Cable temperature

[russellsmiler]

I have recently purchased a infra red thermometer, one were you shine a red dot on the surface you want to know the temperature of.

I am running a convector heater pretty much continuous and felt the flex and plug to be pretty warm, using my thermometer the plug was 83 degrees c

I am sure there is, but open it for discussion here, is there safe maximum temperature that cables , flexes, plugs should reach before its considered exesive.

 

[Taylortwocities]

Most domestic cables are designed to have a maximum operating temperature of 70°C.

But if the plug is hotter than the cable, it may indicate either a bad connection in the plug, or worn plug pins, or a loose socket connection (the copper springs that make contact with the plug).

 

[ericmark]

A fuse works by the metal inside it melting, so all fuses have to run hot or they would not work. A fused plug needs to be in free air to get rid of the heat, and if it has a bad connection it will over heat, but I have never looked at the normal running temperature of a 13A plug with a good load. I seem to remember there is a limit for items non metallic and hand held which should cover a plug. I have not got book to hand, but would expect 60°C as that is limit for some flex. So would be looking for poor connections. The silly lumps of plastic used to blank off sockets can damage sockets and that can lead to over heating. In general once it has over heated you need to swap both plug and socket.

 

[stillp]

Have you checked the thermometer against a 'real' one? The cheaper infra-red ones are notoriously inaccurate.

 

[JohnW2]

Have you checked the thermometer against a 'real' one? The cheaper infra-red ones are notoriously inaccurate.

Indeed ....

.... felt the flex and plug to be pretty warm, using my thermometer the plug was 83 degrees c

83°C is too hot to touch - I personally would not describe that as just "pretty warm" (but maybe others would!).

Kind Regards, John

 

[stillp]

"Pretty warm" sounds more like 83° F!

 

[JohnW2]

"Pretty warm" sounds more like 83° F!

Quite so. If something were too hot to touch for any significant period of time, I would call it 'hot', not 'warm' (no matter what qualifiers came with 'warm'!).

Kind Regards, John

 

[Lectrician]

Is it a moulded plug?