My virtual Caravan Site 

230 volt (Mains) Electrics
(My advice is not to modify or meddle with the Caravan main installation, leave it to a qualified person)

When you connect up your Caravan to a Site Mains supply you need to check the safety of your Mains installation, there are two important things you should do:

1 Check the Mains trip device works

Looks something like this and is mounted in the Mains power box of your Caravan. It has a test button. The use of this will be explained in your handbook..

2 Check the polarity/earth of the Supply/Caravan installation.

To check this I always use a socket tester, plugged into one of the Caravan sockets.

This indicates if the system is wired correctly, if there is a fault it indicates what it is.

 

Most modern caravans have two electrical systems, one for Mains Electricity 230V and one for the 12 volt side of things.

They are connected in that there is a Mains powered transformer which runs the 12v side and charges the Leisure Battery. This charger is 'on' all the time and you should assume it can take 0.5 - 1 Amp of the supply

You need to calculate the total amount of power, Amps, you can draw without tripping out the mains supply. The Site supply can vary from 3 Amps to 16 Amps, so you need to check the amount available. Generally most Continental Sites have a lower level of supply compared to this Country.

To find out the amount of power (Amps) an appliance uses you need to know the wattage of the device, typical amounts are shown below.

Appliance Watts Amps
     
Charger/Power supply 125 + 0.5 - 1
     
Space heater / Fire 500 - 1000 -  2000 2 - 4.5 - 9
     
Water heater 750 3
     
Kettle, low wattage 750 3
     
Kettle, household 2200 10
     
Mains lights 60 0.25
     
Fridge 125 0.5
     
Air Con Unit 1000 4.5
     
Hotplate 1000  -   2000 4.5 - 9
     
Toaster 1200 5
     
Microwave 1200 5
     
T V 60 0.25

The above list is an example only and you need to check the wattage of your own appliances.

To find out the power (Watts) being used you need to add up the Amps each appliance you are using takes and keep the total below that of the supply otherwise you will trip the supply.

 


The Amps and Volts and Watts thing!

People get confused about how much power an appliance uses.

The Voltage used for these simple calculations is 230v

For Appliances you need to know the amount of Watts they take e.g. a Caravan Water Heater uses 750 Watts.

You need to use the calculation that says when you divide the voltage (V) into the power (Watts) being used you get the current being taken (Amps)

230v into 750W gives the answer 3.4 Amps.

 

Caravan Club Information Sheet