Sounds like someone is a little upset they were wrong.
Caravan Consumer unit - Have i wired correctly?
- Thread starter bobbleoff
- Start date
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Equally, of course, so was I
I was just rather intrigued by pondering the thought of a caravan which had a bathroom more than 3m long or wide!Kind Regards, John
we must share a strange sense of humour.In all seriousness. Thanks to all for constructive advice.
I'm not sure that I would call my sense of humour "strange"
As for the advice, one thing to realise is that putting an electrical installation into a outdoor 'metal box' (unless your caravan is 'plastic'!) raises various safety issues beyond those which exist when one is 'just' wiring a house.Kind Regards, John
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It's mainly timber frame. It will be earthed/grounded to the chassis. I take on board comments.
Tow sure is a reputable website and the kit they sell is readily available all over. All I want to do is replicate that.
Tow sure is a reputable website and the kit they sell is readily available all over. All I want to do is replicate that.
I agree it should not be rocket science, that it is not outside the scope of what a competent person could do even if not fully qualified, and that towsure is a fairly reputable company. But also that is something you can get quite wrong with easy, thats not dead simple or straight forward, and that towsure are not a huge company one who quite likely might sell things the customer wants even if it should not.
Don't think its half an hours bodge job and an earth lead, or combine the two topics 'how do I wire my caravan' and 'what do i need to plug my caravan into my house' as the two will end in a mess.
Daniel
Don't think its half an hours bodge job and an earth lead, or combine the two topics 'how do I wire my caravan' and 'what do i need to plug my caravan into my house' as the two will end in a mess.
Daniel
Is the chassis earthed?
There a thousands of reputable businesses, online, physical and both, who sell consumer units and cables etc. The fact that they are reputable does not mean that if you buy from them you will automatically be able to use them competently.
If you go to B&Q you can probably buy every single thing you need to build a house from below ground up, including electrical components, gas boiler, drainage. Does that mean that you know how to build a house?
Saying that because you can buy elsewhere the same items sold by Towsure you must be competent to electrify a caravan is nonsense.
There is more involved than simply having the right components.
So what is the reason for prohibiting caravan sites from using TN-C-S?
The reason is that the exposed metal work would be at Neutral potential. If the neutral potential went above ground then anyone touching the ground and any metal part of the caravan would create a neutral to ground path. If the potential on the neutral was high then then path through the person could carry a fatal current. As the CPC does not go via the RCD the earth current would not trip any safety devices.
Can that only happen with a caravan on a caravan site, not anywhere else?
Indeed. However the same hazard can presumably theoretically arise with a TN-S earth if that earth connection gets broken somewhere on the supply side and, simultaneously, there is an L-E fault in one of the properties supplied by the same TN-S earth on the downstream side of the discontinuity.
Kind Regards, John
Thinking about it and the way I've seen it operated. If we know as a DNO that a caravan (or boat) will be connected to the supply, an earth terminal may be with held.
I say may as on a caravan site the fixed buildings could have a T-N-C-S supply and often do, but the actual caravans must be TT, which is specified elsewhere
(the same actually occurs in a garage, the repair bays and shop could have a T-N-C-S supply but the fuel handling side must be TT.)
Similarly a temporary supply to a caravan whilst a house is being built would fall under this restriction.
If, however, we were not aware that a caravan may be connected e.g. to one stored at home it is unlikely we would police such an installation (though if we were there for other reasons we would possibly defect the installation.
However the ESQCR regulation is a bit open to interpretation in my view
Obviously not. It could happen whenever a caravan outdoors had exposed metal that was connected to a TN-C-S earth, regardless of location.
...but it equally obviously doesn't have to be a caravan. Exactly the same potential (extremely rare) hazard exists whenever there is any touchable metal outdoors (including the infamous 'garden tap' on the wall outside the kitchen) which is electrically connected to a TN-C-S earth.
Kind Regards, John
It can happen anywhere. The difference is that caravans have much more exposed metal, entire walls in some caravans hence the risk of a large contact area between metal at Neutral potential and the human body is much greater. A larger contact area means that for the same potential more current can flow through the body.
I recall some experimental houses in Milton Keynes had to be TT due the metal wall coverings.
What I meant was can it only happen with a caravan on a caravan site, not with a caravan anywhere else?
I would have thought that the hazards would be the same if it were in a front garden, so I'm not sure why people are saying that it's fine to connect a caravan in your front garden to a TN-C-S supply.
I would have thought that the hazards would be the same if it were in a front garden, so I'm not sure why people are saying that it's fine to connect a caravan in your front garden to a TN-C-S supply.
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