EHU First Time in France with Nuevo

by bnelson Mon Mar 28, 2016 5:48 pm

We are off to France Next Tuesday Newhaven to Dieppe and have booked our very first campsite in Dieppe.
The information from the Campsite says Electric 10amp. Without getting too technical what should we set the electric dial to: i.e. 2000, 1000, 950 etc....
Thanks for your help
Barbara

by oldfred Mon Mar 28, 2016 6:00 pm

10 amps will trip at 2200 to 2300 watts.

I would keep at the lowest setting, ours is 500 watts if you are also going to use the water heater. You might need to turn it off when using the kettle (travel type).

When the water is heated then 1000 watts should be fine if you are not using anything else but the fridge.

Some EHU points allow user reset so then you can put things on and see what happens .

Enjoy your trip - no pun intended. smile!

by Quilter Mon Mar 28, 2016 6:49 pm

If your memory is as good as ours then you might find a couple of bright coloured luggage labels with " WATER HEATING ON " or similar are useful to hang on the kettle handle , heating controls and, if you have one, microwave.

Might save you having to go and get the receptionist to reset the trip.

by Guest Mon Mar 28, 2016 10:21 pm

The CC did a table on what wattage each item takes. I cut this out for reference. I have a copy if you would like it. You will have to PM me as I don't post photos on the topic

by bikeralw Mon Mar 28, 2016 11:35 pm

As above, but you should be ok on a proper campsite, staff are usually around if you trip out the EHU.
We often stay an odd night at municipal sites when in France, these are often unmanned apart from someone coming round in the evening to collect the fees. On one occasion a municipal site we stayed at was almost deserted and we were the only van plugged into an EHU pole that had a dozen outlet points. Almost universally municipal sites only offer 6 amps. By morning I had succeeded in tripping out 10 of the 12 EHU points...

by dbroada Tue Mar 29, 2016 9:15 am

gone are the days of 2A or 4A breakers offered to you at French sites I'm glad to say.

In my opinion, kettles are the biggest problem you will have.

The circuit breakers at most sites are (partly) thermal and can be fast or slow. With a fast boil domestic kettle it is often a race as to see whether the breaker will trip or the kettle will boil first. A quick look on the web shows the popular jug kettles take 3000W (3kW = 13A@230VAC) so one of those will use all of your 10A the first time you make a cuppa and may leave you looking for another post to plug in to.

I have always bought our camping kettle from Currys and read the power consumption off the box before giving the short list to Heather to make the final choice. I have just looked on their web site and nearly all are 3kW (13A) but there are some 2kW (8.5A) which are much nicer to 10A trips.

by micknhilary Tue Mar 29, 2016 9:27 am

I use a 900w kettle in the 'van. These are readily available from camping stores. Aldi were selling a 900w example last week. Water takes a little longer to boil but this is never a problem.

Mick.

by dbroada Tue Mar 29, 2016 9:36 am

micknhilary wrote:I use a 900w kettle in the 'van. These are readily available from camping stores. Aldi were selling a 900w example last week. Water takes a little longer to boil but this is never a problem.

Mick.

Even better. As you say, it takes longer but who needs coffee THAT quickly when on holiday?

I was really posting as a "heads up" to those who don't realise the effect those numbers have on their continued supply.

by Gromit Tue Mar 29, 2016 10:59 am

dbroada wrote:
micknhilary wrote:I use a 900w kettle in the 'van. These are readily available from camping stores. Aldi were selling a 900w example last week. Water takes a little longer to boil but this is never a problem.

Mick.
Even better. As you say, it takes longer but who needs coffee THAT quickly when on holiday?

I was really posting as a "heads up" to those who don't realise the effect those numbers have on their continued supply.

We have never vandalised an EHU pole quite as comprehensively as Bikeralw ( snigger

) but as you say Dave, it's the kettle that's most likely to do the damage. We used one of those 900w kettles for a while, and although it was a bit slow it was OK, but (in the previous van) plugging it in was fiddly and potentially dangerous, as the very short lead would only just reach the 240v socket.

I suppose I could have installed a longer lead, but instead we bought a gas kettle and have used it ever since. No worries at all about electric poles, and it works when we are off hook-up on an Aire. With storage space at a bit of a premium, it also means we don't have to carry two kettles - which always seemed a bit daft to me!
And we can still have a cuppa if we are parked next to Al!! lol4

Dave

by dbroada Tue Mar 29, 2016 11:05 am

Gromit wrote:
And we can still have a cuppa if we are parked next to Al!!

Dave

by redturner37 Tue Mar 29, 2016 12:52 pm

Fully agree with Gromit, using the gas kettle is a lot less hastle and just use the mains for the fridge/charging etc. Why carry anything thats not essential......

by Gromit Tue Mar 29, 2016 1:04 pm

redturner37 wrote:Fully agree with Gromit, using the gas kettle is a lot less hastle and just use the mains for the fridge/charging etc. Why carry anything thats not essential......

Hmmmmmmm.....
Now why did Mrs Gromit suddenly spring to mind here?? lol4

But seriously - it's an excellent objective, and one that you are forced into with a small van. Looking into some underbed garages I reckon some folk carry several hundredweight of "might be useful sometime" items.

The gas kettle works perfectly, and there's nothing to go wrong with it - so it fulfils the KISS principle as well.

Dave smile!

by groundhog Tue Mar 29, 2016 1:35 pm

Forgive the comment but as this is your first time you do have the correct connecter and also a reverse polarity adapter don't you.....

by Gromit Tue Mar 29, 2016 2:16 pm

Good point Hog. smile!

