Everything has to be 13 Amp??!!

[StuDH]

My mother in Law (90 y.o.) is coming to live with us. A Support Worker has been to assess the various safety issues etc.
She said she would arrange for a Fire Brigade Officer to come and look for any fire risk etc.

One thing she said, ( which I kept quiet about ( as it just has to be wrong)) ! , was that they would insist that if ANY electrical plugs had 13 amp fuses fitted, then ALL plugs would have to have 13 amp fuses fitted.
i.e, my 60 watt table lamp has to be fused 13 amp. This can't be right !

Any idea how she's getting confused?

Stu.

( I assume she is confused !! ).

 

[RF Lighting]

Sounds more like they'll be checking that not all plugs have 13A fuses in them, as that would be incorrect for things like table lamps as you have mentioned.

 

[big-all]

i had a argument with social worker once who claimed a 12way extension was overloaded because more than 3 items where plugged in

i then took the time to explain providing the loading was less than 3000w it is not overloaded but to play on the side off safety 2.5kw allows for a bit off a margin

i also explained the total draw would actually be less than 1 kw as battery chargers monitors computers etc are very low draw items

she told me i didnt know what i was talking about as the maximum was 3 items a socket

i then suggested she gets onto trading standards and report all the millions of trailing leads with 4 plus sockets for encouraging people to use dangerous equipment

 

[seco services]

Big-all i totally agree on what your saying is right.
But i have had this out with the misses on this subject as their rules are no more than 2 plugs on an extension/socket then they class it as a risk.

As you say 2 plugs could be just phone chargers, Or 2 plugs could be immersions.
She didn't take kindly on me explaining theirs rules were wrong.

 

[big-all]

i even offered to insert a 3 amp fuse as i new the total was way less than 1 kw even if it was 1kw for a short while a 3 amp would not blow untill nearer 5 amp

 

[EFLImpudence]

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NEVER assume those in charge know what they are doing.

 

[ericmark]

Well with my mother after fitting a disabled kitchen they sent some one to teach her how to use new cooker.

And told her once finished to switch off the oven on the wall.

I was fuming and called up the council to complain. Once I explained there were cooling fans in the oven which by switching off on the wall they disabled which would result in cupboard above the oven getting hot and in worse case could even cause a fire they did finally understand their error.

At first they thought I was upset at losing clock. Which was also an issue as needed resetting before oven would work.

The problem is of course these well meaning people are looked on by the old as being the experts. Where in fact they have very little training the one in question it seems had only ever cooked with gas.

 

[TheGayOwl]

.
NEVER assume those in charge know what they are doing.

Haha... too very very true...

 

[ban-all-sheds]

A friend of ours recently took advantage of the freebie from the Fire Service to install smoke alarms and offer advice.

Whilst they were there they spotted a multi-way adapter in use, said "these are illegal now", and confiscated it.

 

[securespark]

Was it fused?

 

[securespark]

I am surprised at this:

http://www.esc.org.uk/public/home-electrics/plug-fuses/

Which I discovered while planning my scout assignment the other week.

So, that means flexes under 1.25mm2 can have 13A fuses?

 

[stillp]

I bet these are the same idiots who insist on those socket covers being fitted to sockets that are already shuttered.

 

[imroberts]

I am surprised at this:

http://www.esc.org.uk/public/home-electrics/plug-fuses/

Which I discovered while planning my scout assignment the other week.

So, that means flexes under 1.25mm2 can have 13A fuses?

I recently purchased a 10m extension lead which is 1mm2 cable and was rated to 10A if fully unwound, or 5A otherwise, which sounds about right.

This was also fitted with a 13A fuse which doesn't seem right either!

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Was it fused?

A good Q.

When the light of my life told me the story I did say "well maybe it didn't have a fuse in it", but even so it's a bit of a leap from "not sold any more" to "illegal, I'm going to take it away".

 

[Monkeh]

I am surprised at this:

http://www.esc.org.uk/public/home-electrics/plug-fuses/

Which I discovered while planning my scout assignment the other week.

So, that means flexes under 1.25mm2 can have 13A fuses?

Yes, actually. I recall a reg which allows a 13A fuse for cable above 0.75mm² as long as it's <2m in length. Check out any IEC C13 cable supplied with a PC, PSU, monitor..

But don't quote me on it. I don't have access to a copy of BS7671 (my library subscription does not include it, which is beyond annoying).

E: Actually, it's in BS1363-1, Table 2. 13A fuse for all conductor sizes above 0.5mm², and the 2m rule is for 0.75mm² being rated at 10A:

The figure in brackets indicates the flexible cord size which may be used for cord sets where non-rewirable plugs are used with a maximum flexible cord length of 2 m.

So, there you have it: 13A is deemed sufficient for protection of flexible lead sets above 0.5mm².