:
On Wednesday, November 7, 2012 8:47:55 PM UTC, polygonum wrote:
On 07/11/2012 20:33, wrote:
On Wednesday, November 7, 2012 6:40:34 PM UTC, David Robinson wrote:


Not my question, or belief, but found here...
http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1755197 Is there a
counter-argument? Thanks, David.

All modern appliances and leads are required to be safe with a 13A
fuse. However the reality is that fires do happen, and there are at
least some faults where a 3A would blow before a 13A, so maybe
preventing a small percentage of fires.

Old appliances are another matter, and many are not properly
protected by a 13A fuse.

So its better to keep using 3A where suitable.

Please can you provide a reference to when that changed? And, ideally,
what the requirements actually are - in an accessible form.

Unfortuately no, I've not kept any notes of those points. One thing it
has changed is the minimum permissible conductor cross section in
appliance leads, if you look at appliances from the 50s and 60s, some
shavers & clocks etc have very thin conductors. Now all new flexes need
to be able to survive the i squared t of a 13A fuse blow.

I remember those thin leads. My '60s soldering iron had a lead about
half the diameter of (today's!) CAT5 patch cables. My assumption up
until now has been that globalisation has resulted in all leads being
designed for the unfused plugs used in most of the world outside the UK.

--
Mike Barnes