If you have ever seen the inside of a fire station. The appliances and the stuff on them have an umbilical electrical cord attached to them while in the station. When there is a shout. they just drive off and the cable pulls apart. Does anyone know what they are called? I have an Idea to put one on the new van to keep my partners mobility scooter charged up and maybe some sort of sensor to sound an alarm if the van moves when it shouldn't (I would have a switch inside to disable it obviously)
- Thread starter bourbon
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galooph
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The only one I've seen is https://marechal.com/marechal/en/gamme/rescue-vehicles/rettbox-rescue-197 but I've no idea what it costs.
In my experience as a firefighter, now retired, sometimes they don't always eject when they should nor does the exhaust pipe extraction! Usually resulting in carnage.
Not as bad as when someone almost lifts the doors (so not fully open)and the light bar and horns get wiped out..
Funny how the resulting memo's always started with "imagine my surprise when"
Not as bad as when someone almost lifts the doors (so not fully open)and the light bar and horns get wiped out..
Funny how the resulting memo's always started with "imagine my surprise when"
OJCar
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The Original Edinburgh Royal Infirmary Medic One was constantly being driven off on a shout with the remains of the cable trailing down the road behind it.
When that was replaced with the V8 Sherpa, they just drove off trailing the cable, faster!
Edinburgh Emergency Medicine
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/regulat...and-electronic-equipment#extent-of-obligation. I think I may shelve that Idea
AKN
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I have a mains connection for the on-board battery charger and, in winter, electric anti-icing this goes to a trailing 16A blue industrial socket. On the cable mounted plug attached to the car I’ve removed the locking tab on the plug that latched with the spring cover on the socket. The one time I forgot when moving the car ant it was rolling forward the plug just pulled out no damage done. For more serious protection I’d put a 5 pole red plug on the vehicle leaving 2pins which I would short on the cable socket and on the vehicle I’d put a relay from an ignition switched feed to interrupt the wire to the starter solenoid so the engine cannot be started with the cable connected.
James1979
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There was a thread similar a while back
I had an ex ambo one in my camper. As knights post it spat the plug out when you put the ignition on. Usually. I got in the habit of hooking the wire over the drivers mirror to remind me to check. I did idly look at a new one but it was well over a hundred quid and that was a while back.
Edit: kussmaul seems to be the main contender but doesn’t ring any bells with me. Is there a blue light breaker near you or online?
I had an ex ambo one in my camper. As knights post it spat the plug out when you put the ignition on. Usually. I got in the habit of hooking the wire over the drivers mirror to remind me to check. I did idly look at a new one but it was well over a hundred quid and that was a while back.
Edit: kussmaul seems to be the main contender but doesn’t ring any bells with me. Is there a blue light breaker near you or online?
Yep remember all that so well.
Never seen any charging connections that pull apart.
Ours were always the 3 pin metal shielded round pin version with orange stretchy cable.
I can assure you it never stretched far enough to an incident....it fitted above the bulk head /wheel arch for the front tyres and had to be manually pulled out.
Ours used to auto eject when the ignition was turned on, it was a round plug and socket, a pin used to push out of the socket to push the plug out.......... sometimes!
Yes but in much less comfort...
can you fit the socket to a towbar and then have something directly behind it?
I'd probably just fit the socket to the tow bar, and have a bit of wire rope attached to the plug so you could drive off and the plug would be pulled out before the cable was pulled on - most have a little bump on top of plug which the lid of the socket catches on to hold it in.... file that off :-)
one of those things where simple wins
if you want to be fancy attach a bit of elastic rope to the plug too, so once it's pulled out it lifts up off the ground :-)
I'd probably just fit the socket to the tow bar, and have a bit of wire rope attached to the plug so you could drive off and the plug would be pulled out before the cable was pulled on - most have a little bump on top of plug which the lid of the socket catches on to hold it in.... file that off :-)
one of those things where simple wins
if you want to be fancy attach a bit of elastic rope to the plug too, so once it's pulled out it lifts up off the ground :-)
Matchless
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Years ago I noticed my fixed to the garage wall extension lead laying in the drive cut off, live, daughter had driven to the station with her bonnet 6" open and with the battery charger sitting on top of the engine, when she came home in the evening I mentioned it, blank look, lead still has a joint in it............
I guess that was more of a problem than being all manual.
The_Yellow_Ardvark
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@bourbon
When I do another Fire Station, I will ask their Maint Tech about it for you.
The Ambulance stations have similar set up.
One Ambulane station has a lift up heater.
When the wagon is parked, it rises up.
When the doors go up.
It goes down, the heater is linked to the fire alarm, so when it goes of it has it power droped, it syops heating and drops.
When I do another Fire Station, I will ask their Maint Tech about it for you.
The Ambulance stations have similar set up.
One Ambulane station has a lift up heater.
When the wagon is parked, it rises up.
When the doors go up.
It goes down, the heater is linked to the fire alarm, so when it goes of it has it power droped, it syops heating and drops.
julianthegypsy
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All cars in northern Alberta have block heaters. I had mine on a timer so it came on at four in the morning to warm the engine. Did I ever drive away and forget to unplug it? No, no, no, never. Apart from the morning when it was 34 below and I arrived at work with 15 metres of cable trailing behind me.... 
