefore, to break even on the cost of the Gaslow system (assuming DIY fitting), at today's prices, one would have to buy 530 litres of autogas. If you know the rate at which you use gas, you can work that back to time. The Gaslow system can be transferred from van to van at fairly minimal cost, so there is no need to start again if changing vans. The further advantage of the refillable systems (that may be the clincher for some) is that there is no need to move manoeuvre heavy (about 28kg when full for a 13kg cylinder) exchange cylinders into the m/h gas locker. For clarity as you mention me, I do not have Gaslow, which almost seems a generic term for refillable systems. I have the largest Gasit bottle which comes in at around £170 with external fitting kit. One also needs to factor in the cost of "hiring" a Color bottle if new to this game, at £66 for a new bottle, which of course is useless if using abroad and needing to exchange. At that point additional costs and hassle ensues.There is zero hassle driving up to a pump, a couple of minutes and your sorted, to me even if there was a cost penalty, which there isn't, its still infinitely better than other options we've wrestled with in the past, and at an upfront cost of around £120 for something I'll have saving me money, and my back, on an ongoing basis year after year seems a no brainer to me. You stick with exchanging your French and UK bottles Brian, your preferred option, I'll stick to a couple of minutes at a pump, and paying less than half the price for my gas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.