Extension lead from domestic point to van ?

That is a pretty obnoxious reply DIO.

First, you chastise, then provide assistance but with conditions.

Mate, why reply at all?

"Short answer, yes, it can be done."

and yes it is illegal.

Sandman why bother to reply at all, you have contributed ZERO to the thread. Grow up.

Have a look at this site mate, It explains in detail the recent changes.

Site Link

Providing you follow some what you are asking may be possible.

sandman had a go at me a few weeks ago I think he has p.m.s

Not at all chaps.

But when a reply like the above is made, it is as subtle as a sledge hammer.

This sort of response belittles people for no positive purpose.

This type of response just happens to be a "pet hate" of mine. We should be here to help people and assist them in a positive manner.

I'm no "angel" and have been on the receiving end once or twice.
Sometimes the way something is written is perhaps not how it would come out verbally.

OK, I had my say for what it's worth. Now let's "kiss and make up" and be good ExplorOzimites.

I'm with you on this one sand man. I use the search function whenever possible and most of the time you get hundreds of results that don't even come close to covering the topic. Alternatively one quick question often hopefully gets you a polite and accurate reply. If I wanted to troll aimlessly through reems of useless information there are others ways to achieve it. I look to forums for fast accurate answers.

DIO I can understand you may get frustrated at seeing and replying to the same question over and over but if it poops you off that much then just don't reply. If you've already replied 100 times then let the other 100 people who know the answer reply 100 times and before you know it it's been 10,000 times before it's your turn again and no one gets hurt.

It's about time we all remembered why forums like this were created in the first place. Not to serve the needs from the inside but to serve the needs of the incoming.

Those type of responses are just as annoying as the posters who reply and tell you to do something completely different even when you made it clear you had to take a chosen path etc and want to know how.

Get a life, preferrably a new one because the one you have now must be crap.

Gavin

Oh and to contribute top the original question. Yes it's doable but no Electrician will do it for you unless it's under the table secret squirel business. Normally you need to do it yourself. As far as wiring issues go don't know but I do knwo that many of the leads you can buy these days have 10 amp plugs and 15 amp wiring so in carefully monitored situations it's probably not bad but your judgement call to undertake etc etc. Better however to put a 10 amp plug on then to file down the 15 in my opinion.

you'll find that the cable is heavier duty also, but often a decent extension cord uses the heavier cable anyway, whether 10 or 15 amp.
But where the problem is, of course is in the house itself. If it trys to draw 15 amps, it should either trip the breaker or blow the fuse. Then some clown replaces the fuse wire or breaker with a heavier rated one, but the house (old?) wiring and wall socket is still only 10 amp.
whoosh.

Hi Alloy c/t,

Many caravan people seem to want to perpetuate this myth for some reason

IT IS ILLEGAL !!! The regulations are real, they 'call' a standard and the standard states that the plug shall conform to certain other standards and those standards require 15 amp pugs !

Don't worry about the question " does any item in your van draw 15 amps" It is the total load that you should be looking at.

Small electric fan heater 2 KW
Microwave oven 1.5 KW
A small hand held hair drier 1.5 - 2 KW

A 10 amp supply is just way to low these days.
Caravans are just small footprint houses, some even have air con.

A good recommendation Brian.

Andrew

I'll second that mate.

Get a sparky to put the proper plug in the house,,,,then no hassles at all.

meow.

rick.

What about having a (electric) kettle and A/C on at the same time? Remember 15A is the sum of all appliances etc not just one.

Andrew

has nothing to do with it when both circuits for 15amp and 10 amp outlets both have 20amp circuit breakers
Chris

So , just go and check your circuit breakers / fuses in your house , bet any $ you like that all YOUR power points are only rated at 10amp yet are protected by a fuse / circuit breaker of 16amp ,,, pray tell what is the difference of your house with all power points rated at 10amp and a c/van , c/trailer , ,, why do you need a 15amp EARTH for a 10amp system ,, Because ????????????????????? ,no where that you plug into with a 15 amp plug as per c/van park are you drawing /getting 15amp of 240v AC.

Correct me if I am wrong but are you referring to the fact that it is only the earth pin that is larger? The only reason it is so is in order to stop a 15 amp going into a 10 socket. Not because it (the earth pin itself)will provide a heavier earth rating. But on that subject, the purpose of the earth pin is to direct current from a faulty item thru there instead of thru the operator, by providing a lower resistance path than thru you into the ground and back to source. This is not foolproof, hence an RCD or ELD is fitted nowadays.

On the subject of breakers, you will find that different breakers are used for various applications and are identified by C-curve, D-curve etc which react in different ways to current flow. They are very complex nowadays and dont simply blow/trip if current is exceeded momentarily, in other cases they can trip without exceeding the peak current rating.
I dont pretend for a moment to be an expert on them, but as a marine engineer need to maintain and repair/diagnose medium voltage circuits at sea. My qualification doesnt allow me to design and construct new circuits, only maintain. The same goes with refridgeration.