For the hook up converter one of these is needed. The central hole for the earth connection is vital - you just might find an old type plug for sale without the hole. There are still a few places where the socket has a protruding pin for the earth, and without the hole you can't plug in. Most of them now have just two holes for the live and neutral, and the earth connection is made via the metal strip around the earth hole. (Not all of it is visible in the photo.) This type of plug will fit in either type of socket.

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As for the reverse polarity adapter, there's always controversy over this, but I wouldn't bother with one. Have a read on any forum if you are concerned, and try to find a report of someone coming to harm because of so called "reversed polarity". shrugg

I won't fuel the fire by saying any more, but if you are worried they are so cheap you may as well carry one for peace of mind - and a tester of course. content

Polarity (and earth connection - far more important!!) tester.
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Polarity changer
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Dave

by Quilter Tue Mar 29, 2016 2:58 pm

I wouldn' t dream of arguing with Dave about kettles, or anything else ( !) but we do prefer an electric kettle when we are on hook up. In summer especially it saves heating up the van using the hob and also means I don't have to clear stuff off the hob, which I tend to use as a work surface.

The point of the post ? We have a silicone folding gas kettle which is excellent. It takes up as much room as a paperback book, does not smell or taste in action and, 3 years on, still pops up and down as cleanly as it did when new. We got ours from Go Outdoors, it's an Outwell one:

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( apologies for long link, am on phone and can't find TinyUrl).

by Gromit Tue Mar 29, 2016 3:22 pm

Quilter wrote:I wouldn' t dream of arguing with Dave about kettles, or anything else ( !)

Likewise, I am sure! smile!

Quilter wrote:The point of the post ? We have a silicone folding gas kettle which is excellent. It takes up as much room as a paperback book, does not smell or taste in action and, 3 years on, still pops up and down as cleanly as it did when new. We got ours from Go Outdoors, it's an Outwell one:

Certainly no argument about this kettle. We also have one (on your recommendation if I recall. content

) and it really is excellent - for all the reasons you mention. We looked at several different silicone kettles at the shows, and the Outwell one stood out as by far the best design - in terms of function rather than appearance.

Dave smile!

by bikeralw Tue Mar 29, 2016 6:14 pm

Feel a bit put out no one wants to park near me.... I also like an electric kettle (800w) as well as one for the gas. The extra space it takes up only means Mrs Al has to settle for 7 pairs of shoes rather than the 8 she prefers....

by moggyminor1966 Tue Mar 29, 2016 7:58 pm

We have a gas kettle which we bought years ago and it even fits on our electric plate when on ehu. Boils in no time so not fussed about an electric kettle.

by bikeralw Tue Mar 29, 2016 10:06 pm

I'm sure there's a market for a dual fuel kettle... Not so far fetched, I recently bought a low wattage hairdryer that converts into an iron..., although what I'd use an iron for in the van I've no idea...
Back to the thread, I've been to Dieppe several times, lovely town. While in the area try and visit Saint-Valery-en-Caux. Lovely town with plenty to see and do. There's a nice aire across the bridge and turn right, N49.872 E0.709, where you can park the van for the day or spend the night for a small charge.
Al.

by FOA Tue Mar 29, 2016 10:22 pm

Watts= volts x amps. So multiply 10A x 230v and you get 2300 watts. 6A x 230v and you get 1380 watts and so on.

by Guest Tue Mar 29, 2016 10:58 pm

Just something to remember when calculating usage, some which operate in the background, fridge, charger, water heater. Although not having a microwave, I understand it can use up to double the stated wattage on startup

by meanchris Wed Mar 30, 2016 9:38 am

bikeralw wrote:I'm sure there's a market for a dual fuel kettle... Not so far fetched, I recently bought a low wattage hairdryer that converts into an iron..., although what I'd use an iron for in the van I've no idea...
Back to the thread, I've been to Dieppe several times, lovely town. While in the area try and visit Saint-Valery-en-Caux. Lovely town with plenty to see and do. There's a nice aire across the bridge and turn right, N49.872 E0.709, where you can park the van for the day or spend the night for a small charge.
Al.

Just had a look at that on street view Al, it looks pretty good, doesn't it just shame our British attitude to accommodating motorhomes, as usual?

by Gromit Wed Mar 30, 2016 9:43 am

The OP is in France now - just thought I'd mention it in case others try to offer suggestions for her preparation. (Or perhaps she goes a week yesterday - still very little time to order any items she may need.)

If you are still watching Barbara, most things can be bought in France, but if you want any electrical converters or adapters you won't find them very far south of the channel ports, so be sure to get them straight away.

Have a good trip. You will love the "motorhome welcome" you get everywhere.

Dave smile!

by bnelson Wed Mar 30, 2016 10:08 am

Hello everyone - thanks for your replies - were still here in England travel next Tuesday.

I'm sure your all wondering what type of kettle we use! - well its a gas/elec hob one.

Weve been ordering bits and bobs on the internet for the last few months - the postman has been very busy. We do have the European hook up converter and the polarity tester (dont fully understand what this does but planned to plug in and look for 3 green lights).

Thanks for the info on the Dieppe aire bikeralw - we might check it out as we do plan to use aires also and have bought the France Passion book for this year.

Its reassuring to know that week can seek help and advice whilst away (depending on internet access of course).

Barbara

by meanchris Wed Mar 30, 2016 10:22 am

"depending on internet access of course"

It's worth remembering that free WiFi can be had from many French libraries, even when they're closed, by sitting outside with a laptop or tablet.

Credit due to Dutto and others who have mentioned this ^^^ previously, not me.

Our preferred method is to take a MiFi and "3" PAYG data SIM card, but any "3" SIM in a tablet or phone allows you to use the internet while in France, subject to your normal contract terms.

EHU First Time in France with Nuevo

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