Why is a double socket a maximum load of 13A?
In fact in a kitchen I would suggest not having more than 1 double socket on a 2.5mm 20A radial, as you do not know how appliances will be distributed around the kitchen
That's a bit of a waste, using a 20A radial for a max load of 13A.
Colin C
A double socket has a max load of 20A.
Not at the expense of safety.They were designed to save copper, no?
Economising on copper is just as important now, if not more so, than back then.
Owain is wrong - a kitchen is about the worst place possible to have a ring, assuming it's for appliances, a ring is a very imperfect solution for supplying multiple large loads concentrated in a small space, and "money to burn on multiple radials" is a ridiculous comment - why does there have to be multiple ones?As Owain says, a ring is good for a kitchen and the perfect solution for someone who doesn't have money to burn on multiple radials.
I don't think that trying to draw parallels between eating implements developed in countries with no means to product cutlery in sufficient quantities and engineering decisions made by national electrical regulatory bodies in industrialised countries is going to profit you much.Different countries have their own way of doing things - the east stick to chopsticks, not impressed by our knife and fork, does that mean cutlery is rubbish?
The catch is in the "correctly installed" bit. Correcting installing a ring means more than just checking Zs/ring continuity/etc. It also means determining where the likely heavy loads are on the ring and how that will impact the balance of current in the ring. Afaict such analysis is almost never done. The closer the CU is to the kitchen the more of a concern this is.There's no safety problems with a correctly installed ring
Depending on how load is distributed it is quite possible for almost all the load to go down one leg of a ring. That means on a badly designed ring you can easilly get into a situation where one leg is consistently overloaded yet the breaker never trips.The CPD will operate before there is any danger.
I think it's in BS1363, although MK Logic are good for 2 x 13A. There is also the factor on a ring circuit of point loading / unbalanced ring to consider, although that's not an issue on a radial.
Instead of junction boxes and FCU (fused spur) connections, you might want to consider accessible 20A isolator switches each feeding a single concealed socket. If you have a concealed switched FCU adjacent to each appliance, you won't be able to isolate them in an emergency.
in a modern house with modern minded folk, how likely is it that 2 x 13A devices would be plugged into the same socket?
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