Electric Hookup in tents

[DaveS]

I know this subject seems to create a fair bit of discussion and there is some misinformation out there so thought it worthy of a post.

From what I can gather if you're going to want electricity in your tent and therefore be using an electric hook-up (EHU) to be safe you really MUST have a RCD unit specifically built for the job.
There are unscrupulous sellers on Ebay that will sell you just an extension lead for £20 and say it will do the same job and you don't need an RCD.
This is the sort of things you will need and you can pick-up from between £40 for a single to £60 for a triple.

[chalky4]

When we go away in the Mitsubishi Delca we use an old caravan RCB mounted on a wooden stand, off the ground, inside the stand alone awning, all sealed and water tight.

[stevepostie]

I know this subject seems to create a fair bit of discussion and there is some misinformation out there so thought it worthy of a post.

From what I can gather if you're going to want electricity in your tent and therefore be using an electric hook-up (EHU) to be safe you really MUST have a RCD unit specifically built for the job.
There are unscrupulous sellers on Ebay that will sell you just an extension lead for £20 and say it will do the same job and you don't need an RCD.
This is the sort of things you will need and you can pick-up from between £40 for a single to £60 for a triple.

We use a standard extension lead with our hook up, but plug an RCD into it before we plug our equipment into it. We bought the RCD plug from B & Q for about £20.00. This seems to be OK for us.
We to have a Norfolk Lake and cannot praise it up enough. A bit expensive but it should do us for years, the living area is huge and with the carpet a real home from home.

[2gocampin]

Hi all,

Couldn't agree more Dave, if anyone is going down the EHU route then get a proper one with a built in RCD this way the lead is protected and not just what you plug into it.

Go Outdoors have a special offer on at the minute, a 3 plug EHU with 20mtr lead for £29.99 normally at least £50.00 and £99.00 for the same lead in Argos.

If you do have a plug in unit make sure that it is an RCD and not a thermal cut out switch.

The other point worth making if using an EHU is check with the site where you have booked what level of power they are running as some are lower than others and depending on how much you are planning to use the EHU you may come up against some issues.

Gary

[DaveS]

Go Outdoors have a special offer on at the minute, a 3 plug EHU with 20mtr lead for £29.99 normally at least £50.00 and £99.00 for the same lead in Argos.

That is a fantastic price!
If you need one go buy one there. At that price there's no excuse.