Jules wrote:
On Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:38:12 -0400, Existential Angst wrote:
Seems so. Although it is more hassle to set up, and I'm never quite
convinced of the loading benefits given that the ring could fail yet still
appear to work; at least with a radial system if a connection goes bad
it's pretty obvious that it's done so.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_circuit for the curious)
That was VERY inneresting!!!
Am I correct in observing that the diagram shows two "radial" connections to
the ring?

Yes, such spur connections seem reasonably common for things like attics,
garages, and where rooms are later added on to buildings - and in that
respect they're not really much different to US wiring layouts, I suppose
(apart from they feed back to the ring, not always back to the service
panel).

A question is whether the spur is ring-wire-size or 'full-wire-size'.
The Wiki article sounds like it is ring-wire-size with limitation on the
number of outlets or possible fuses.

Aside: I can never quite decide whether I prefer UK-style outlets/plugs or
US ones. Remember that all plugs for UK appliances have their own fuse,
rather than relying on tripping a breaker back in the service panel, and
all outlets there have a live/neutral/earth connection - as a result the
plugs are quite large (although not as chunky as US 240V plugs,
thankfully), but the built-in fuse is nice to have.

I assume a major purpose of the fuse is that you are connecting a cord
with rather limited current rating to a 30/32A ring circuit.

OTOH I like how compact US plugs are - particularly on things like wall
warts where the pins fold away for storage.

OTOH (again) US plugs can be knocked such that they expose the pins, which
seems like a major safety hazard...

But, I thought Europe was all 220, ie, two hot legs, residentially??

Yeah, I think it's all technically 230V these days actually - the UK
lowered theirs slightly (as did others) whilst some other countries on
220V upped theirs a little. It's just too ingrained in my mind such that
I'll always call the UK system 240V...

All 3-phase at utility end, from what I have read, with hot and neutral
supplied. You may get 2 of the phases. And in some countries I have read
you get all 3 phases.

:-) I think the US system just evolved slowly over time, and with such a
high population it's hard to put the brakes on and simply change over to
something else; the European picture was a bit different because it was
all such a mess after WWII that there was a far more opportunity to start
over with different systems and standards. Not that they always got it
right, of course!

The UK, in particular, does seem to be a much more 'engineered' system.
Not sure how much the 'cowboy' mentality in the US would allow that.
Receptacle configurations have changed even since WWII if I read the
Wiki article right.

Surprising how much even the names of parts are different from this side
the pond (like "consumer unit" in the Wiki article).

--
bud--