New to the UK?

[Phill19]

Hope this is in the right place. Anyway, I am new to the UK having only lived here for a few months after moving from the US due to work. Electrics have never been my thing and I have never dealt with electrics back in the US where I am from.

I have an electric kettle what stopped working the other day and a friend of mine who has lived here for many years said the 13 amp fuse has likely gone. Being that we don't have *fuses* or whatever my friend was referring to in our plugs back in the states, is it ok if I bypass this supposed *fuse* as a temporary measure until I can get the kettle repaired by a professional.

Also what did my friend exactly mean by "13 amp fuse"

To be honest, I am a bit confused by what my friend was trying to convey to me.

Regards: Phill.

 

[flameport]

The fuse is one of these: http://www.toolstation.com/shop/p19726 which is located inside the plug for the kettle.
You must NOT bypass it or replace it with anything else.

It may be that it just requires replacement. More likely is that the kettle is faulty which is why the fuse failed.
Unless this kettle is some very expensive luxury thing, just buy a new one. No one repairs them any more, it simply isn't worth it.

 

[skenk]

No, do not bypass the fuse (which is inside the plug)

Did you just buy this kettle... or?

 

[eveares]

is it ok if I bypass this supposed *fuse*

NO! A fuse is a over current safety device that protects the appliance and the cord supplying it.

Fuses are designed to blow when the current being drawn exceeds the fuses rating, thus protecting the appliance from drawing excess current what could cause a fire or result in someone getting hurt through a fault with the appliance.

As others have said,if the fuse has failed it has likely failed because the kettle was faulty.

 

[AndyPRK]

There are good safety reasons why we have fuses in our plugs.

It's probably not the fuse at fault anyway

 

[JohnD]

Is it a UK kettle?

 

[Monkeh]

A kettle costs £5. Just buy a new one.

 

[Taylortwocities]

Untitled

• Taylortwocities
• 11 Jun 2011
• 8

 

[winston1]

I have an electric kettle what stopped working the other day and a friend of mine who has lived here for many years said the 13 amp fuse has likely gone.

Welcome to the UK Phill.

One thing you will learn here is that whenever something electrical stops working someone will suggest the fuse in the plug has blown. Nine times out of ten it hasn't, the fault is elsewhere. On the tenth time it will have blown for a reason and replacing it without finding the fault will cause it to blow again.

 

[Phill19]

Thanks all for your help. I will just buy a new kettle, the one I have came with the place that I am renting.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

In that case ask the landlord to replace it.

 

[skenk]

Your landlord is responsible for electrical appliances they have supplied to you. Tell them it's faulty and ask them to repair or replace it.

 

[ericmark]

In the UK out electrical system is different to both rest of EU and USA in that after the 2nd world war we adopted a ring final system. So we have a fuse in the plug rated no more than 13A and a fuse/MCB/RCBO in the fuse box/consumer unit likely rated at 30/32 amp. Hence bypassing a fuse would allow 32A to flow before anything trips and the kettle lead will not take that power.

Our system has a few advantages over the rest of the EU. It allows thinner cable to be used for items like standard lamps as the fuse can be reduced to 3A were in theroy in rest of EU all appliance cable must be able to take 16A.

We also have non reversible polarity needed to ensure fuse is in line not neutral but also means cheaper single pole switches can be used.

Out voltage is higher than the USA there is a balance between danger from fire and danger from electric shock in general higher voltage reduces fire risk but increases risk of a shock being fatal. We clearly think we have the balance correct and the higher voltage does mean in general out kettles boil quicker and have a more flexible cable.

However water splashes can cause more of a problem here then in USA. Over the years we have improved our system. The plug has gained insulated sleeves on part of the pin and our houses now have RCD (You call them Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI), Ground Fault Interrupter (GFI) or an Appliance Leakage Current Interrupter (ALCI).).

But we of course have lived all out life with the system and have got use to the respect it requires. My local hardware store charges £1.83 for 10 fuses so at 20p swapping fuse first is common but at that price not worth taking a risk one simply changes it.