On Friday, January 13, 2017 at 3:32:40 PM UTC-5, James Wilkinson Sword wrote:
On Fri, 13 Jan 2017 19:53:48 -0000, trader_4 wrote:

On Friday, January 13, 2017 at 2:01:02 PM UTC-5, James Wilkinson Sword wrote:
On Fri, 13 Jan 2017 01:40:22 -0000, wrote:

On Thu, 12 Jan 2017 23:16:47 -0000, "James Wilkinson Sword"
wrote:

Aren't the outlets also protected at 10a?

No, but the plug itself on each appliance has a fuse from 1A to 13A depending on the appliance.

That is actually not a bad idea.

It's an obvious idea, don't your plugs have fuses yet? You can plug anything into an outlet, if it's a 13A outlet, your 0.5A table lamp doesn't have its cord protected against fire from a short.

If it's a decent short, it will greatly exceed the breaker rating
and trip instantly. If it's a short just right to consume a lot
of the current on the circuit but not trip it, eg a 12A short on
a 15A circuit, then you have that potential with all the wiring anyway
and we live with it and it does not appear to be a major cause of
fires. We also require arc fault breakers on many circuits now,
eg those in the living areas.

What are you talking about?

Reality, the way thing are.


A 1A cord may only take 10 amps through it during a short, and catch fire. Yet the 15A breaker won't trip.

Never said anything different. But a direct short will produce enough
current to trip the breaker, ending the problem before the cord can
heat up. Happens all the time. Stick a screwdriver in a light socket
and it causes a current that trips the breaker right away.

And just like with that cord, if there is a partial short
in a branch circuit that produces a current under the breaker limit,
it can start a fire, without tripping the breaker. According to you,
you Britts have all your receptacles on one 30A circuit. What happens
if you have a partial short that results in a current of 10A?
You have ~2.5KW, which is more than enough to start a fire. Yet you
apparently live with that.