tent power

You certainly can. No adapters required.

Hi Gordenski, most of the caravan parks we stay at require a 15 amp power cord for connection to tents, campers or caravans.
To get this clear in my own mind, I rang a couple of caravan parks and evidently it is now law in both NSW and here in QLD. The reason I was given is that it is a safety requirement as the 15 amp cords will take a larger surge and have a the larger earth.

Cheers,

Mike

Interesting to say least yes understand why they want caravans/motorhome to use 15a as stated previously gives bit of "safety margin" it when a person files down earth pin so it fits a 10a outlet i get annoyed as 99% of caravan parks will be 15A supply.

But if you look at a engel waeco etc etc they only run a 10amp inlet so why a caravan park would have issues with plugging in a 10a into a 15a rated supply is beyond me.

Even when we had new sheds built after bushfire just over 3 years ago (Parker ville-Mt helena) sparkie recommended 15a straight away just in case we ever needed to run slightly higher amp equipment -even said running normal 10a plugged equipment perfectly OK to do

So gordoneski - carry a 15a with you just in case then plug 10a powered item into it no problems feel free to add a circuit breaker/adaptor if you feel it necessary

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Gordon,
I presume your VW Caddy Van is not wired for 230 volts and you are using an extension cord from the park power pillars into your van. That is legal and safe if sensible precautions are observed.
If you get hassles from park managers about using a 10A extension lead you could instead use a 15A lead then plug your appliances into that. Entirely legal and safe.
The park manager will see that you are using his preferred 15A extension and be happy.
(Although a few of them are never happy about anything. LOL)

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I have just perused my copy of the AS/NZS 3001 Standard that covers electrical supply to Transportable Structures.
It specifically states that it "Includes provisions for ...... temporary structures such as tents...." (Section 4)
Section 5 defines the supply lead as "...requires a cord extension with a minimum rating of 15 Amps and 15 Amp rated plugs."

So it would seem that you are indeed required to use a 15 Amp extension lead into a tent. However I know of no regulation limiting the use of a 10A plug into that 15A extension cord.

I would be very interested to hear from a legal point of view of the unlawful removal of a lead from a covered caravan park power point where there are usually connections for 4 caravans, with no signs stating 15 amp only, and who is qualified to do so?

I would have thought that if you have paid your money for a powered site, are not physically told by staff that you are not to use a 10amp lead, and then set up, they are in fact tampering with your site and this could be used as a legal fight as to why. Imagine if this was the case and you come back to your site and food stuff has gone off in warm weather if you were away all day from your site.

These days with consumer laws, if there are no signs saying you can not do it, are not told by staff when paying your fees, and then to see the the persons A class electricians licence to see that he or she is qualified to give such advise?

As for being legal in some states, this sounds like another lot of c........

Australia has uniform electrical rules from state to state so there is one set of standards right across Australia and not just to suit some state that want to do their own thing.




Cheers




Stephen

As long as you dont do what I saw at Jurien Bay and Kings Canyon. Two different wizzbangs each of them with two short joined domestic extension cords and in the first case a 4 way power board in mid air behind the thing IN THE RAIN.
Unbelievable. They live amongst us and they breed.

Some people will be wondering WHY the requirement for a 15 amp lead.

This is because the outlets are not general purpose outlets ....... they are intended as a supply connection point ( a source of supply to a caravan or tent site)..... AND there are specific risks that would not be present in a home or workshop.

The outlet is a 15 amp outlet and will have a 15 amp breaker.

SO if a 10 amp extension lead is used with some other non-compliant item ( like an early unfused power board or a 15 amp item fitted with a 10 amp plug, the power cord may overheat before the fuse blows.

BTW ... it is not the site owner or managers specific obligation to ensure that customers know all the laws and standards that apply.

They do however have some duty of care ..... they would be unwise to allow the use of a 10 amp lead when the standards, that they are obliged to know, explicitly state that a 15 amp lead is required

AND this is nothing new

cheers

Mate it is pretty simple. There is nothing wrong with plugging a 10 amp lead into a 15 amp outlet and here is an example.

Firstly the outlet lets you plug the lead in which in itself tells you something.

Secondly, go to any engineering shop and all the outlets will be 15 amp. The boilermakers will have anything from a radio, fan, small and large grinder, welder and so on plugged into the 15a outlets.

Thirdly, the circuit breaker (16 amp) which protects both the 10a outlets and the 15 amp outlets will be the same for both as it is there to protect the cabling from the circuit breaker to the outlet. They may even run larger cable to the outlets and have a larger circuit breaker fitted to protect that cable.

May I suggest a safe method.

Use a 15A lead from the power outlet to your tent. This will provide better current carrying capacity over long runs and good mechanical protection as they are by design heavy duty.

At the tent end, use a 10A power board with safety overload. This will ensure that any current draw up to the 10A maximum will be covered. The overload circuitry in the power board will protect the user from over current draw.
A fridge, toaster and jug would not be uncommon to have running at the same time.

