sshortcircuit Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 Bill Disappointing you treat the matter with flippancy. A lot of effort has been put in by many to provide understanding of a potentially lethal situation. Read the posts and you may understand why the french are not so suseceptible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 Hi Bill and Sshortcircuit, Well I actually thought Bills comments were very good, light hearted and added a bit of humour to lighten the air a bit. :-) Next we will be getting advised we MUST drive a LHD on the continent because a RHD is not so safe. While LHD vans are available it is totally irresponsible of us to take a Bristish RHD vehicle abroad. Now don't be flippant about this, there are very many more accidents on the roads than there are with Elecricity, putting the issue of driving a LHD as a higher priority issue. *-) Jon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 Observations: 1) always put safety first - if there is ANY doubt whatsoever do it safely, if that means having testers and revering connectors etc, for the small outlay it's got to be worth the cost - less than £6.00 for a couple of connectors - one continental and one UK type. Surely worth it for the peace of mind if nothing else???? 2) if you've ever had an electric shock, albeit a minor one hopefully, then you'll know how painful and frightening it can be, I accidentally touched one of the pins when trying to extract a plug from an unswitched house socket - not fun I can assure you even though it was only a minor shock it still bl**dy hurt!!! To avoid the hurt - refer to item 1. 3) if you damage some of the equipment in your motorhome not only could it be expensive, it would certainly spoil your holiday, cause lots of hassle and put you in a bad mood. To avoid the hassle - refer to item 1. 4) if you want to avoid the embarrassment of your friends, loved ones, site neighbours taking the p*ss and having a ruddy good laugh at your expense - refer to item 1. 5) if you want to be sure that you don't damage your friends, loved ones, site neighbours and get the pants sued off you afterwards or worse - refer to item 1. If you don't give a toss and just want to argue the point constantly for the heck of it, causing confusion for others and making them worry more than is really necessary - then do not refer to item 1. :-S However, if I see someone on a site with the camper glowing like a beacon with sparks flying and the owner cursing for being so stupid as not to listen ... I reserve the right to be one of the p*ss taking group that is item 4!!! :-) :-) :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sshortcircuit Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 I give up. There are some people who are not prepared to accept commom sense advise and concoct various reasons for not doing the right thing. On all occassions, TEST and be SAFE. End of discussion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spartan3956 Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 Sparten, was a fault found on your van after you got a shock. Or was it a fault on the earth supplied on the campsite which you have connected to your chassis. That would still have existed with your 'polarity' reversed or not. Conversly if it was a live wire in your vehicle shorting the chassis then had the 'polarity been reversed you would still have got a shock, but not in the UK as neutral is bonded to earth. The reality is reverse polarity is still no more dangerous. Jon The fault was on the campsite outlet my van electrics were fine. I dont trust French electrics i always check. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 [QUOTE]sshortcircuit - 2006-11-08 9:29 PM I give up. There are some people who are not prepared to accept commom sense advise and concoct various reasons for not doing the right thing. On all occassions, TEST and be SAFE. End of discussion[/QUOTE] Who is not prepared to accept common sense? The converstion has moved on, please do try to keep up. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 Sparten, I can only think that the fault was the earthing had become live for some reason. This could actually happen if they have a high impedance earth which is generally the case in France as the site has to provide their own earth. Basically what happens is the electricity supplier does not provide the earth but the user has to legally supply his own. In this case the campsite. What can happen is if someone else has a fault connecting a live wire to the site earth and the earth is poor, everyone on the site connected to the same earth will have a live earth. One good reason for providing your own earth in France with a stake near your van. As to if this situation is changing with latest EU regs I do not know. If you had no connection from the earth to your chassis you probably would not have got a shock as any earthed appliance in your van you touched that was actually live would not have passed through you as you are insulated by flooring etc and insulated from the surrounding ground by the tyres. Stand on the ground and touch the van , no problem as it is isolated, but lean in and say touch the cooker, then you would get a shock. I have not explained very well so apologies if it all sounds confusing. Jon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olley Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 hi nothing to do with reverse polarity, but working hot, many years ago I watched an EEB chap working on 25,000 volt live wires, I remember him saying that he had another exam coming up which would take him up to 33,000 now thats what you call working hot. (lol) Olley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 [QUOTE]Mel B - 2006-11-08 9:18 PM Observations: 1) always put safety first - if there is ANY doubt whatsoever do it safely, if that means having testers and revering connectors etc, for the small outlay it's got to be worth the cost - less than £6.00 for a couple of connectors - one continental and one UK type. Surely worth it for the peace of mind if nothing else???? 2) if you've ever had an electric shock, albeit a minor one hopefully, then you'll know how painful and frightening it can be, I accidentally touched one of the pins when trying to extract a plug from an unswitched house socket - not fun I can assure you even though it was only a minor shock it still bl**dy hurt!!! To avoid the hurt - refer to item 1. 3) if you damage some of the equipment in your motorhome not only could it be expensive, it would certainly spoil your holiday, cause lots of hassle and put you in a bad mood. To avoid the hassle - refer to item 1. 4) if you want to avoid the embarrassment of your friends, loved ones, site neighbours taking the p*ss and having a ruddy good laugh at your expense - refer to item 1. 5) if you want to be sure that you don't damage your friends, loved ones, site neighbours and get the pants sued off you afterwards or worse - refer to item 1. If you don't give a toss and just want to argue the point constantly for the heck of it, causing confusion for others and making them worry more than is really necessary - then do not refer to item 1. :-S However, if I see someone on a site with the camper glowing like a beacon with sparks flying and the owner cursing for being so stupid as not to listen ... I reserve the right to be one of the p*ss taking group that is item 4!!! :-) :-) :-S[/QUOTE] Mmmm. What I find interesting about all this is that I have never seen a "camper glowing like a beacon with sparks flying". And from all the British tourers who are in complete ignorance about polarity, yet are plugged up on a reverse polarity European pitch, I have never heard a comment about shocks or deaths. Or embarassing moments or friends and loved ones and site neighbours suing.My original question was about praticality and reality. That same substance that we test whenever we cross a road, wild camp, have an extra glass of wine or a ciggy, light up a BBQ, hop on a plane, ride a bike. These are all very dangerous tasks. The question is "how dangerous?" Though I will take the approach of testing polarity in the future, I still feel that I haven't quite had my question answered. From what I have gleaned from this thread, given today's electical and wiring standards, minimal as they may be on some sites, a fatality due to reverse polarity is much less likely that with many other activities we perform on a daily basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted November 9, 2006 Author Share Posted November 9, 2006 I have come up with the perfect solution - inspired by the Cornish council which banned bonfires on Bonfire Night and instead projected a picture of a fire onto a screen while playing a recording of wood burning. Instead of using my hookup, I'm going to sticky-tape a picture of a hookup cable to the side of my van - and then light the interior with a candle. That way there is NO possibility of being electrocuted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John H Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 Ah but then Bill, you would need to do a risk assessment as to the possibilty of the candle falling over and causing your own personal bonfire. I bet the bangers would be quite impressive (2x6kgs propane) John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 And the exposion , which you survived, rocked the overhead power cables which fell down on the remains of your van and electrocuted you. (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted November 9, 2006 Author Share Posted November 9, 2006 [QUOTE]Brambles - 2006-11-09 10:53 AM And the exposion , which you survived, rocked the overhead power cables which fell down on the remains of your van and electrocuted you. (lol)[/QUOTE] Nah! I've already covered the roof of my van with 18-inch thick battleship armour, to guard against the possibility of a hanging basket falling on me as I drive past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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