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MontyVeda
a short-tempered ill-controlled small-minded troll
- Location
- Lancaster... the little city.
...as demonstrated on Hawkwind's handy image above
How hot is a mains plug supposed to get?
- Thread starter MontyVeda
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fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
How many different ways is that wrong!!!
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MontyVeda
a short-tempered ill-controlled small-minded troll
- Location
- Lancaster... the little city.
Not only does it come with a little warning... early copies even had a big red sticker covering it up!How many different ways is that wrong!!!
classic33
Leg End Member
Cable clamp is missing.How many different ways is that wrong!!!
slowmotion
Quite dreadful
- Location
- lost somewhere
I was taught that the cable clamp was one of the most important things to get right.
BTW, it's worth making sure that the fuse holder clips are a tight fit on the end caps of the fuse, and that the three screws holding the stripped wires are screwed down tight.
BTW, it's worth making sure that the fuse holder clips are a tight fit on the end caps of the fuse, and that the three screws holding the stripped wires are screwed down tight.
Actually, it’s not quite as intuitive as that.
Schoolboy physics says that Power=Voltage x Current. So, as stated above “Watts/Volts gives Amps”. So the first of these is correct.
However, the assumption in the second post is that in this situation (an electric heater), the voltage is lower, so the current must be higher. That’s wrong. It would only be true if the power output was constant. But it isn’t. The thing that is (nearly) constant (it’s actually temperature-dependent, which is important in a heater - but lets ignore that for the moment) is the resistance of the heater.
Ohm’s law gives us V=IR - so for a constant R (ie the same heater), V is proportional to I. So if the voltage decreases by about 10% (say from 245V to 220V) then the current will ALSO decrease by 10%. Stick 220V across a heater that is rated at 2kW at 240V, and you’ll draw about 7.5 amps.
The output power generated by the heater will drop to about 0.8 of the original specification.
[QUOTE 5555820, member: 9609"]how does the regional differences in voltages affect consumption ?
so would that mean someone with a 245v supply would be using 13.5% more juice than someone with a 230v supply?
(i know stuff like kettles would just boil quicker and use same amount, but many appliances are time related)[/QUOTE]
Yes - for a resistive load (like a heater, or light bulb). And they’ll blow light bulbs more quickly.
Doesn’t make a huge difference in a domestic setting, but in say a theatre where you’re using 1000W lamps, it matters.
so would that mean someone with a 245v supply would be using 13.5% more juice than someone with a 230v supply?
(i know stuff like kettles would just boil quicker and use same amount, but many appliances are time related)[/QUOTE]
Yes - for a resistive load (like a heater, or light bulb). And they’ll blow light bulbs more quickly.
Doesn’t make a huge difference in a domestic setting, but in say a theatre where you’re using 1000W lamps, it matters.
plugs can often get hot and its not too serious, but definitely open it up and check for loose connections,
coz if its getting hot because of arcing then I could melt or cause a fire,
but u can't put a 5amp fuse in place of a 13amp and expect it not to blow haha
for real don't put a 5 or 10 amp fuse in there just get a 13amp one
coz if its getting hot because of arcing then I could melt or cause a fire,
but u can't put a 5amp fuse in place of a 13amp and expect it not to blow haha
for real don't put a 5 or 10 amp fuse in there just get a 13amp one
Accy cyclist
Legendary Member
- Location
- The hills of Accrington
On about dangerous plugs/wiring etc,on Saturday I decided to boil some eggs in my new egg boiler/poacher. I wanted them hard boiled,so I put the required amount of water in which takes about 7 or 8 minutes to boil the eggs. After about 4 minutes they contraption went off. Not only the egg boiler/poacher,but also all the 'leccy' in my flat. I'd only gone and burnt through the boiler's power cable by placing it too close to my 'George Foreman' type griller (which was on full power at the time),which I now use to toast bread, after I blew my toaster up. I want to know why manufacturers make the power cables of electrical items with black and not say high viz covering on them. For us with sight impairments black is hard to see, especially if like me your kitchen work surfaces are black! I suppose I could put high visual electrical tape around the cables,but even so....
Note... Black work surfaces wasn't my choice,but that of the previous tenant who chose it when new kitchens were fitted in these flats about 4 years ago.
Note... Black work surfaces wasn't my choice,but that of the previous tenant who chose it when new kitchens were fitted in these flats about 4 years ago.
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[QUOTE 5556975, member: 9609"]Why ?
if I had unscrewed and pulled the face plate forward I would have used the probes to touch the exposed terminals - that is what the probes are for, probably rated at a 1000v.[/QUOTE]
It was a PSA, you clearly know what you're doing but anyone who sees that photo might think "oh cool, i wonder what my voltage is" and could light themselves up like a christmas tree.
While it's true that multimeters have high voltage settings (mine is rated to 200mA @ 600V or 10A on the high current rail) and no current will flow until the circuit is completed, it's not outwith the realm of possibility for someone who is clumsy or doesn't know what they're doing to inadvertently cause arcing or to complete the circuit using their skin...
if I had unscrewed and pulled the face plate forward I would have used the probes to touch the exposed terminals - that is what the probes are for, probably rated at a 1000v.[/QUOTE]
It was a PSA, you clearly know what you're doing but anyone who sees that photo might think "oh cool, i wonder what my voltage is" and could light themselves up like a christmas tree.
While it's true that multimeters have high voltage settings (mine is rated to 200mA @ 600V or 10A on the high current rail) and no current will flow until the circuit is completed, it's not outwith the realm of possibility for someone who is clumsy or doesn't know what they're doing to inadvertently cause arcing or to complete the circuit using their skin...
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MontyVeda
a short-tempered ill-controlled small-minded troll
- Location
- Lancaster... the little city.
it very much depends on the appliance... and in this case, it's got a 10 amp fuse in place of the 13amp one.
This was normal up until the late 1950's
Our house was in a 'gas area' where it was easier and cheaper to run the house of gas rather that that flash in the pan stuff, electricity.
From the 1910's to the 1940's there was a lot of discussion about weather electricity had a long term future in the average domestic house or was it just a gimmick (a bit like the current electrical/diesel-petrol powered car discussions today)
Therefore our inner London house only installed electricity in 1947.
(They still kept the gas though, and used it as lighting until 1972 when we switched from Coal Gas to North Sea Gas )
When we moved in, in 1993 had 3 electrical sockets, one in the kitchen, one in the living room, one in the main bedroom, all for the old round pin plugs.
Why on earth would you need more ? Surly three was more than enough for the average 3 bed two story house ?
We had several attachments that were a bayonet light fitting plug, with a bayonet light socket for the bulb and a two pin round plug socket.
There were designed so the 'new fangled' electrical items such irons and radios could be powered from the only electrical fitting in the room, the light socket.
classic33
Leg End Member
I replace with the lowest one possible. No need for a 13amp fuse in most items.
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MontyVeda
a short-tempered ill-controlled small-minded troll
- Location
- Lancaster... the little city.
This is the way i look at it too... you want the safety cut out to cut out sooner rather than later.
