I am going to France in the next couple of weeks and I am wondering if the
electrical socket adaptors are the same as the two pin variety as used in
Spain. We have a few of the 'Spanish' ones so we don't want to buy any
others if these will do. Anybody know and also is their (France) voltage
230/240V?

Cheers

John

John wrote:
I am going to France in the next couple of weeks and I am wondering
if the electrical socket adaptors are the same as the two pin variety
as used in Spain. We have a few of the 'Spanish' ones so we don't
want to buy any others if these will do. Anybody know and also is
their (France) voltage 230/240V?

Cheers

John

France is 230v and the Spanish ones should be fine!

If you look at the "Spanish" side of the adaptor, there should be two pins
sticking out, about 18mm apart (measuring from the middle of both pins)
There should also be a hole at the top or bottom, that looks about the same
size as the pins are - there should also be two metal strips down the sides

Here is a picture of one!
http://img.ebigchina.com/cdimg/16251...1090907611.jpg

A little tip,
I usually take one of those 4 way trailing socket's on holiday, so I then
only need one adaptor :-)

Sparks...

"John" wrote in message
...
I am going to France in the next couple of weeks and I am wondering if the
electrical socket adaptors are the same as the two pin variety as used in
Spain.

Yes

We have a few of the 'Spanish' ones so we don't want to buy any
others if these will do. Anybody know and also is their (France) voltage
230/240V?

Yes

"Sparks" wrote in message
.. .
John wrote:
I am going to France in the next couple of weeks and I am wondering
if the electrical socket adaptors are the same as the two pin variety
as used in Spain. We have a few of the 'Spanish' ones so we don't
want to buy any others if these will do. Anybody know and also is
their (France) voltage 230/240V?

Cheers

John

France is 230v and the Spanish ones should be fine!

If you look at the "Spanish" side of the adaptor, there should be two pins
sticking out, about 18mm apart (measuring from the middle of both pins)
There should also be a hole at the top or bottom, that looks about the
same size as the pins are - there should also be two metal strips down the
sides

Here is a picture of one!
http://img.ebigchina.com/cdimg/16251...1090907611.jpg

The strips down the side are for Northern France, while the hole is for
Southern France. In France there are regional differences as to the form of
earth contact..

Colin Bignell

In article ,
"nightjar" nightjar@insert my surname here.uk.com writes:

Here is a picture of one!
http://img.ebigchina.com/cdimg/16251...1090907611.jpg

The strips down the side are for Northern France, while the hole is for
Southern France. In France there are regional differences as to the form of
earth contact..

No. France and Beglium use the earth pin sticking out of the
socket. The side strips are for the Shuko connector used in
Germany and some other EU countries. There may be some strange
areas where country borders have moved around in the last century.

--
Andrew Gabriel

"John" wrote in message
...
I am going to France in the next couple of weeks and I am wondering if the
electrical socket adaptors are the same as the two pin variety as used in
Spain. We have a few of the 'Spanish' ones so we don't want to buy any
others if these will do. Anybody know and also is their (France) voltage
230/240V?


Here's a world wide collection which includes Spain but no info on voltages.
Modem adaptors are on the same site too.

http://www.walkabouttravelgear.com/wwelect.htm


rusty

"John" wrote in message
...
I am going to France in the next couple of weeks and I am wondering if the
electrical socket adaptors are the same as the two pin variety as used in
Spain. We have a few of the 'Spanish' ones so we don't want to buy any
others if these will do. Anybody know and also is their (France) voltage
230/240V?



Here's a world wide collection which includes Spain but no info on voltages.
Modem adaptors are on the same site too.

http://www.walkabouttravelgear.com/wwelect.htm


rusty

"Andrew Gabriel" wrote in message
.. .
In article ,
"nightjar" nightjar@insert my surname here.uk.com writes:

Here is a picture of one!
http://img.ebigchina.com/cdimg/16251...1090907611.jpg

The strips down the side are for Northern France, while the hole is for
Southern France. In France there are regional differences as to the form
of
earth contact..

No. France and Beglium use the earth pin sticking out of the
socket. The side strips are for the Shuko connector used in
Germany and some other EU countries. There may be some strange
areas where country borders have moved around in the last century.

My electrical supplier in France told me that the Shuko connector is used
quite widely in the North of the country.

