Mains hook up - how long a cable?

[The BCE]

Hello,

I need to order a mains hook up extension cable - should I go for 10m or 25m?

All advice appreciated.

Cheers,

Ben

[andisnewsyncro]

You might as well get 25m, you know if you don't the first time you want to use it, it will be too short
Just don't leave it coiled up when it's plugged in, lay it out and round as best you can.

[weldore]

we went to flamborough head a week or so ago and we were parked next to a german family in a motorhome and they had a hook up cable on an extension cable reel and he had just unrolled it enough to get back to the post...this is really bad then is it?..i was thinking of doing the same for ease more than anything

[The BCE]

Cheers, 25m it is then.

[Mocki]

if you leave it rolled up tightly it will resemble a electric fire element if you draw full available amperage......
so yes, it is bad!

most people have a short lead and a long one, or park the right distance!!! lol

[andisnewsyncro]

If you keep the cable coiled whilst plugged in you do run a risk of it overheating and potentially risk a fire, or so I was told years ago and being the cautious type, I've always followed this advice. It was explained to me along the lines of a heating element in an electric fire and also compared to an electro-magnet. I might well be being over cautios, but it doesn't take that long to wind out a cable and wrap it up again after

A lot of continental vans do use their cables on drums, but I wonder if that's anything to do with the differnt hook-up systems throughout Europe? I think a lot of the German, French & Spanish sites hook ups are limited to a 6 Amp usage, whereas most UK ones are limited to 16 Amps. Just a guess, but would that mean that they would trip out before they reached a critically warm level?

Andi

OOps double posted with Mocki who's said pretty much the same in much fewer words

[Titus A Duxass]

A lot of continental vans do use their cables on drums, but I wonder if that's anything to do with the differnt hook-up systems throughout Europe?

- nope, eleccy is eleccy - they're just being continental.

[weldore]

so when using just an extension lead its advisable to unroll it all the way...i could have been wrong and he had it unwound all the way ..but it didnt look like it .

[Titus A Duxass]

if you're going to be running anything that is going to pull large amounts of current i.e. toaster, kettle (expect about 9 amps for these) then yes unroll, in extreme cases it could lead to melting of the cable insulation.

[The BCE]

What about fridge, lights and charging phones/ds?

[andisnewsyncro]

they're just being continental.

Fair comment Titus, you do see some rather worrying hook up arrangements as you travel round.

We came back to a site in spain to find our lead unplugged from the actual hook up box and plugged into the end of a four way household extension that was plugged into another one, with fridges and god knows what running off the sockets in various tents. Quickly unplugged and found another empty box to plug into (luckily I carry a 10 m & a 25 m lead so linked them together and reached a box a bit further away.... )

It does seem very common to just plug electric hobs and the like straight into the hook up points in a lot of Europe too

[1664]

What about fridge, lights and charging phones/ds?

They are all low power consumption so you'll be fine. Things that take a lot of juice are things that heat electrically like a kettle etc

[The BCE]

Cheers for all the advice,

Ben

[Titus A Duxass]

Andi,
The continentals are rather blase with leccy, whereas we are quite cautious.
Here in Germany they look at it as the responsibility of the campsite to make sure that things are safe with circuit breakers, etc.

The worst I have seen is in the Czech republic, I lost count of how many 4 way extenders were plug into one point.
Some of them were exposed to rain as well. Don't even ask about the rail network!

[koopsi]

my advice would be to always unwind the cable fully. it doesnt take long, and if you forget and plug the heavy duty stuff in, it wont matter

btw, i have seen the result of coiled extension leads drawing heavy current, especially over time.... at very least you will melt the cable insulation / drum, at worse a fire could well ensue