# Reverse Polarity



## AAB (Mar 6, 2012)

We are planning our first continental trips for May and June this year. I have bought a continental type hook up connector but I have read that some sites have 'reverse polarity'. I think I know what this means(!!) but what is the best way to deal with it, please. Do I need a polarity tester?
All advice welcome and appreciated!


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Normal people don't bother and just plug in.
But of course you will get all sorts of 'correct' advice saying all sorts of things.

Ray.


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## froggy59 (Jan 18, 2009)

hi abb

i use one of these.
http://www.screwfix.com/p/ced-plug-in-socket-tester/76975

then i have a short lead wired in reverse and just use that if needed.

alan


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## nickkdx (May 26, 2009)

Some people carry short lead with plugs each end which is wired reversed, but all I do if wrong when tester is plugged in, is open plug on my normal lead and swap wires to suit.


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## Ian_n_Suzy (Feb 15, 2009)

froggy59 said:


> hi abb
> 
> i use one of these.
> http://www.screwfix.com/p/ced-plug-in-socket-tester/76975
> ...


Hi,

We also use one of these devices (but from B & Q). We leave it plugged in all the time, even at home as it is a handy to visibly see our hook up has not tripped.


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

The "need" for a polarisation reversal lead is very much up for debate here.

Easy to put together and if it puts your mind at rest, buy or make one.

I believe the need for a tester is less debatable - not for reversed polarisation but for faulty earth connection - much more worrying.


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## Wizzo (Dec 3, 2007)

I made one up by buying a short lead with the UK camping 3-pin plug (or socket) and something else on the other end (probably a domestic 3 pin plug or socket - can't remember which). Then you buy the other camping 3-pin plug or socket (opposite to the one on the short lead). Take off the domestic end, then wire up the second camping 3-pin so that the live and neutral are reversed.

This can then be used anywhere even with the 'continental' 2-pin in line, and can be used at either end of the line so that if your supply has been plugged in and locked up in the box (as sometimes happens abroad) you can use the reverse lead at the van end to correct it if necessary.

I bought a reverse polarity tester from Maplins which was a lot cheaper than those normally found in Caravan Accessory shops.

Having said all that it is not as big a problem as some would like to make out and as Ray says you can manage without quite happily.

JohnW


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

I agree with Tonyt - even though he pokes fun at me! :evil: :lol: :lol:

Don't bother in the least about reversed polarity (_which is a misnomer anyway, and highly misleading_!) unless you intend to pull appliances apart and firtle about inside . . . *with the plug still in the socket*.

I do not jest - that's about the only likely situation where you would come to grief, and anyone who is that stupid deserves to fry anyway! 8O :lol: :lol:

Get a tester if you want to however, and check for an Earth connection. That, as Tony says, is far more potentially dangerous . . . and although much less likely to be encountered in the UK, it could occur anywhere.

Having said all that, don't be paranoid. If any of our 60 odd thousand members had ever fried, or heard of anyone else having a serious incident, it would be on here like a shot. I can't ever remember any such post. :roll:

Relax and enjoy your holiday. You might be gassed in the night, so worry about that instead!  :lol: :lol: :lol:

Dave 

P.S. Check the plug on your Continental adapter before you go. If it doesn't have a hole in the middle to accommodate a pin in the socket, take it back and change it for one which does.

It's the Earth pin - and some sockets have them, and if your plug doesn't have the hole, it won't go in. Others don't have the earth pin, but they are still earthed of course, by a different contact.


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## Scattycat (Mar 29, 2011)

My best advice?

Ignore it, it's not a problem.

Just remember to switch off the mains power before doing any electrical repairs like changing light bulbs because the outer metal collar will be live if the polarity is reversed.

If you do get it wrong your RDC should trip in and save the day.

When the French electricians rewired our house for us I noticed some points were wired with the positive on the right and some with it on the left. They assured me that with domestic appliances it doesn't matter which way round they are wired, just turn the mains power off before changing light bulbs. Common sense really :roll:


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

See AAB, told ya............. :roll: :roll: 

Ray.


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

Scattycat said:


> .............................
> 
> When the French electricians rewired our house for us I noticed some points were wired with the positive on the right and some with it on the left. They assured me that with domestic appliances it doesn't matter which way round they are wired...................


Ah, but for a different reason. Continental switches, both domestic and in continental motorhomes, are double pole - throw the switch and both live and negative are disconnected. UK switches, domestic and in UK motorhomes, are invariably single pole - throw the switch and only the live is disconnected.

I'm not a qualified electrician so this is only my opinion.

If you do a Forum Search on the subject you will find enough reading to keep you going all afternoon (and probably end up none the wiser  )


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

tonyt said:


> Ah, but for a different reason. Continental switches, both domestic and in continental motorhomes, are double pole - throw the switch and both live and negative are disconnected. UK switches, domestic and in UK motorhomes, are invariably single pole - throw the switch and only the live is disconnected.
> 
> I'm not a qualified electrician so this is only my opinion.


