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morning everybody, Big risk of damaging UFH cables with a steel trowel. I thought a plastic one would be be better, but I can't find one (little notched spreaders yes, trowel with a handle, no). Anybody know where I can get one ? Thanks, David

Morning Liam, I got some Megaman 11w CFLs to replace 7 40w r50 downlights in the kitchen.. They take about 0.5 s to start up, and then take several minutes to reach full brightness. p*****d me off so much that I put two incandescants back in. Main reason was that I was fed up with...

Morning everyone, Spark123's solution works well - got some red off a 6mm wire I found attached to an old switch. Thanks for the help.

I'm with you Chri5, I figured that "anything is better than nothing". Haven't got any red sleeving, so I was going to use brown - unless anyone can see a compelling reason not to !

Morning everyone, Adding another light fitting. Switched live in the existing ceiling rose is not marked. Existing cable is red/black. Should I sleeve the sw live in red or brown ? New cables are, of course, brown/blue, and CU will be labelled to show mixed installation

April fool......

Rating for 3 phase was debated recently http://www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=170818 Regards, David

Morning spark123, I guess it's pretty obvious that el cheapo wasn't up to the job, Shame really, it chewed it's way through anything it was pointed at, inlcluding breaking out concrete. Iut doesn't owe me anything ! Anyway, I'm off to the hire shop now....

Morning everybody, Interesting debate, but it's all become a bit academic for me. Hager do a C type 3A mcb, but I looked closer and it's actually a Wylex CU, and they don't do a 3A mcb. So, I've put it on a FCU in with a 3A fuse. More fun trying to put the hole (witha 110mm core...

Jono, surely it depends on what kind of fault condition is present. With a short line-neutral (line-earth taken care of by RCD), then the delay of the C type would mean that the actual current is considerably higher than 3A when it breaks (haven't got the regs to hand, but 30A sounds...

Morning everyone, Just spoke the fan manufacturer (Airflow). Asked if I could use a 3A C type MCB in place of a 3A fuse, and they said "yes" without a moments hesitation. So that's the way forward then !

Afternoon everyone, Usually, manufacturer spec for extractor fans is to be fused down to 3A . Any body know why I shouldn't use a 3A mcb (plenty of spare ways in this CU !) ? Fan rating = 20w; inrush current can't be near 3A can it ? I assume a 3A plugtop fuse would be slower than a B...

Slightly OT... I always wondered why stuff is rated at 16, 32 or 63 A Why not 16, 32 & 64 A ?

Morning Fred, tlc-direct do them as well, 16 or 32A rated http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/Plugs_and_Sockets_Industrial_Index/Plugs_and_Sockets_Ind_240v_1/index.html

Good point Bernard; I'll see what the manufacturer's spec says. Skimpy brochure talks about "soft start"; presumably this is a device to limit the starting current ? As you may have gathered, I'm not an expert in big motors ! Thanks, David

Morning everyone, I seem to have kicked a hornet nest here... Blew the dust of some books last night, and found Garymo's method in a couple - no sign of mine, so for the sake of correctness I'll stick to kVA/V/sqrt3. Thanks to Coljack for the link - saves trying to remember sqrt3 ...

Hallo Garymo, Yes, got there in the end ! Thanks for your help, David

Cheers Garymo, Apart from using the wrong voltage & forgetting to squareroot the 3, I was correct. Memory is not what it used to be. Coincidence that my (incorrect) method gives very nearly the right answer - two wrongs almost making a right... Thanks, David

Afternoon everyone, Trying to remember how to specify cable for a three phase motor. Motor rated at 6kVA. 6000 VA /230 V = 26.1 A 26.1 A/ 3 = 8.7A. Am I right in thinking that each phase will carry 8.7A, and so the (3+E) cable must be spec'd to carry 8.7 A ? Seems too simple to...

Ah, all is clear. Been thinking, and in the cold light of day, it's too much for me. I'll get the yellow pages out and get some professionals to offer up solutions and prices. Thanks for taking the time to respond to a hare brained scheme ! David