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[Debs.]

why does my mains sockets not work when my caravan isn't plugged into the electric hook up?

  No!?!?!.......Hahahahaha! ......surely no-one could be THAT thick, Andy?

[Andy B]

why does my mains sockets not work when my caravan isn't plugged into the electric hook up?

  No!?!?!.......Hahahahaha! ......surely no-one could be THAT thick, Andy?

that was my reaction and was almost as diplomatic in my response. I was in the wrong for saying so & my posts were removed. I removed myself shortly afterwards. 

[Ken T]

Occasionally you will see clip on ammeters by Leme Heme coming up. They are quite good, we used modified ones to monitor train current when testing the Electrostars.

Ken

[Auto Addict]

What I'd like to fit is an AC ameter, to see what I'm pulling on mains.

Anyone know of one?

[Chris_H]

...please dont take this as im saying your daft but i do caravans for a living and its amazing how many(even time served caravanners)dont realise that you have to cool the fridge beforehand and the car will only keep it cold.like said not telling you how to suck eggs but thats the most common reason for people complaining that their car doesnt cool the fridge

No offence taken  When we got to France last year, the fridge had been chiling for a few days before we set off, and although I'm not expecting it to be like the frozen waste lands of Siberia in there, it was showing signs of defrosting. 
I know how thick some caravaners can be after reading some of the comments on a caravan forum ie why does my mains sockets not work when my caravan isn't plugged into the electric hook up?  :-?  :-?  :-?  :-?

With inverters so readily available I can fully understand why someone might expect mains when not hooked-up.

[Kevin Wood]

What I'd like to fit is an AC ameter, to see what I'm pulling on mains.

Anyone know of one?

Here you go...

http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?moduleno=38343

Will tell you voltage and frequency of supply, current drawn, real and apparent power, power factor and also units of electricity (kWh) consumed over a period of time.

Designed to be plugged into a socket with and appliance then plugged into the device but could no doubt be fitted into a  burger van with no problem.

Rated up to 15 amps IIRC.

Kevin

[Chris_H]

What I'd like to fit is an AC ameter, to see what I'm pulling on mains.

Anyone know of one?

RS Components  Not used it though.

I did put a three-phase digital volt/ammeter in a couple of vans and they played a nasty trick on me.  We had a single-phase generator and single or three-phase plug-in so we had a switch unit made to switch the single phase to all three output phases.  The stupid voltmeter assumed 120deg between phases instead of measuring them so displayed 400V when it was zero!

[Kevin Wood]

What I'd like to fit is an AC ameter, to see what I'm pulling on mains.

Anyone know of one?

Or are you talking about the house mains? In which case any of these current clamp multimeters will measure AC current.

You can get wireless mains power monitors that clamp around the meter cables and transmit usage information to a remote display. Think my parents blagged one from their energy supplier. Pensioners... watching the pennies, etc... You know the score. Might be worth a try?

Since they only measure current they will only show "apparent power" though.

Kevin

[Kevin Wood]

This is the type of thing I had in mind:

http://www.electricity-monitor.com/wireless-energy-monitors-owl-c-37_30.html

[Auto Addict]

This is the type of thing I had in mind:

http://www.electricity-monitor.com/wireless-energy-monitors-owl-c-37_30.html

I'm talking about caravan mains, don't think they work on 3 core cable.

[Auto Addict]

What I'd like to fit is an AC ameter, to see what I'm pulling on mains.

Anyone know of one?

RS Components  Not used it though.

I did put a three-phase digital volt/ammeter in a couple of vans and they played a nasty trick on me.  We had a single-phase generator and single or three-phase plug-in so we had a switch unit made to switch the single phase to all three output phases.  The stupid voltmeter assumed 120deg between phases instead of measuring them so displayed 400V when it was zero!

Ideal, but expensive.

[hercules]

Thanks for the replies. One of the uses I'd had in mind was for testing to see whether my caravan fridge was pulling Amps when set to 12v ie cooling when towing. I know it's getting volts from the car, but it never seems to have done anything when traveling. I know I could dismantle bits of fridge to see if the heater was getting hot, but it'd be a lot easier to see if it was pulling 8amps-ish when plugged into the car.
I'm sure it'd get some further use.
I think I'll have to speak nicely to one of the sparks at work and try & borrow their Fluke circuit tester.     

please dont take this as im saying your daft but i do caravans for a living and its amazing how many(even time served caravanners)dont realise that you have to cool the fridge beforehand and the car will only keep it cold.like said not telling you how to suck eggs but thats the most common reason for people complaining that their car doesnt cool the fridge

One of the reasons is the length of cable from the car to the fridge, via a multi plug causing voltage drop, even with the engine running, I doubt whether the full 12v is reaching the fridge.

A trip to France last year via a 6 hour ferry crossing (with the fridge cold before boarding the ferry), and a 6 hour drive, nothing was cold in the fridge, even though all the electrics were working OK.

All to be expected.

six hours,in that time your fridge has warmed up and you will never pull it back with 12 volts

[Auto Addict]

Thanks for the replies. One of the uses I'd had in mind was for testing to see whether my caravan fridge was pulling Amps when set to 12v ie cooling when towing. I know it's getting volts from the car, but it never seems to have done anything when traveling. I know I could dismantle bits of fridge to see if the heater was getting hot, but it'd be a lot easier to see if it was pulling 8amps-ish when plugged into the car.
I'm sure it'd get some further use.
I think I'll have to speak nicely to one of the sparks at work and try & borrow their Fluke circuit tester.     

please dont take this as im saying your daft but i do caravans for a living and its amazing how many(even time served caravanners)dont realise that you have to cool the fridge beforehand and the car will only keep it cold.like said not telling you how to suck eggs but thats the most common reason for people complaining that their car doesnt cool the fridge

One of the reasons is the length of cable from the car to the fridge, via a multi plug causing voltage drop, even with the engine running, I doubt whether the full 12v is reaching the fridge.

A trip to France last year via a 6 hour ferry crossing (with the fridge cold before boarding the ferry), and a 6 hour drive, nothing was cold in the fridge, even though all the electrics were working OK.

All to be expected.

six hours,in that time your fridge has warmed up and you will never pull it back with 12 volts

I agree, that was my point

[Kevin Wood]

This is the type of thing I had in mind:

http://www.electricity-monitor.com/wireless-energy-monitors-owl-c-37_30.html

I'm talking about caravan mains, don't think they work on 3 core cable.

You would have to separate the conductors and feed the live through the device. Couldn 't just feed the hook-up cable through it, as the currents would cancel, but I'd bet there's somewhere in the caravan electrics where it could be installed simply.

Kevin

[Auto Addict]

This is the type of thing I had in mind:

http://www.electricity-monitor.com/wireless-energy-monitors-owl-c-37_30.html

I'm talking about caravan mains, don't think they work on 3 core cable.

You would have to separate the conductors and feed the live through the device. Couldn 't just feed the hook-up cable through it, as the currents would cancel, but I'd bet there's somewhere in the caravan electrics where it could be installed simply.

Kevin

You've got the job