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ADVICE on Connecting static caravan to house supply


Dave_madl

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Looking for some advice,

 

i am putting a static caravan on my site, the caravan will be 100m away from my parents house who have said i can connect into their electricity supply,

 

hoping someone can point me in the right direction about what i would need to buy? i will be getting an electrician to do the work but they are to busy at the moment so looking to get a step ahead and get the matrials ordred in advance.

 

The static caravan currently runs off a 16amp supply on the campsite its situated on, but when i move it to my house plot ill be installing a washing machine, freezer and tumble dryer into it also. I have been told by someone who has done similar a 6mm 3 core SWA cable would be what i would need with a 63amp, 3 way consumer unit/RCD in the caravan with a 32A,16A and 6A mcbs.  does this sound about right? or is there more i would need to order to do the job properly?

 

The caravan itself is 37' x 12', it is fully gas central heating and gas cooker so there shouldnt be any big loads apart from the washing machine, tumble dryer and kettle. it already has a low power microwave installed and fridge. 

 

ANY ADVICE/HELP WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED

 

Many thanks,

David

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Hi David. 
The 6mm SWA would be way too inadequate, so you’ll likely need go for a 16.0mm2 minimum ( due to the distance ).

 

You’ll need to come off a 50a breaker at your parents house ( probably will require a temp hook up to their tails depending on what loads they run at home ), and then come into a CU at the caravan with an 80a isolator ( RCD ) and then whatever size & qty of MCBs to suit.

 

You’ll only need a 2-core SWA as you will have to have an earth rod at the caravan. That 100m distance is too far to export the earth from your parents house.


Issues with the termination of the SWA cable and isolation of the subsequent differing earth potentials needs the sparkies input immediately, so get them to spec the job, to give you a shopping list, and then you go get what they need not what you think they need ;)  Otherwise you’ll still have wasted time.

 

This requires a lot of input and a survey of your site / parents house. Get the sparky involved now. 

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16 minutes ago, Dave_madl said:

I have been told by someone who has done similar a 6mm 3 core SWA cable would be what i would need with a 63amp, 3 way consumer unit/RCD in the caravan with a 32A,16A and 6A mcbs.

 

 

6mm sounds about right. I have gas central heating in the static. You might want a few more than 3 circuit breakers to keep some lights on in the event of a trip out. What about outside lights and an outside socket for power tools used on site?

 

Your laundry facility will draw 16amps at times. I hooked up a shed containing a tumble drier and washing machine via a 13amp regular plug which burnout after a few months.

 

Edited by epsilonGreedy
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The caravan itself will need some rewiring.  It might only have a mini 2 way CU with a 16A circuit for sockets and a 6A circuit for lights. You will need some upgrades, e,g, an additional circuit for the washing machine etc.

 

But you biggest issue is going to be voltage drop.  Whatever load you end up with after upgrading the installation in the caravan you will have to calculate the voltage drop over your 100 metre length, I am almost certain the voltage drop will determine the cable size not current carrying capacity.  You only need a 2 core Steel Wire Armour cable as you will be using your own local TT earth.

 

You really don't want a washing machine in the caravan, try and find somewhere else for it.

 

If you are happy to ration your use (never use WM and TD at same time) then a second 16A radial circuit for their socket would keep your total load down and help with your cable sizing calculations.

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8 minutes ago, ProDave said:

 

 

If you are happy to ration your use (never use WM and TD at same time) then a second 16A radial circuit for their socket would keep your total load down and help with your cable sizing calculations.

 

Wouldn't a sparks protest at that, as it needs to cover the max possible.

 

Had a conversation re a tenant's outhouse where the requirement is a washer, 2 dryers and a fridge and a freezer, and the sparks nearly had kittens.

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Just now, Ferdinand said:

 

Wouldn't a sparks protest at that, as it needs to cover the max possible.

 

Had a conversation re a tenant's outhouse where the requirement is a washer, 2 dryers and a fridge and a freezer, and the sparks nearly had kittens.

Diversity.

One double socket on a 16A radial.  Tell him it's for the "laundry"

 

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1 minute ago, ProDave said:

Diversity.

One double socket on a 16A radial.  Tell him it's for the "laundry"

 

 

We're actually going with a more thorough layout.

 

It is a 10 year tenant who should stay for another 10, and the sparks is tame.

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Sorry i should have mentioned i will be building a leanto onto the side of the caravan to put the washing machine/tumble dryer.  there for i would probably put the main supply from parents house to a 63A RCD box in the leanto, then just have a feed from that intot the already installed caravan electrics connection to power the caravan lights with it only requiring 16A maximum.

 

again this has just come from someone i spoke to this morning who has done this exact set up so could also be wrong. 

 

ill get the electrician to do a full survey of parents/caravan set up but just looking for any extra adivce incase someone has done this also

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We had about 60m of cable between the kiosk with meter and van, also had earth rod. We reused the feed for the garage when build was complete.

 

LPG heating / cooking in a static generates a lot of condensation which settles on the floor (and other surfaces) at night in winter and leaves you with a cold, damp interior the next morning.

 

We switched to using a dehumidifier to reduce the humidity and it generates quite a bit of heat itself so we didn't need to use the fire in the living area. It made caravan life a lot more comfortable. We kept with LPG for cooking and hot water. Electric blankets and rads in the bedrooms also.

 

TBH, summer was more uncomfortable as once the interior got hot it was hard to dissipate the heat.

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