This is the minimum configuration I would use.

thanks guys for all your input.. we have now learned the safe and hopefully proper way to do it.. :)

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There is a lot of 'second guessing' going on here about the requirements of using portable electrical equipment in caravan parks. I do hold a number of electrical qualifications including the specific 'Test & Tag' licence so am acquainted with appropriate requirements.

There are legislated requirements covering both permanent fixed electrical installations and also portable electrical appliances. These requirements cover all situations which includes caravan parks. It does require considerable skill and effort to interpret and understand the regulations. Making assumptions based on what you consider to be 'sensible' or 'likely' may not arrive at the legally mandated requirement.

Legislation related to electrical matters is the authority of each State and does vary somewhat although this particular matter of Tagging & Testing is generally agreed upon via the Workplace Health and Safety 'Harmonised Model' of all States. Well, almost..... as with all legislation we never seem to completely agree.

Caravan Parks are a commercial workplace falling within the definition of places required to observe the legislation regarding safe management of electrical appliances. Specifically, this covers all the park's own equipment and specifically includes flexible extension leads connected to their power outlets. It does not extend to the individual appliances used by customers. Legislation exists requiring all such extension leads to be rated at 15 amps with 15 amp plugs and sockets.

There is NO specific legislated requirement for such extension leads to be 'Tag & Tested'. However the caravan park owner does have WHS requirements toward his employees and visitors to his premises that extend to the extension leads used by visitors and accordingly may reasonably apply measures of control over such leads, and in fact any other electrical equipment operated within his premises. Of course, as with all things, not all park operators will behave in full accordance with all laws, but they have the right to do so. They may even be more motivated by the provisions of their Public Risk insurance policies than with government electrical regulations.

It would be overwhelming to express them all here but the following is a convenient fact sheet of the issue of Caravan Leads.

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There seems to be confusion regarding the rating of electrical power sockets and the over-current protection of them. The requirements are well established in legislation and generally coverd by the AS/NZS 3000 standard.

'General Purpose Outlets' rated at 10 Amps are designed to connect appliances rated at 10 Amps or less. In domestic installations, an unlimited number of General Purpose Outlets (GPO's) may be connected to each sub-circuit of the switchboard by cables rated at 20A and protected by over-current circuit breakers rated at 20A. (A consideration called 'diversity factor' determines that not all sockets will be attempting to draw the full 10 Amps at the same time). Sensibly, installers wire an installation with several final sub-circuits each with a limited number of GPO's.
Outlets rated at 15 Amps are required to be each individually connected to a 20A circuit breaker by 20A rated cable. Accordingly only one appliance can be connected to a 15A outlet sub-circuit at any one time.

Appliances rated at no more than 10A with 10A plugs can be safely connected to a 15A outlet. They are adequately protected against fault currents by the 20A circuit breaker. Similarly, extension cables rated at 10A can be used from a 15A outlet as the 10A style socket of the extension cable will only accept appliances rated at no more than 10A. If a multiple plug board is used at the end of the 10A extension cable, the cable is protected by the 10A circuit breaker incorporated within the plugboard so multiple connected appliances cannot overload the extension cable.

So technically, a 10A rated extension cable could be used from a caravan park 15A outlet even with a multiple outlet board at the end. HOWEVER, it is an expressed requirement that only extension cables rated at 15A be used from the park's supply outlets. That is the legislation and a park operator has not just a right but an obligation to comply to it.

Ok can someone tell me the difference betwen a 10 amp lead and a 15 amp, not the plugs, the actual physical size of the wire in the lead, and on a side note, all switches, gpo's and board in a mobile situation should be double pole

Stightly OT but isnt it also illegal to make a y cable to power both inputs in a big van that has a seperate socket for the Aircon. Have seen a few like that and read that you must use two seperate leads from the power source for that.

A bit hard to do in a busy van park when all sites are used.

So who should I submit the job safety analysis form to when I camp at a caravan park ??

Do I need to wear Hi Viz at a campground to avoid being run over ??

Should I wear steel cap boots in case the bbq hotplate falls over while cooking ??

Is there a requirement to wear safety goggles when cooking a barbie to avoid fat splatters in the eyes ??

Do I need to get my camper trailer fitted with reversing beepers for when I back into my site ??

Is it a regulation to wear a hard hat when erecting an awning ??

How do I know my $7.95 Bunnings camp chair is 100kg rated and safe to sit on ??

Is it compulsory to wear earmuffs if you are camped next to someone using a generator to run their tv ??


I'm starting to think it's too dangerous to go camping now - but I'm sure there will be an App out soon that can remind us all what camping was like !!


Sad but true


Happy and safe travelling - provided your leads are tagged !

Gazz

There's no point, absolutely no point, in having all these techo rules and regs and Aus/NZ standards if there is no public education.

And there is none.

Technocrats write lovely rules, regs and standards but we are supposed to learn them by osmosis.