What is the relevant answer John?
1.5mm2 cable for single socket?
- Thread starter Alexnh
- Start date
What is the relevant answer John?
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What is relevant/important is that the device (fuse or breaker) should have an adequately low rating to protect the cable from excessive currents. Hence, if the cable has, say, a maximum current-carrying capacity of 20A, then the fuse or breaker must be rated at no more than 20A.
As I said, with sockets circuits (which invariably have several sockets), the load which could theoretically be 'plugged in' is invariably very much higher than the maximum current-carrying capacity of the cable - but the fuse/breaker will, as above, prevent the current ever becoming too high to damage the cable, no matter how much load is 'plugged in'.
Kind Regards, John
So 1.5mm2 is ok?
I ask for future reference
I ask for future reference
Does it occur to you that perhaps those that don’t agree are wrong?
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Does it occur to you that perhaps those that don’t agree with Winston are correct?
No. I’ve seen too many badly thought out statements for that.
If, as per the original question. it's supplying just one single socket (into which will be plugged a plug with, at most, a 13A fuse),then yes.
Kind Regards, John
Oh if only you were telling the truth.
Except the frequent ones you get so badly wrong.
And we've seen loads of Winstons badly thought out statements.
EDIT: I assume the totally incorrect crap Winston spouts on so many ocassions are not thought about at all.
As John says a single socket on a 1.5mm² T&E on a 20A circuit is fine as we are permitted to use downstream overload protection, ie the single 13A fuse in the single 13A socket will limit the current to the level that a following 1.25mm² flex is correctly protected.
I'd be hesitant to support the use of 1.5mm² on a 32A breaker/fuse. Only because it doesn't feel right to me, not because there is anything contrary to regs.
Circuit design caters for loads of parameters including, but not limited to, Volt drop, installation method, temperature, thermal insulation, to name just a few.
A short run of 6 inches in a plasterboard wall is unlikely to encounter very many of those considerations.
If the question was only - Can I use 1.5mm² T&E for a new socket? - without all of the original detail as supplied in OP, we would have given very different answers.
Many of our guts probably feeling the same - but that merely illustrates how our gut-feelings can be irrational.
1.5mm² cable with downstream 13A protection is, rationally/electrically (and per regs) OK no matter how high the rating of any upstream OPD (and, indeed, even if there is no upstream OPD at all!).
Kind Regards, John
That downstream overload protection is not needed on a 20A circuit for the 1.5mm².
That's not an "i.e." nor downstream protection, it applies to (just about) everything with a UK plug.
Mmmm. I think I can see why.
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