I am confused about the electric amps at different sites. Some offer 10 amps, others 16 amps. I have a family of 4 and will always need access to electricity as my youngest regularly needs an asthma nebuliser.
Please could you advise me as to the minimum amps I should be looking for - at a site - in order for us not to blow a fuse at a critical moment.
Our caravan is an old one and we would usually use the regular appliances for a 'normal' weeks holiday : fridge, tv, kettle and lights.
many thanks for any advice.
Don't forget to leave a review of the campsites you have visited this year or last!
You need to take account of the ratings of the applicances in use at the same time. The 'fridge will always be on and from the list you give you might use the kettle in the evening with the lights and TV on. The only one of these with a high power rating will be the kettle. We use an "old fashioned" one on the gas to avoid the problem.
Check the wattage of each appicance and add up all that might be used together. Divide the total by 240 (the voltage) and you will get the number of Amps required. Be aware that some items have a "peak" drain when first turned on so I always leave a margin of error, say 8 amps and below on a 10 amp EHU.
Do you also have hot water? If yyou use this on electric I think it will use about 4amps when on. Also a fire \ blow heating. Although both of these can normally be used on Gas if required.
You should have no problems on 10 or 16amps provided you don't use the kettle with any other high wattage appliance.As a rough guide 1000watts is app 4.2 amps so if you add up the total you intend to use at any one time and aim at 8 1/2 amps on the 10amp pitches and 12 1/2 on the 16 amps you wont be in danger of tripping anything those figures allow for a reasonable margin of error.
Saxo1
You can also get a travel kettle which uses around 1,100 watts instead of the normal 2,000 or 2,500 watts. It will boil slower but reduces the risk of trippingt out when its switched on. As previous poster said, using a hob kettle on the gas will eliminate it altogether but I'm not alone here when I say that EHU is so expensive, you do want to maximise it.
Don't forget to leave a review of the campsites you have visited this year or last!
The results are based on a uk supply rated at 230 volts
60 Watts=0.26 Amp
100 Watts=0.43 Amp
200 Watts=0.87 Amp
300 Watts=1.30 Amp
400 Watts=1.74 Amp
500 Watts=2.17 Amp
600 Watts=2.61 Amp
700 Watts=3.04 Amp
800 Watts=3.48 Amp
900 Watts=3.91 Amp
1000 Watts=4.35 Amp
1100 Watts=4.78 Amp
1200 Watts=5.22 Amp
1300 Watts=5.65 Amp
1400 Watts=6.09 Amp
1500 Watts=6.52 Amp
1600 Watts=6.96 Amp
1700 Watts=7.39 Amp
1800 Watts=7.83 Amp
1900 Watts=8.26 Amp
2000 Watts=8.70 Amp
2100 Watts=9.13 Amp
2200 Watts=9.57 Amp
2300 Watts=10.00 Amp
2400 Watts=10.43 Amp
2500 Watts=10.87 Amp
2600 Watts=11.30 Amp
2700 Watts=11.74 Amp
2800 Watts=12.17Amp
2900 Watts=12.61 Amp
3000 Watts=13.04 Amp
3100 Watts=13.48 Amp
3200 Watts=13.91 Amp
3300 Watts=14.35 Amp
3400 Watts=14.78 Amp
3500 Watts=15.22Amp
3600 Watts=15.65 Amp
------------- Think this year is to follow old meet friends for 2014.
If you cant do someone a good turn,don`t do them a bad one,its nice to be nice you know,and little things mean much more later in life.
Pete.
I am a simple non technical bloke - basically anything that heats uses more amps so electric heater, kettle,water heater, electric grill, electric oven and microwave.
If you are on a site with 10 amps or above i wouldn't expect you to have a problem. If less than 10 amps are available on site make sure you don't have any of the above items on when your son is using his nebuliser
IMO, the only thing you really need is to keep the batteries charged to get some light. The fridge can run on gas and you can boil water on gas. You don't need a TV, but even if you have one , they use very little power.
So, I wouldn't worry too much as long as you have enough power for the asthma nebuliser, and I think just about all sites will provide more than enough.
Don't forget to leave a review of the campsites you have visited this year or last!
The Watts to Amps list that Pete has posted is very handy. I have printed it off and keep it with my camping gear as a handy reference. Saves having to do mental arithmetic and long division when you are supposed to be relaxing. Just add up the wattage of the appliances you are using (which is usually stamped on the appliance) and check the list. If you wish to use an electric kettle, for instance, when you are running an electric heater either turn the heater down to a low setting or turn it off until the kettle has boiled.
Having spoken recently to some itenerant workers who live on a campsites it is very unusual to blow the entire campsite fuses. If you have the proper trip switches in your caravan or tent then these should trip before the campsite supply trips. If the overload goes beyond that then the power will trip at the campsite pillar just for your unit. It shouldn't affect anyone else. All you have to do is pop out, open the plastic cover on the front of the pillar (usually held by one or two thumbscrews) then switch it back on again and replace the cover securely.
I agree with last posting - BUT - on a visit to Beverley Park a few weeks ago the trip switches on the EHU post were locked! I didn't activate the trip to have to find out what was needed to get them unlocked but it could have been a problem. I have to say though, this is the first one I have encountered with a lock though I suspect there may well be more out there.
Although we've just got into the habit of not having more than one "heating" appliance on at once..clicking the heater off,whilst the kettle boils etc
It has always interested me why there isn't some sort of "variable trip" fitted into 'vans/MHs though..something which could be set just below what the site supply is rated.That way,you'd only need to reset the onboard switch if it tripped(..and not have to pather around the site in your dressing gown in the middle of the night!).
(..Also we've been on sites where the hook-up junction box has been gaffa taped and cable tied shut )
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: AMPS ON HOOK UPS
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