Power to a caravan at home

Hi there Maria,

We got an electrician to come in and put a 15 amp plug into the side of our power box on the house so now it is easy just to run the lead straight to it.
Hope this helps

Andrea

it is illegal to run a 10 amp male plug on a 15 amp lead and stores will not sell you one. I found this out when I enquired at the local Bunnings Store.

However by luck I found a 10 amp lead with a 15 amp female plug on it at the local markets and it does quiet nicely. but I believe it is still not legal. but I could be wrong.

'scuse me while I go an' pop a bit o' corn in the popcorn poppin' thingy.................... be right back........................

;-)))))))))))))))))

Having worked as a mechanical fitter it was many years before I saw a 15 amp plug that did'nt have the earth pin filed down to fit a 10 amp socket. If the 15 amp plug draws too much current the breaker usually trips on the 10 amp circuit. Just saying what I've seen because like the other post says this is illegal.
Feel free to shoot me down of course.
Stuart

mate, this has been done and done and done. If you do a search you'll find more techno advice that I can give - but I read it and decided to buy a fairly small 10 amp ext lead and put a 15 amp female bit on one end - works great. Nah, not legal but neither is driving at 64 in a 60kph area.

at a rally of our caravan club last year 87 caravans turned up. Questionaire put out asked if they had a 10A plug or filed down the earth pin on the caravan lead. 84% responed 10A or filed down earth pin in the caravan lead.

The different size plug is there for a VERY good (but technical) reason. Unfortunately the technical safety reasons are lost on some of the people who suggest that you take a file to the earth pin of just put a new plug top on the lead. My advice is don't alter the plug, it is there to prevent fires.

in one of these discussions, someone posted a link to a commericially available lead with inbuilt overload protection. Search past threads or googleling for 15A to 10A extension leads might turn it up. Was pretty expensive from memory, but cheaper and more versitile than getting an electrician in.

Nige.

This problem also arises when powering a caravan from a generator that has a 10amp outlet. There's no safety issue as your normal camping gennie has no hope of even getting near 10amps yet they still cry "illegal".

Stephen.

I just got a 10amp male plug, a length of cable and a 15amp female plug and made up my own adapter. (or vice versa)

Although illegal, it has come in handy without any issues....yet.

Electricity the invisable killer!! It's obviously illegal for a reason why play with yours or someone else's life. Get a 15amp socket in your powerboard I say. What's that going to cost? Surely it is better than the cost of someone's life.

With a serious risk of upsetting some old farts on this forum i will refer you to a post that offers a LEGAL solution to your problem!!

Thread 53327

Ian

Mario,
As many others point out this has been done to death and rivals the fridge and tyre 'debates' that flourish here.
Simple fact 1- they are illegal; simple fact -2 hundreds of people use them.
The large pin is solely a physical feature to prevent them being used in 10A sockets, nothing to do with heavier earth loads. The objective is to prevent the lead from allowing the load to draw currents in excess of the rated output of the socket wiring. Provided you don't exceed the rated output of the socket [10A ] there is no danger to anyone or any thing. Like many other things authorities don't trust us to make informed decisions and require the 15A leads to to have a plug which can only fit into a 15A socket.
For situations where the lead is only being used for the fridge, lighting power, or topping up batteries the load is well within 10 A and presents no danger. Sure it's illegal but also a bit silly and shows you can't legislate against stupidity. If someone is determined enough they can a) file down the earth pin; or b) make up an adapter lead.
Take your pick.
Ken

I just changed my 10amp power point for a 15 amp and hey presto its onlooker legal ;)