Colin Bignell

On Fri, 20 May 2005 08:29:10 +0100, "nightjar" nightjar@insert my
surname here.uk.com wrote:


"Andrew Gabriel" wrote in message
. ..
In article ,
"nightjar" nightjar@insert my surname here.uk.com writes:

Here is a picture of one!
http://img.ebigchina.com/cdimg/16251...1090907611.jpg

The strips down the side are for Northern France, while the hole is for
Southern France. In France there are regional differences as to the form
of
earth contact..

No. France and Beglium use the earth pin sticking out of the
socket. The side strips are for the Shuko connector used in
Germany and some other EU countries. There may be some strange
areas where country borders have moved around in the last century.

My electrical supplier in France told me that the Shuko connector is used
quite widely in the North of the country.

Colin Bignell


I've seen the German format in a few hotels in the Paris area as well
as around Strasbourg (i.e. closer to Germany.)

The plugs are compatible each way since there are the leaf spring
contacts on the side, and a hole underneath.

The traditional French wall sockets have the projecting earth pin
which mates with the hole.

Those in Germany, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Finland have the side leaf
springs and pick up contact there. Denmark and Switzerland and parts
of Italy have different socket formats with either a lozenge shaped
plug or a Schuko style plug with projecting earth pin.

One other thing to watch for is that some parts of Spain and Italy
have a socket that has the Schuko spacing but where the pins are
thinner. Packs of adaptors refer to these as "continental" sockets
and Schuko as "German". The Schuko type plugs often will not fit
the Spanish sockets and likewise the "continental" plugs are a loose
fit inb Schuko sockets and don't make good contact.

I recently bought one of these

http://www.fujifilm.co.uk/digital/ac...ory.php?id=542

Which is a very good choice of compatibility on the the top (socket)
side and the bottom. I've used it recently in all the countries
mentioned above. There is a fuse inside as well which I feel is a
good idea.

There is not an earth connection, though, but that is OK for notebooks
and the like.





--

..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

"Rusty" wrote in message
...

"John" wrote in message
...
I am going to France in the next couple of weeks and I am wondering if the
electrical socket adaptors are the same as the two pin variety as used in
Spain. We have a few of the 'Spanish' ones so we don't want to buy any
others if these will do. Anybody know and also is their (France) voltage
230/240V?


Here's a world wide collection which includes Spain but no info on
voltages. Modem adaptors are on the same site too.

This site contains information on voltages, frequency and plug types:
http://kropla.com/electric2.htm

Very handy if you travel a lot

No. France and Beglium use the earth pin sticking out of the
socket. The side strips are for the Shuko connector used in
Germany and some other EU countries. There may be some strange
areas where country borders have moved around in the last century.

The few houses I've been to seem to have a mixture of both types, although
generally favouring the Schuko type. The earth pin, being less practical,
seems increasingly less common.

Christian.

On Thu, 19 May 2005 22:05:11 +0000 (UTC), "John"
wrote:

I am going to France in the next couple of weeks and I am wondering if the
electrical socket adaptors are the same as the two pin variety as used in
Spain.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domesti...gs_%26_sockets

John wrote:
I am going to France in the next couple of weeks and I am wondering
if the
electrical socket adaptors are the same as the two pin variety as
used in
Spain. We have a few of the 'Spanish' ones so we don't want to buy
any
others if these will do. Anybody know and also is their (France)
voltage
230/240V?

Cheers

John


France is 220, UK is 240. Theyre both now described as 230v with
different tolerance margins, but IRL theyre still 220 and 240. Almost
everything runs ok on 220, though filament bulbs will be rather dim.


NT

"Christian McArdle" wrote in message
t...
No. France and Beglium use the earth pin sticking out of the
socket. The side strips are for the Shuko connector used in
Germany and some other EU countries. There may be some strange
areas where country borders have moved around in the last century.

The few houses I've been to seem to have a mixture of both types, although
generally favouring the Schuko type. The earth pin, being less practical,
seems increasingly less common.

In Languedoc, only the types with the pin seem to be used. That was what
prompted me to ask why all white goods came with a plug that would also suit
the Shucko socket.

Colin Bignell

John wrote:
I am going to France in the next couple of weeks and I am wondering if the
electrical socket adaptors are the same as the two pin variety as used in
Spain. We have a few of the 'Spanish' ones so we don't want to buy any
others if these will do. Anybody know and also is their (France) voltage
230/240V?

So are we, if I may tag on a Supplementary Question which springs to mind...

