Beware of fitting new switches yourself as we all do at times but household switches are different to double pole caravan camper mobile home or even tents. Price will dictate to some but using single pole is endangering all as double pole compensates for wrongly wired, crossing polarity on extension leads. If your not sure don't fiddle.

I've just had a new double-poled insert installed in a light switch in my van. $20 later I was out of the electrical wholesalers shop. Hard to justify the cost for such a little thing, but safety is the guide and must come first. It was the only way to get rid of that crackling sound when I turned the light on.

Cruising Granny wrote:

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I've just had a new double-poled insert installed in a light switch in my van. $20 later I was out of the electrical wholesalers shop.
Hard to justify the cost for such a little thing, but safety is the guide and must come first.
It was the only way to get rid of that crackling sound when I turned the light on.

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Without being an apologist for the electrical switch industry, the extra cost would be a result of the much smaller production runs for double pole switches and GPOs (power points) rather than just the extra contacts.  The "crackling" in the old switch would have been the result of a faulty switch not the number of poles, you're probably aware of this Chris, but I explain it for the benefit of others coming to this thread.

As Graham (Technomad) alludes to in his opening post, both the active wire and the neutral wire has to be wired through the switch.  Anyone not understanding what is meant by active and neutral and/or cannot identify which wire is which should stay well away from doing anything with the electrical wiring.

Clarification: we are referring specifically to the 240 volt wiring here.

-- Edited by jimricho on Monday 15th of February 2010 06:30:40 AM

Thanks Jim, good job. The nice neighbour here in the park who just happens to be a sparky explained it to me. I'm a much wiser woman now.