Quote: Originally posted by macarw on 27/7/2016
Thanks we've got the second hook up.
We use ours, occasionally, often or always, for the following:
Pump for inflatable tent.
Outwell Castor light.
Low watt kettle (700watt from memory?).
Heater (750W & 1500W settings).
Sandwich Toaster.
Charging mobiles/ipad/ECig.
Travel hair drier.
And now a recently purchased camping fridge.
The theory is that you add up the watts of all appliances being used at any one time, and divide by the volts (usually 230 on mains). That gives you the amps. That total needs to be below the site's supply, However, even if supplied 16amps, your EHU unit may be a 10amp one (most are, I believe), so in theory again, you should be using below 10amps, at any one time.
Yes, I'd like to get away from the electronics. When we go to our caravan our kids game consoles are not allowed out of the car - they can have them on the journey but other than that they are left in the car and they can have them again for the journey home. They spend their time playing games like connect 4 if they are in the van, but more often than not they are outside finding things to do.
Just seemed like a good idea, at low cost, to be able to save on gas consumption. I looked at the double ones, but they are higher wattage and we wouldn't always need both anyway with just the two of us these days.
Hope this helps,
Jane.
------------- Enjoying life beyond kids, new love, living on a boat and a new lease of life in my mid 50s! Never too old to reinvent yourself.....
Mum to five - 4 girls, 31,28,25 and 22 and one boy, 20
Engaged! Wedding June 2020!
Just to also say, macarw, that I completely agree with your stance on games consoles with your kids!
Mine are all grown up now, and when they were younger there weren't the number of portable gaming things that there are now (well there were, such as gameboys etc, and no tablets and smartphones either, but they didn't seem to be so 'essential' to kids as they are today) and they would have missed out on so much fun and fantastic experiences which they still talk about today, if they had just sat playing on those instead of out there running around, getting dirty, building dens and playing games with new friends made on the campsites!
Jane.
------------- Enjoying life beyond kids, new love, living on a boat and a new lease of life in my mid 50s! Never too old to reinvent yourself.....
Mum to five - 4 girls, 31,28,25 and 22 and one boy, 20
Engaged! Wedding June 2020!
They really like being outside, but getting them away from the electronics is the hard thing, once they are out they love it and you can't get them back inside, it's just making that break! If they know the rules are clear and that the electronics don't come out of the car it saves the arguments.
We've been out and bought a low wattage hob for now rather than go the whole hog with the gas oven and grill and associated bits as it worked out cheaper. We've booked a couple of nights on a local site for the weekend, so hoping the weather is kind!
I have found the hard way that the RCD extenstion may not work in France - a little warning light comes on but no power and the manual cheerfully states its not a fault - just the live and neutral are reversed on the supply and to just get that changed over.
I think I know what the French is for 'Bugger Off' :-)
As a back up, I have an ordinary extension lead and an adapter.
Once you've had electric in your tent you'll never look back It is, as it is at home, instant, less time consuming and easy.
We use ehu as do many others for lights, cooler, kettle, heater, toaster and charging up various bits.
As others have said, I believe ehu for a caravan is different - I've yet to see a caravan with candles or battery lighting! But in a tent it does feel like a luxury (that you soon get used to) especially when you have used non ehu. Even so, we still take candles and battery lamps - just in case there's a power cut!
------------- May - Dorset
July - Saundersfoot
September - S. Wales
October - S. Wales
Teppanyaki grill which we bought from lidl (Aldi do one too). This is fab and so easy to use. We hardly bbq now.
Tentaddict7 - I had not thought about using a portable electric hob we use our gas portable stove. Perhaps I should pick one up today for our month in the trailer tent starting today!
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: What do you use electric hook up for?
