[kiwigold]

Hi All

Somewhere on this forum this issue has already been addressed. I am no Sparky. But the now when Camping grounds put in new connections they are by law to be RCBO's. These are incompatable with earlier vans RCD's and they are tripped when you plug into them.

I stayed at a Camping ground in Napier, and they gave me a Campsite in the older, with no sea view area. When I requested to move to the sea view sites. I was informed that as my van was an older model, I would only trip things out. And I had to have my switch board, upgraded to be able to plug in. To the new connections. A Campervan Electrician I located in Napier did the upgrade, total price was $160.00. And off to the sea view site I went. Having the upgrade means you can plug into the old RCD Camping Ground Plugs and the new ones that are RCBO's.

I am sure Neddy can give us all the techinical details.

Cheers Trev

[lautrec]

I had my camper upgraded for my last EWOF 12 months ago. I got my local electrician to do the work then returned to the testing electrician and he immediately failed it in that my electrician still added the neutral link. This causes the RCD on the campground to activate. The testing electrician pointed out that my electrician was not up to date with the latest regs, that required this link to be removed. The testing electrician did the fix and so I have been able to use my van at any campsite so far. Interesting in that my electrician was recently qualified and so I though would have been up to date. I had pointed the problem out to him and he was surprised. Seems that there is still some uncertainty out there as to what is the right setup. I am relying on the testing electrician, not only because he issues the certificate was was very clear in his explanation as to why it was set up in this way.

[razor]

the" testing electrician" : as quoted is infact a qualified electrical inspector this is why they are the only ones able to issue a EWOF and can not be issued by an ordinary electrician the safety check in a self regulated industry does work sometimes

[Hopskinny]

We bought our first campervan (a 1998 model) in Nov 2011, with an EWOF issued earlier in the same month. Our van has a mains switch/circuit breaker, with a power cord with an in-line RCD.

I believe that I do not have to update this to meet the requirements of the current regulations, but people seem to be saying it is advisable to do so. I wonder if you could answer these questions for me please:

1. Can any registered electrician do this work?
2. Should I get a RCD or RCBO installed?
3. Do I need to have the in-line RCD removed from the power cord as part of this installation, or is it OK to have both? If I leave the existing in-line RCD in place, will it trip a 'new' camping ground power supply?
4. Following the installation of the 'on-board' RCD, do I need to get a new EWOF?
5. I live in North Canterbury, and the NZCMA website does not list any electrical inspectors for the Canterbury region - can you advise me where to find an electrical inspector if I need one please?

Thanks for any replies to a newbie!

[razor]

1. Can any registered electrician do this work?
2. Should I get a RCD or RCBO installed?
3. Do I need to have the in-line RCD removed from the power cord as part of this installation, or is it OK to have both? If I leave the existing in-line RCD in place, will it trip a 'new' camping ground power supply?
4. Following the installation of the 'on-board' RCD, do I need to get a new EWOF?
5. I live in North Canterbury, and the NZCMA website does not list any electrical inspectors for the Canterbury region - can you advise me where to find an electrical inspector if I need one please?

1. yes, electrician who will issue you a new cert of compliance
that you will need to show the inspector issuing the new EWOF
2.yes if the lead with the rcd is not permently attached to the van
3.remove rcd if a RCD or RCBO installed is fitted, preferably new lead tested and taged
4. yes ,because the insallation will have been worked on by an electrician who will issue you a new cert of compliance
that you will need to show the inspector issuing the new EWOF
5. peter vasloot, sockburn(burnham), member#10140 in the hand book

[Hopskinny]

Razor, thank you very much for the helpful reply.

I have since spoken to the sparky I employ for jobs on the house, and he is an electrical inspector. He agrees with both you and the guy who issued the EWOF in November 2011. In short, because the power supply cord is hard wired into the van, and the mains box in the van has a circuit breaker, and the cord has an inline RCD, he says it is not necessary for me to change the current setup. His opinion is that I already have the equivalent of a RCBO, given that I have an in-line RCD plus a circuit breaker in the mains box for any overload. In fact his opinion is that my set up is safer than the installation of an onboard RCBO, in that my setup protects people both within and outside of the van, whereas an onboard RCBO will not protect anyone who may damage the cord, or find a nick in it with exposed wires when handling the cord between the van and the campground power supply.

I am glad I have got that sorted out! Thanks again. John

[Derb]

I have just been going through this issue with both my 2014 Southern Star and my 1980 Zephette who's electrical WOF's were both due at the same time. My S/S didn't have an RCBO installed from new so shouldn't have been able to pass it's electrical WOF from new. The Zephette has an RCD device fitted in it's extension cord so is legit through the Grandfather clause and doesn't need an RCBO. (This all from our local Electrical Inspector) However, he preferred that the Zephette was fitted with an RCBO and the RCD was removed from the cord which would allow the plugging in of the old van to any Caravan Park Power-box which had been updated to new reg's. This is also my preferred option with the Zephette regardless of cost and will keep it simple for any other users further down the track. As for the newer van - back to the manufacturer for remedial work before a new EWOF is issued. Is nickle and dime stuff really in the whole scheme of things to stay safe and legal.

[Sarmajor]

Your inspector may have preferred that you remove the rcd from the lead and have one fitted in the van but that is all it was, a preference.

The location of the RCD has no bearing on compatibility with the supply from a caravan park.

The new 2014 van should have had an RCD or RCBO fitted as new and should never have been issued a WOEF from new in that condition.

So why do old caravans with MEN links cause problems in new or upgraded caravan parks.
It is because the RCD in the pillar is sensing the current flowing in the phase and neutral. In a caravan with any MEN link some of the neutral current flows in the Earth due to the link. This upsets the balance of current in the phase and neutral and causes the RCD or RCBO to trip. Simply removing the link sometimes solves the problem but in many circumstances removes the earth connection from the van as the neutral and earth are both connected to the neutral stud in the van switchboard. Don’t do this, it is extremely dangerous!!!!!
Removing the link is one of the items that triggers the requirement to upgrade to an RCD or RCBO in the van switchboard. AS/NZS3008:2008 Section 3.3.5 contains all of the items that trigger the requirement to upgrade to an RCD and “if your Inspector wants you to” is not on the list.

Old caravans without RCD’s or RCBO’s are still legal and can still be issued with a WOEF.
This is because they complied with the rules that applied at the time they were built and as long as they continue to comply and are not electrically unsafe they can remain in service unchanged.
Electrical Safety Regulation 113 allows this.

The relevant sections of AS/NZS3001:2008 (C6.9 Supply arrangements and C6.10 RCD’s) quite clearly allow all of the variations that have existed in the past to remain in service.

That being said there is always the problem of not getting any power from a supply pillar in a modern or upgraded caravan park.

It is extremely annoying to here about these “Inspectors” who insist on changes being made to installations that were compliant and remain compliant.

Rant over