Stone me . . . I'm agreeing with Tony twice in one morning!! 8O

Must lie down for a while and get over the shock!! :wink: :lol: :lol:

He is quite correct, but as has been said, there's still no need to worry so long as you switch off and unplug before taking the cover off an appliance.

Dave 

How can the "polarity" be reversed when alternating current changes direction 50 times per second? 8O A total misnomer, as I said before.


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

Agree with Zebedee above, it exists but is it a problem? Probably not.........

Our mains charger has a pretty little light on which only glows if the live/neutral are swapped around.........

I don't take plugs apart and do not unscrew anything while it is connected in ....... (I'm a coward that way - but a live coward! :lol: )

We have a plug in tester which lives in the MH which we plug in whenever we connect to a "new" system, it has shown "reversed polarity" (incorrect term but commonly used) several times even on "big" campsites (and our home system too!).

We also carry a reversing connector - a plug to connect and a socket wired the "wrong" way round - it is only 30cm long and if needed is connected at the MH end so it hangs down clearly. It is clearly marked "REVERSED WIRING" on it - just in case......

We also carry a standard EHU adaptor to a continental plug-in - our home system uses that so that the same socket can be used for all the garden/diy/pressure washer type appliances.

So we have the belt, braces and piece of string technology simply because when we started it was advised on many places (including MHF  ) and do use them - simply because they are there........

The incorrect earth IS important IMO and it is more common than we originally thought - *but if we discover it what can WE do about it? * Not connect? Not use? Ignore? Go to the site supplier and ask him to sort it out ?(_how good is your technical foreign language speak?)_ That is the point that needs to be considered BEFORE setting out to find out....... 

So, that is my views on a subject that is debated on here frequently, but really is not one to lose sleep about - if our warning light is glowing it all seems to work, according to other posters with MUCH more knowledge than I have - the only item that might be a problem is a compressor driven 'fridge - which ours is NOT (I suspect few MH have these either.....)

Tonyt is quite correct in his description of double pole switches and trips in France - our new gite has just been wired and there is a trip for every socket and light fitting - not one for the entire house ring main as in the UK - as ring mains are NOT popular with French electricans, mind it means we have about 5 miles of different colour coded wires in the gite........ including grey, black, red, blue, white and green trunking to carry different ones from the trips to the items - very pretty but cannot be seen once the walls are finished!!! :lol:

Your choice of course, it comes down to what you would do IF you find something wrong....... for me rewiring a plug or socket is much more hassle than simply connecting in a special short adaptor, but that's my choice...... 

Dave


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Zebedee said:


> How can the "polarity" be reversed when alternating current changes direction 50 times per second? 8O A total misnomer, as I said before.


Can't quite agree with you this time Dave.
You can prove it by standing on a damp patch and touching the neutral or negative used to be black wire......... ziltch.
Now try with the live or positive used to be red wire and see the difference....... :twisted:

OK AC is alternating but level with and then very much above earth.

Ray.


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## Spacerunner (Mar 18, 2006)

e are at Camaret sur Mer in Brittany on a campsite with reversed polarity. Everything is working normally even the induction hob.
Did have a bit of a headache this morning but think that might have been something I ate. and the smoke alarm keeps going off that might be something SHE cooked. :lol: 
I hope you all appreciate the effort gone into this post via my Kindle


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

All I can say is that your typing/spelling is MUCH better than mine when I tried using the Kindle - well done, a real labour of love......   

Dave


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

Wild camp!

Only polarity problem is N-S to get the sun in the morning!


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## AAB (Mar 6, 2012)

Thank you all very much!


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Flipping heck! A good old reverse polarity thread and everyone agrees! Jeez! Not a single person saying you will definitely die! What happened to the MHF I used to know? Good grief, you will all be saying that Gas attacks are a myth next!


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

barryd said:


> .................... Good grief, you will all be saying that Gas attacks are a myth next!


Ah, now gas attacks - that's a completely different story. I once met a guy who had a cousin who......................


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

tonyt said:


> Ah, now gas attacks - that's a completely different story. I once met a guy who had a cousin who......................


If you had been using Autoroute Tony, you could have met the guy himself - in person.

How good is that!! :roll: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Dave :wink:


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

Zebedee said:


> tonyt said:
> 
> 
> > Ah, now gas attacks - that's a completely different story. I once met a guy who had a cousin who......................
> ...


Oh that's too smart for me this morning. You have to remember, I still buy paper maps and mark up aire locations with a highlighter


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

Nothing wrong with that Tony - so do we! :wink: 

Technology is wonderful . . . until it goes wrong, then the paper map is a lifesaver!  

Dave


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