Cable news - Dec 2022 magazine

2.5mm is the accepted standard throughout the industry for this use.

As for connectors, legality doesn't come in to it as, if a site owner says "no", that's all there is to it.

Well I'm breaking another 'rule'! The EHU cable that came with our van - along with a 2 tonne trolley jack (Knaus) is at least half as thick again as a standard cable - it's made of rubber rather than plastic so it much easier to coil up - but it's BLACK. Whilst I always point it out to wardens hovering nearby with a lawnmower, I suppose it's only a matter of time before someone cuts through it.

Wrap some bright yellow duct tape round at 2 metre intervals

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When in France a few years ago the staff at the site at Guines ran over and cut a black cable whilst they were mowing the grass. This caused a spark which was thrown out of the side of the mower into a stand of bamboo, setting it on fire. At the side of the bamboo was a caravan with an awning attached and immediately behind the bamboo was a LPG storage rack with about a dozen bottles on it ! The staff seemed at a loss what to do. They did try to remove the gas bottles but had no hosepipe to try to extinguish the flames, just a small extinguisher. It was up to caravanners on site to try to move the caravan, with awning still attached, and get water in buckets from the nearest standpipe which ran painfully slow. Eventually the local? fire service arrived. 

Whilst not killing their clients, this continental site was trying its best to do so.

Continuing on the subject of the magazine article, why is it 'illegal' for me to use my shorter 15 metre cable when the EHU bollard is very close to my caravan? 

Continuing on the subject of the magazine article, why is it 'illegal' for me to use my shorter 15 metre cable when the EHU bollard is very close to my caravan?

It's not, it is just a poorly worded article, the Club wants a continuous cable and if it's 6 metres to the bollard and you have a 15m one then that satisfied their silly ruling.

I use this in the photo below, a 25m white cable on an extension reel with a reverse polarity socket for 'overthere' and the other socket for 'overhere'. It's put under the caravan with a short 2m cable into the battery box. Never had a negative comment from any site staff.

Last time I visited Lake Bled I had to join my 25m and a 20m (with a bucket over the reel) to even get to the closest available bollard, and that was across the site road also, think with volt drop I was lucky if I ended up with 200v 

 

 

I understand that the style of blue connector commonly used in the caravan industry is actually rated at 32 amperes, which is where the specification of a thicker cable comes from. The thin "caravan" cables will do very badly over about 20 amperes of load.

While we are at it, we should also consider that the plain push-in connectors are an inferior version only suited to use indoors in dry and dustless conditions.  The correct version of these blue connectors has a screw locking ring that makes them virtually watertight.  It is to be wondered at the Club trying to prohibit the use of waterproof joining connectors while promoting non-waterproof connectors on bollards exposed to rain and wind.

At least new installations where there is a mechanical switch-off required to extract the connector will help protect the user, and the Club (and the caravan industry in general) must have saved a tidy sum over the decades by using the cheaper connector outdoors.

P.S. The correct type of outdoor connector with the locking ring will mate electrically with the indoor version.

Many club sites have the push in and turn clockwise till it locks type, then a red button has to be pressed to release it and it rotates back in order to pull it out . Others do just have push in type but both are facing slightly downwards but not fully I recall? I don't really give them much notice once I've plugged in. 

I've certainly used both this year but can't remember which type was at what site.

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Did you also compare the voltage drop on 25 mtrs of 1.5 mm compared  to 2.5 mm cable ?