We're camping, and will be taking our usual lecky cable setup along,
which consists of a 4-way 13A strip - RCD plug - length of Arctic
cable - blue IP44 plug (which plugs into a matching socket in the UK);
together with a short adapter cable which "converts" the blue plug into
a standard UK 13A plug.

For France, I was going to pack a standard continental socket adapter
like wot John's got - I'm assuming that's what French campsites will
use? Must admit I'd rather have a proper plug; using an adaptor outside
doesn't sound too clever, does it?

Also - oops, a Supplementary Supplementary Question - I usually take my
old mains inspection lamp with us to provide lighting, but I'm wondering
about setting up something a bit more elegant (you'll gather I'm not
really into the spirit of this camping mallarkey. Must be getting old).
I'd quite like a central light to hang up in the middle, with another
one (or two?) in the sleeping compartment(s); ideally with separate
switches. How would the panel recommend doing this safely? I'm
thinking do it all in 12V for a start. Where would I find suitable kit
to do this?

Thanks
David

In message
Lobster wrote:



So are we, if I may tag on a Supplementary Question which springs to mind...

We're camping, and will be taking our usual lecky cable setup along,
which consists of a 4-way 13A strip - RCD plug - length of Arctic
cable - blue IP44 plug (which plugs into a matching socket in the UK);
together with a short adapter cable which "converts" the blue plug into
a standard UK 13A plug.

For France, I was going to pack a standard continental socket adapter
like wot John's got - I'm assuming that's what French campsites will
use? Must admit I'd rather have a proper plug; using an adaptor outside
doesn't sound too clever, does it?


It would seem that French electricians are cavalier about which way round
they wire the socket outlets. Several years ago, when I had a caravan, I
quite frequently tripped the RCD in the supply box on French campsites. The
site owners were quite short with me in making them having to do some work
;-). The problem was that the RCD in the 'van would trip the site RCD if
the live and neutral did not co-incide. I fitted a phase reverser which was
available at the time and which was only a cross-over circuit. The little
box went between the incoming supply and the 'van RCD. There was a neon
which indicated the incorrect phases and extinguished when the cross-over
switch was operated. (I always thought that it should have worked the other
way round - lit OK, off not OK) This box was so simple, I was rather miffed
that it was such a simple circuit was so expensive - I should have made one
myself.

Reading the above post, I wonder if this still happens or was this just a
problem with the design of my RCD.

HTH

--
Marcus Foreman

In article ,
Marcus Foreman writes:
In message
Lobster wrote:
So are we, if I may tag on a Supplementary Question which springs to mind...

We're camping, and will be taking our usual lecky cable setup along,
which consists of a 4-way 13A strip - RCD plug - length of Arctic
cable - blue IP44 plug (which plugs into a matching socket in the UK);
together with a short adapter cable which "converts" the blue plug into
a standard UK 13A plug.

For France, I was going to pack a standard continental socket adapter
like wot John's got - I'm assuming that's what French campsites will
use? Must admit I'd rather have a proper plug; using an adaptor outside
doesn't sound too clever, does it?


It would seem that French electricians are cavalier about which way round
they wire the socket outlets.

The French/Belgium socket outlet is not polarised. Whilst you can only
insert the plug one way round (unlike Schuko), it is not defined which
is the live and which is the neutral pin. Indeed in any double outlet
or two way adaptor, you will normally find the two sockets are hard-
wired the opposite way round, so it's not like there's even any common
convention. I'm told some parts of France have a supply where neither
conductor is near ground potential, in which case the concept of a
live and neutral is pretty meaningless.

Several years ago, when I had a caravan, I
quite frequently tripped the RCD in the supply box on French campsites. The
site owners were quite short with me in making them having to do some work
;-). The problem was that the RCD in the 'van would trip the site RCD if
the live and neutral did not co-incide.

There are RCD's which have additional fault detection circuitry and
deliberately trip on live/neutral reversal, missing neutral, or missing
ground. These are clearly not suitable for unpolarised supplies, or
supplies where neither main conductor is near ground potential.

Reading the above post, I wonder if this still happens or was this just a
problem with the design of my RCD.

Most likely your RCD included supply fault detection.
Merlin Gerin certainly have manufacturered such RCBOs
(which MK used to rebadge ~10 years ago).

--
Andrew Gabriel

On Fri, 20 May 2005 20:18:20 +0100, Marcus Foreman
wrote:

It would seem that French electricians are cavalier

After all, that is literal French for "cowboy"