Caravan hook up

HHUKPN:

I was just wondering Gino, do you possess a boat?


Regards, UKPN

If so I hope it meets the same standards as the Bulgin connectors, British BS EN 60529:1992, European IEC 60509:1989


?

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

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.

 

Sparkingchip:

And note the standards referenced ?

The reference to BS EN 60529:1992 in the EBay advert is just flannel, the “standard” is the IP rating chart, not actually an indication of what it’s IP rating is or anything else for that matter.

https://brownell.co.uk/datasheets/IP_Definitions_Specification.pdf


However BS7671 requires cables within caravans to be flame retardant to BS EN 60332-1-2, I can find H07RN-F to that standard, but not “Artic grade” PVC insulated cable which is stated as complying with BS EN 50265, which appears to be an older version of the same standard, but presumably doesn’t guarantee compliance?


To cut to the chase, what cable is suitable for the internal use in a caravan?


Is it the H07RN-F that is also suitable for the external supply lead? 


Is there suitable PVC insulated flex and in particular is “Artic cable” suitable for internal use within a caravan, regards being flame retardant?

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.

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!