# Amperage in France



## growler57 (Aug 21, 2006)

Hi there, we are venturing on our first trip abroad in April to DLP and the site we are staying in quotes 4Amp. An electrician friend says that all we will be able to run is lights and as soon as we try to plug anything in it will blow. Is this correct and how can we get around this problem. We are travelling with three children 9,6 and 3 years old so need to know an answer to this problem.
Thanks


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## oldroly (May 1, 2005)

Hi Growler

If it is 4amps max then assuming voltage is between 220v and 240v your total wattage shoudn't exceed 880w to 960w. Most sites I've been on in France have been 6 to 10 amps circuit breakers.

Regards 

Oldroly


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## thegreatpan (Oct 29, 2007)

SallyTraffic is the electricity Guru, but by Ohms Law 4 amps @ 220 volts will give you 880 watts. Should be enough to keep the batteries charged, fridge and the telly on therefore the kids will be amused. 

Don't try anything such as a heater though.


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## GOVER (May 1, 2005)

I can see three possible scerarios:
1 If the site has only 4 amp it may be a site with old electrics as 6 amp is now the general minimum in France. With older sites the problem is compounded with severe voltage droppage during peak season when the system is working flat out. It is not unusual in these circumstances for the voltage to drop to as low as 190 volts. In this situation some items will not work or the printed circuits burn out. My regular site has this problem.

2 If the site has 4 amp per user, the supply box may allow a higher load for an individual if all the sockets are not under load. I have found this quite often and have managed to get 10 amps when no others users are connected.

3 The site owner may increase to 6 amp or more at their discretion by fitting different fuses for more Euros. This is often available for seasonal pitches or regulars. :wink:

To to compound your calculations not all electric appliances are equal - some have a start up high current spike like air con compressors. Even though this may only be for milliseconds sometimes it will trip the fuse. There is also a big difference to inductive and resistive loads. The bottom line is to use your watts divided by volts formula as stated in the earlier post and give it a try, use 200 volts as worst case - but just make sure you have easy access to reset the fuse.


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## Boff (May 10, 2005)

GOVER said:


> I can see three possible scerarios:


There is one more possible scenario for 4 amp hookups, which is seen more and more frequently in France and also in Germany:

As on one hand more and more motorhomers use electric heaters when on hookup, and on the other hand electricity gets more and more expensive (even in France), at least on such sites where you only pay a lump sum for hookup sometimes the site owners deliberately limit the amperage of their hookup points to 4 amp.

And then sometimes provide higher-rated hookups for extra money.

Fact is: 4 amp is fully sufficient for battery charging, lighting, water pump, radio and TV. But if you use air con or any electric heating device, like radiator or even kettle, you need more.

Best Regards,
Gerhard


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## kijana (May 1, 2005)

> It is not unusual in these circumstances for the voltage to drop to as low as 190 volts. In this situation some items will not work or the printed circuits burn out.


I don't understand.

Why would the PCB's burn out due to low voltage?

Bruce


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## psychology (Oct 11, 2007)

I dont think pcb's would burn out at low voltage.

A 4A circuit breaker also has a fusing factor of about 1.5 times it's rated current. This means you can draw 4 amps continuously and even go up to near 6 amps without tripping it.

Russell


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## sallytrafic (Jan 17, 2006)

PCB failures at low voltage. Two examples that can lead to pcb failure.

In a switch mode power supply for example the internal electronics adjusts to provide the designed output voltage and current, as the input voltage falls more current is drawn from the supply. If the supply is taken below the designed parameters components can fail because of over current producing too much heat.

Devices controlling motors depend on the back emf from the spinning motor to back off the input current. If the input voltage is low the motor may be turning more slowly generating less emf so current in is higher.

Brown out detection is a big part of UPS design.


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## 96819 (Nov 29, 2005)

Hi Growler57

I have never bothered to sit down & grasp the maths regarding Amps/Volts/Watts, although I know I should, but whenever we're faced with a low supply site, we apply the following logic...
.....it obviously won't cope with our fridge freezer, water heater,tv, lights,phone charger blah blah etc etc if all are on together, (so my husband tells me - I've normally tuned out by the first "blah") so we, or rather, he, pops the fridge onto gas, sets the water heater to 40 degrees rather than 60, & use heating (if needed) on half leccy half gas, to lighten the load. 
On the rare occasion I need to use a hairdryer to get my long hair dry (due to lack of sun in winter months, or in bad weather) we make sure the heating/water is switched temporarily to off, before I fire up the mean machine, but I wouldn't recommend trying a hairdryer on a 4amp supply, best bet would be to send all hairdryer-wielding females off to the wash block armed with hairdryer & travelplug, to cut out the risk of a blown fuse, altogether!
There are just two of us - add three kids & all their electrical gear to the mix, & the best I could say to you on a 4amp site is Good luck mate!
Regards,
Seve's missus!


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## teensvan (May 9, 2005)

Hi Growler 57.

To get over this problem we have bought a kettle 650 watts

A halogen heater 400-800 watts.

Hairdryer 200 watts.

Your fridge uses about 135 watts but it only runs on about a 50% duty cycle so you should be able to use one of the appliances and still be able to watch TV.

steve & ann. ------ teensvan


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## Texas (May 9, 2005)

We found that 6amps was the norm in France, 10 amps was a wonder to behold.

Ask for anything greater and the French look at you aghast... 'Monsieur we are not the National Grid'

Texas


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