Caravan hook up

I think the issue is more that cable harmonization has progressed, we're no longer using the former British Standards for flexible cables - this change occurred for 17th Edition (16th AMD2 permitted H05VV-F as well as H07RN-F), so it's been in place for over 12 years!

aligarjon:

Is the caravan fixed or moveable. How far from the socket is it likely to be .


 

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davezawadi (David Stone):

I also would like to point out that PVC used for SWA, T&E and flexible cables is exactly the same composition, It is NOT water-permeable unless faulty or damaged. If it were the armour of SWA cables buried would be permanently wet, and subject to corrosion and this is not the case. It may be that some of the plasticiser is leached out by permanent immersion, but this is not fatal to the waterproof ability. PVC is damaged by sunlight and heat, and this may cause cracks. Poor quality cable sheaths may use recycled PVC, which could be full of all kinds of C##p, but BASEC cables should be fine. I don't quite know where this PVC is permeable myth came from, but it needs to be put to bed. PVC hoses do not leak, even under high pressure, so why should cables? Plasticised PVC is used everywhere for liquid containing purposes, the worst effect is seen when it is used for organic solvents where the plasticiser is gradually dissolved out, and the PVC becomes uPVC, like window frames very stiff, but still liquid tight.


A bit more stuff easily accessed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyvinyl_chloride#Mechanical

My experience specifically of PVC electrical cables doesn't support this view. I'm fully aware of the use of PVC in water pipes, but it's not exactly the same stuff.


Prysmian guidance here: https://www.whyprysmian.co.uk/underground.html

AJJewsbury:

Thousands of orange PVC flexes across wet camp sites don't appear to have shown any problems in practice - and most of them have been in the wet for much more than a couple of days. I still fear we're solving a theoretical problem at the expense of practical ones.


   - Andy.

I think the issue is more that cable harmonization has progressed, we're no longer using the former British Standards for flexible cables - this change occurred for 17th Edition (16th AMD2 permitted H05VV-F as well as H07RN-F), so it's been in place for over 12 years!

gkenyon:

AJJewsbury:

PVC cables are not suitable for being left in standing water ...

I don't think we'd expect hook-up leads to be immersed in water for extended periods ... if site conditions were that bad then the PVC sheath on the SWA cables supplying the hookups are going to be in far more trouble.  For one case of someone throwing a hook-up cable through a pond to supply a seasonal pitch, there must be millions of cases of the grass being cut or others walking around the pitch.


   - Andy.

PVC sheathed armoured cables are suitable, PVC flex is not.


PVC used for T&E and flex is semi-permeable. It's at best splashproof. Sitting in a puddle for a period of time is enough.


I have first-hand experience of someone running H05VV-F through an underground duct, to supply CCTV cameras, and asking me why RCDs were tripping after only 2 days. They were sat in well under half an inch of water for a very short distance, certainly under 300 mm of cable length.

 

Thousands of orange PVC flexes across wet camp sites don't appear to have shown any problems in practice - and most of them have been in the wet for much more than a couple of days. I still fear we're solving a theoretical problem at the expense of practical ones.


   - Andy.