What 6A/1320W Actually Means for Your Camp Power
Most European camping festivals cap your pitch at 6A/1320W. Real wattage figures for kettles, hairdryers and chargers, and how to avoid tripping the breaker.
What 6A/1320W actually means for your camp power
Most camping festivals in Europe cap your pitch at 6 amps, roughly 1,300 to 1,380 watts. That is smaller than it sounds. Run a kettle and a hairdryer off the same plug and you will trip the breaker, and lose power for your whole row of camp, not just your own tent.
The number, in plain terms
Power in watts is amps multiplied by volts. At a European campsite running 230V, 6 amps works out to 1,380W. Tønder Festival's own practical info page states it slightly differently: "Max. strømbelastning: 6A/1320W", a figure worked out on a 220V basis rather than 230V. Both numbers describe the same limit. Treat anything between 1,300W and 1,380W as your real ceiling, whichever exact figure your own festival prints.
That 6A figure is not a Tønder quirk, as our guide to what to sort before Tønder already flagged in passing. The Camping and Caravanning Club, the UK's oldest camping body, confirms that "a supply as little as 5A or 6A is common" on continental campsites, well below the 16A many UK sites offer. Most camping festivals across Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and beyond run the same blue CEE plug and the same modest limit. Only CEE cables are allowed on the circuit. A household extension lead is not rated for outdoor use, and most sites will not let you plug one in at all.
Why it trips
The limit is not arbitrary. A single circuit runs a whole row of pitches, and the site's cabling is only rated to carry so much current. An MCB, a miniature circuit breaker, sits between your plug and the site's supply. Pull more than 6A through it and the MCB trips, cutting power to your whole section of camp until someone resets it, sometimes at a cost if the festival charges for callouts caused by misuse.
What your gear actually draws
Most packing guides stop at the limit and never say what your kettle actually pulls. Here are real ranges, drawn from manufacturer and retailer wattage specs:
| Item | Typical draw |
|---|---|
| Phone charger | 5-20W (up to 30W fast charging) |
| Laptop charger | 45-100W, 65W is the common mid-range figure |
| Small electric fan | 20-50W |
| Travel kettle | 650-1,000W |
| Full-size kettle from home | 2,000-3,000W |
| Drip coffee maker | 550-1,200W depending on size |
| Travel hairdryer | around 1,000W |
| Full-size hairdryer | 1,500-2,200W |
Safe combinations vs combinations that trip your pitch
Safe, well under 1,300W
- Two phone chargers (40W) plus a laptop charger (65W) plus a small fan (30W): 135W
- A travel kettle (1,000W) plus a phone charger (20W), run alone rather than alongside anything else heating: 1,020W
Trips the breaker
- A full-size kettle from home (2,000W+) on its own, before anything else is plugged in
- A travel kettle (1,000W) running at the same time as a travel hairdryer (1,000W): 2,000W
- A drip coffee maker (900W) plus a full-size hairdryer (1,800W): 2,700W
The pattern holds across all of it: any single heating appliance, a kettle, a hairdryer, a small heater, sits close to or over the limit by itself. Run two of them at once on the same circuit and it trips almost every time.
How to keep the power on all weekend
- Leave the full-size kettle and hairdryer at home. Pack travel-wattage versions, or skip them.
- Never run two heating appliances at once, even briefly. Boil the kettle, then dry your hair, not both together.
- Bring a proper CEE-rated extension cable. Camping pitches are rarely next to the outlet.
- Check the one item that could be a hidden problem. Some travel kettles and hairdryers exceed 1,000W without saying so clearly on the box, so check the wattage sticker before you pack it.
- If your breaker does trip, unplug everything before you go looking for the reset. Otherwise it trips again the moment power returns.
One thing you do not need to run off that circuit at all: your phone. Volt Self-Service Charging hands you a charger with the cables built in, no outlet, no shared circuit, no risk of losing your phone's power because your neighbour boiled a kettle at the same time. It only solves the phone-charging piece of camp power, not your kettle or your fan, but it is one fewer thing competing for those 6 amps.
For everything else that draws power in camp, a SOUNDBOKS running all festival is its own separate math (it runs off its own battery, not your pitch's circuit), and the full list of camping festivals this applies to sits in our camping festivals in Denmark guide.
FAQ
What happens if I trip the breaker at my camping festival pitch?
The MCB cuts power to your section of camp until it is reset, usually by festival staff. Some festivals charge a fee if the trip was caused by misuse or overloaded equipment.
Can I bring my own kettle to a camping festival?
Usually yes, but check its wattage first. A standard home kettle draws 2,000-3,000W, well over the 6A/1,320W limit most sites allow, and will trip the circuit on its own. A travel kettle around 1,000W is the safer choice.
Is 6A the standard everywhere in Europe?
It is the most common figure on continental camping sites, though some offer 10A and a smaller number offer 16A. Always check your specific festival's practical info page rather than assuming.
