Domestic Three Phase Using Single Phase

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Hi All,

Not an expert, so after any insights...

My house appears to have a three phase supply, which has been adapted to only use one of the phases. Guessing it was put in during the days when people thought storage heaters were the future.

It has a modern RCD rin rail circuit breaker.

I am just wondering what the supply is likely to be rated at - would it be 60A as it is just a single phase, or can it vary?

Thanks!
 
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My house appears to have a three phase supply, which has been adapted to only use one of the phases. Guessing it was put in during the days when people thought storage heaters were the future. .. It has a modern RCD rin rail circuit breaker. ... I am just wondering what the supply is likely to be rated at - would it be 60A as it is just a single phase, or can it vary?
It's anyone's guess, but the chances are that one of the phases will be the same as the standard single-phase supply to any house - i.e. fused at 60A, 80A or 100A.

Kind Regards, John
 
As John says, it would be any ones guess, sometimes the fuse carrier will display the fuse rating. But can not take this as gospel. You could contact DNO and ask them or possibly could be documented on any test certs you have.

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thanks for the reply - helpful.
Someone told me that three phase supplies were always three sets of 60A, so I was thinking that this was quite a low supply, and to think twice about an electric shower.
Guess the only way to find out is to get a qualified electrician to come and take a look?
 
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thanks for the reply - helpful. Someone told me that three phase supplies were always three sets of 60A, so I was thinking that this was quite a low supply, and to think twice about an electric shower.
That's nonsense. 3-phase supplies can be of any capacity - from 60A up to hundreds or thousands of amps. If it is a normal house in a residential area, then one phase of a 3-phase supply is no different from what neighbouring properties supplied with only one of those three phases will be getting. My house has a 3 x 80A 3-phase supply.
Guess the only way to find out is to get a qualified electrician to come and take a look?
An electrician may well not be able to tell. The fuse carrier may well be labelld '100A' (or '80A'), that being the maximum fuse size, but it should be sealed, and the electrician will therefore not be able to tell whether there is actually a 60A, 80A or 100A fuse inside it. In theory, your electricity supplier ought to be able to tell you - but they may well not be able to without coming and looking at the fuse! Anything written on any test certificates you may have may also be nothing more than an electrician's guess!

Kind Regards, John
 
In theory, your electricity supplier ought to be able to tell you - but they may well not be able to without coming and looking at the fuse!
That's a tad worrying - it would mean that anybody who had had a visit from the seal fairy could put their own fuse in.
 
In theory, your electricity supplier ought to be able to tell you - but they may well not be able to without coming and looking at the fuse!
That's a tad worrying - it would mean that anybody who had had a visit from the seal fairy could put their own fuse in.
I think I must be having a slow day - beyond that being a statement of the obvious, I'm not sure what point (genuine or pedantic!) you are trying to make!

Kind regards, John
 
That's a tad worrying - it would mean that anybody who had had a visit from the seal fairy could put their own fuse in.

But should they not re-seal it back up afterwards right?

Also a electrician I once had in said the the DNO more often than not just tell them to break the seal in cases where they need to remove the fuse.

With direct permission from your DNO to your electrician, they should be able to remove the cover and find the ratting of the fuse.
 
That's a tad worrying - it would mean that anybody who had had a visit from the seal fairy could put their own fuse in.
But should they not re-seal it back up afterwards right?
I think you'll find that the fairy mentioned by BAS never seems to have any re-sealing tools :)

Kind Regards, John
 
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/351092243869 ;)
Well, yes, I'm sure that many of us mere humans have them - but, as I said, the seal fairy doesn't seem to (or, at least, never seems to use them) :)

Kind Regards, John
 
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I think I must be having a slow day - beyond that being a statement of the obvious, I'm not sure what point (genuine or pedantic!) you are trying to make!
It would mean that if someone wanted a higher rated supply they could unilaterally DIY it without reference to the DNO.
 
I think I must be having a slow day - beyond that being a statement of the obvious, I'm not sure what point (genuine or pedantic!) you are trying to make!
It would mean that if someone wanted a higher rated supply they could unilaterally DIY it without reference to the DNO.
Fair enough - I guess I was looking for too deep a meaning, since that is the very "statement of the obvious" to which I was referring. Whether it would necessarily become a 'higher rated supply' just because a higher-rated fuse had been installed is perhaps a different matter!

Kind Regards, John
 

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