slashfromgunsnroses

slashfromgunsnroses t1_it8i1x6 wrote

Not really - if the breaker is dimensioned larger than the outlet material you could overload the outlet material by adding too many appliances. If the breaker is dimensioned as the outlet rating the breaker will trip if theres too much current passing through the outlet.

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slashfromgunsnroses t1_it82de6 wrote

The point is, you can never be sure that the appliance you plug in doesnt draw more than the rating for a long variety of reasons (bad product, damaged, too many appliances connected to the same outlet etc) so if you want a safe installation you should assume this could be the case and install a breaker thats of the lowest rating in the whole system.

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slashfromgunsnroses t1_it7yoeg wrote

I should add that only installations using old cabling are using 10 A breakers. Standard is 13 A for cables and 16 A for sockets. In practice 16 A is only used for ovens/electric stoves, so theres no need for special sockets.

Its all 240 V so theres plenty of power.

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slashfromgunsnroses t1_it7y3rj wrote

Yes.

But the safety mechanism lies at the breaker circuit. If your outlet is rated to 10 so must your breaker be. That way there is no risk.

What happens if one of your 10 A appliances fails and starts to draw 16 amps? Say a malfunctioning toaster.

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slashfromgunsnroses t1_it7cxzw wrote

In denmark the whole installation from socket to breaker must be rated at or higher than the breaker. This way you are also protected from any malfunctions of the appliance - a short circuited appliance can draw many amps, and in that case you really want your installation protected by the breakers.

You can easily have old wiring worth only 10 amps (protected with 10 amp breakers). Have not seen sockets rated below 16 amps, and we only have one standard socket for this (we ofc have some special ones also like CEE and a couple other weird ones), but for normal households its more or less universal.

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slashfromgunsnroses t1_it4bpw0 wrote

Where im from theres no fuses in appliances (unless very special), its all protected at the breaker. Our standard 1.5mm2 wiring is designed to handle 13 amps passing through, so these are protected by 13 amp breakers. You cant ever overload the wiring or the sockets (16 amps usually) this way no matter what you plug in.

In the UK design, you should either have some pretty beefy wiring to support a potential 32 amp current or risk overloading the wires with the way its designed. You could potentially hook up 3x10 amp appliances and not have the breaker cut the current and have 30 amps passing through whatever wiring you have 😱

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slashfromgunsnroses t1_it49fkd wrote

Thats fine, but its not up to code where im from, and it really makes me wonder about the safety of electrical installations where you are from (unless you are fron the UK with built in fuses in the sockets)

What happens if you plug in a 12 amp appliance into that plug protected by a 16 amp breaker?

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