Are 3A plug fuses really necessary? Why not always 13A?
On Mon, 21 Nov 2016 22:13:13 +0000, John Rumm
wrote:
On 21/11/2016 21:45, bert wrote:
In article , "Dave Plowman (News)"
writes
In article ,
wrote:
How do you chose the "correct" fuse for an extension lead (assuming
the lead is designed for a 13A load)?
I can't imagine why you assume extension leads are all 13A rated. I
assure you they're not. 10A leads get a 10A fuse, 5A leads get a 5A fuse
etc. Hardly a challenge.
Rather silly given the average person won't have a clue how much current
things take. And if, say, a 5 amp fuse blew would likely fit a 13 amp
one.
Safer to make them all 13 amp. Much as has happened with all leads these
days.
How can a 13 amp fuse make it"SAFER" than a 5 amp one?
Not the fuse, the flex / appliance.
If you design your product so that it is adequately protected by a 13A
fuse, then there is nothing the user can do to make it unsafe.
If you design it so that its requires lower fusing, then it means there
is a danger of it having inadequate fault protection if the user fits a
13A fuse without appreciating the implications.
I have wondered about this. If an appliance is designed to EU
specifications (with a different plug for UK models) does this mean it
is designed to operate safely with a 16 amp fuse given that Euro and
Schuko etc plugs are unfused and I understand circuits are fused at 16
amps.
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