Malcolm wrote:
Lobster wrote:
I'm in the middle of wiring up a cable for an electrical hook up to be
used while camping in France. I have a French 3-pin plug bought there
on a previous visit, but in opening it up I find there's absolutely no
indication which of the two power pins is live and neutral. Doesn't
it matter?

I will be using the cable with an RCD device; won't that object and
trip out if the wiring's the wrong way round? Or is it a case of
"suck it and see" when I get to France, and if it's wrong, reverse the
wiring?

Thanks
David
A number of years ago when caravanning in France/Spain I was warned by a
friend about polarity problems when using an RCD. I fitted a switch
(DPDT) the the (old) van so that I could easily change polarity. Sure
enough on one site in France when a new arrival plugged my leadinto a
different socket on the same set of sockets I discovered that the system
had trippedbecause the polarity was reversed. On a site in Spain this
polarity reversal happened without the lead being unplugged!

You need three adaptors
16A blue to 16 A blue, polarity reversed
16A blue to continental
16A blue to continental, polarity reversed

If the RCD trips and won't reset, reverse the polarity. Our continental
cousins don't have the concept of live and neutral that we do

OK, thanks - think I've got it now! Will organise some more hardware
before my next trip.

I don't intend to use any power without an RCD, but just for my
education and information, if I *were* to do so, would all my kit
(laptop/fridge/chargers) all work OK without problems, then?

What do the French etc do about this polarity problem - do they not
bother with RCDs while camping or whatever?

David