General Technical Questions and Answers last answered over 1 year ago.
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Just had my heater on the mains drying out the interior after it got damp. Left my heater on for 30 mins and went back to check the progress and my mains cable inside the van has started to melt! I think the heater was drawing too many amps, anyway I need to replace the cable from my hook up to the socket anyone know what amp cable it should be?
no there is no rcd for the mains. Its the original instalation done in 1980 when the van was made i think. I was just going to replace the cable's which have melted! Is an rcd required? Sites have them on the posts u connect to. Sparky mate of mine said if that is the case u don't actually need one as they would both trip at the same time.
Standard Westy camper installation has a 10amp breaker and an RCD with test switch. I would recommend you get it wired correctly with an RCd, you can`t be too careful around electrickery, if you want to chance your life on a campsite`s RCD working at the post, that`s up to you
Im with Westy.Club.Joker you can't trust site electrics.
You need to match the size of cable to the current you need it to carry then protect it with the correct size MCB. If you know the output of the heater and voltage 12/240V (should be stamped on a plate attached to the heater) you can work out the size of cable/MCB you need. The web site below will do the sums for you.
If you are on a tight budget the minimum you should have is an inline RCD. It will cost you less than £20. I have included a link to a 16A two pole RCD, but make sure you do your sums first so that you purchase a RCD that matches your vans needs.
Site electrics are usually either 10amp or max 16amp from what I`ve read, assume you will get 10amps. The standard Westy OE set-up is for 10amp, it trips above 10amps. (the 240v cable looks to be no more than 13amps, from what I`ve seen in my `van, and I have extended the system by adding 2 more sockets using 13amp cable)
That means you`ve got 2300 watts to play with at any one time. So if you try and run a 2kw heater, for example, you will be near the limit of the system before you do anything else. Caravan shops sell lower wattage electrical items, like toasters, microwaves etc, to try and keep the watts down.
cheers kev for the links i'll have a look. the heater i was running is a max 2400watts!!!
There is no zig unit or anything on my westy.All it did have on the original european hook up was two inline fuse's in the hook up unit itself. I'm not sure it was on the original spec of the van when new or has been replaced, as i have other stuff which does not do anything like the battery amps guage and two buttons on the dash which light up when pressed. they looked for karma in the van, that's what the wife says anyway.
Cable is rated by the size and type and is then de-rated according to the method of installation! with out getting too technical, you'll be needing to replace the cable with a 1.5 artic flex! this will take currents wel over 16A to be on the safe side and will be unnaffected by low temperatures! an RCD is a good idea but if the cable was melting i'd also check the trip switch in the fuse board to make sure is is suitable, it should be either 10A or 16A. it sounds like the switch could be of higher rating if the original cable is the right size! it might also be a good time to do a complete rewire of the insatlation! if it's 20 years old it may be past it's best, it's recomended that an electrical instalation in a house is replaced after 35 years, and the one in your van is subject to much more punishment, remember your house doesn't move but your van does and wobbles and vibrates. if you get stuck give me a shout, good luck!!
If you are going to use the heater again, best bet is to wire a new 13A socket especially for the heater. If you use cable rated at 16A and run it direct from the van inlet via a 16A RCD then MCB you will be fine. It may also be worth checking that the cable from the house to the van is rated above 10A or you will just move the problem down the line. When on a site that has a 10A MCB you may just get to use your heater but you may trip the site breaker if you have anything else on.
I think the heater was drawing too many amps, anyway I need to replace the cable from my hook up to the socket anyone know what amp cable it should be?
