Hi all
I hope someone can help me here my camper van has 2.5mm cable wired through it to fuse box and hook up I believe is 2.5mm also what I’m asking is that I have a splitter cable with the hook up plugs which plugs in to the van first then campsite power plugs into one of the plugs leaving a spare so you can run a suncamp rcd to a tent but I think the suncamp rcd with lead is only 1.5mm cable what I’m concerned about is that this is for my daughter in her tent is this a safe thing to do or should I replace the cable to 2.5mm to match everything else we don’t run cookers etc I have a 12v plug in fridge a tv which I plug in etc my daughter would only be charging iPad and phones and if I use the air fryer I’d probably unplug tv I’m not a sparky so any simple to understand and follow would be so appreciated as my family’s safety comes first
Thank you
If I've got this right you have a 2.5mm cable from the hook-up post to your caravan, and 1.5mm from the caravan to a tent for your daughter.
If that is the case you should be fine as long as your daughter doesn't use any high-amperage appliances such as a heater. If all she is using is things like a TV, phone charger, laptop etc, there will be no problem.
Thank you so much for your help, my hook up cable is 2.5mm and camper van wiring is 2.5mm to sockets and fuse box and the cable splitter is all 2.5mm but suncamp fuse box with 3 sockets looks like 1.5mm cable, but whilst we are cooking things like tv etc wouldn’t be on I just wasn’t sure if changing the cable to 2.5mm from 1.5mm to daughter’s tent would make it more robust and safe, again thank you so much for your help and advice
The CAMC does not allow splitters, but it does not have many sites that allow tents so it�s unlikely to be a deal breaker.
C&CC also does not permit the use of Electric Hook up splitters.
Independent sites a-plenty, their policies will vary.
The general rule here is that you need to have a fuse or breaker that will break before the cable becomes the fuse wire as it were. If you have a 16amp breaker and are using copper that is not capable of that current then the cable becomes the fuse.
Quote: Originally posted by Alibaba2571 on 27/2/2023
Sorry I’m to thick to understand what you’re saying lol
You can buy a 16amp (blue connector) extension with a 3 or 4 way 13amp socket on the end which has an RCD/MCB built in. Use one of those for her and you'll be fine. This
Quote: Originally posted by SoggySteve on 28/2/2023
Quote: Originally posted by Alibaba2571 on 27/2/2023
Sorry I’m to thick to understand what you’re saying lol
You can buy a 16amp (blue connector) extension with a 3 or 4 way 13amp socket on the end which has an RCD/MCB built in. Use one of those for her and you'll be fine. This
I could be wrong, however, the EHU kit is for 10A total, not 16A, and I am not aware of 16A kits with RCD being available on the market.
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My bad. It was the actual blue connectors that are 16amp rated IP44 that I was referring to and didn't mention the breaker which I should have done. As I am a lighting/production electrician we refer to these as 16amp C-form connectors and they are widely used in the entertainment industry.
As you rightly say, these devices are generally fitted with MCB's at 10amps and an RCD at 30ms/ma.
I did try to get the point across that the breaker must be lower rated than the cable which is what this thread was all about as in cable gauge. The misconception of MCBs or fuses in a house is that they are there to protect you against electric shock whereas they are actually there to protect the cabling behind the walls of our properties from failing through over current (fire etc). In the case of these linked 'mobile mains kits' as they call them, there is no actual RCD/MCB protection at the 16amp connector end so the cable link from the site to the RCD/MCBs is not protected in this kit so we're relying on the actual campsite mains to protect that cable run in case someone breaches the cable.
If anyone wants to protect that cable run themselves (15m in the case of the kit I linked) and doesn't trust the site mains (you have good reason to in some cases) then you should buy a 16amp inline RCD/MCB which you can buy from a number of places and plug that in to the site mains and then our kits in to that.
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