Circuit Breaker Ratings

[richard1600]

most of my circuit breakers for house read B16 on the front,.

is it right that B=type of protection and the 16= 16amp.. ??

so B32 would be type B 32amp..


my storage heaters are all B16 on front of their cicuit breakers.


just wondering coz am moving an old storage heater and the original cable is not long enough so i dont know if to buy 16amp/3840watt cable... would be substantial...

 

[Steve]

What is 16 amp cable?

Cable isnt rated by its capacity, because this varies by the installation method and length. Though DIY stores do like to print a rating on their cable packets just to confuse things.

Beware old storage heaters had asbestos in them.

And yes B16 is a type B breaker rated at 16 amps.

 

[GaryMo]

Yes, a B16 is 16 amp.

B is its type.

B will trip instantaneously between 3 and 5 times its rated current.
C will trip instantaneously between 5 and 10 times its rated current.
D will trip instantaneously between 10 and 20 times its rated current.

 

[electronicsuk]

Are you referring to the flex on the storage heater? If so, your safest bet may be to use 2.5mm 3-core. You may be able to get away with smaller, but the price difference is minimal. How far are you extending it, anyway?

 

[richard1600]

cool,

thanks for the reply,,

i went to wickes and asked for advice, they offered 2 types of cable,

heat resistant suitable for night storage heaters. and like you said, it says 16amp 3840 watt..

so take it that one is ok if the breaker ratings are B16.

just the heaters have no information on them at all..

 

[electronicsuk]

i went to wickes and asked for advice, they offered 2 types of cable,

heat resistant suitable for night storage heaters. and like you said, it says 16amp 3840 watt

Again, it depends on how far you plan to extend, and whether or not you're referring to the flex that feeds the heater, or the fixed wiring in the wall. I suspect it's the former, and if so, the heat resistant cable you mention should suffice on the proviso that you aren't trying to extend what was there before by a large amount.

 

[richard1600]

lenght will be about 5m from heater to the breaker. then like 50cm from socket bit to heater itself,,

ohh and the "16amp" cable is 1.5mm2

 

[electronicsuk]

lenght will be about 5m from heater to the breaker. then like 50cm from socket bit to heater itself,,

ohh and the "16amp" cable is 1.5mm2

I'm confused now. You're rewiring right the way back to the consumer unit, or just the 50cm of flex?

 

[richard1600]

sorry,, start again.,.

am moving 1x storage heater from wall wall to another, the original cable from the cb box is not long enough,, so am assuming i need to rewire a cable from the cb box...

 

[333rocky333]

The flex should be heater to wall switch only usually 1.5 will suffice.

mcb to wall switch would be Twin and Earth normally, possibly2.5 minimum

 

[ColJack]

yes, so you want 2.5mm² T+E cable, not flex..
you are renewing the hard wiring from the fuse board to the outlet plate, and moving the outlet plate..

 

[richard1600]

#ok,

how long can the flex safely be using 1.5mm

 

[electronicsuk]

The flex should be heater to wall switch only usually 1.5 will suffice.

mcb to wall switch would be Twin and Earth normally, possibly2.5 minimum

As above, use 2.5mm twin+earth for the fixed wiring and then 1.5mm heat resistant flex for the half metre to the heater. In reality, it's quite likely that 1.5mm T+E would be OK, but for such a short length you'll only be talking a couple more quid to move up to the next size of conductor.

Don't forget earth sleeving!

 

[ColJack]

so you're NOT changing the wire back to the fuse board and NOT moving the outlet plate on the wall, JUST moving the heater and need a longer flex to reach the outlet plate..?

 

[richard1600]

have not decided yet,,

could do either. just need to know whats bext practice wrt wiring