Just wondering if our appliances in Aus are limited to 2400w due to safety or emissions or other issues.
There is quite a few brand name appliances from the UK that are 3000w and are still quite a lot cheaper than we can get here even with shipping costs.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
UK has 13A rated standard sockets. 13A x 240V = 3120W. This is why appliances in the UK can use up to 3000W.
Australian industrial sockets sometimes have a 15A rating which would get you a 3600 max wattage. These are usually used for things like welders which require a large amount of power.
Every circuit in my house other than lights is 15A.
not talking the breaker…. talking the socket. I highly doubt your sockets are 15amp.
Due to multi sockets on each circuit, the beaker is normally a higher value, between 16-20 amps.
Spot on, mate.
The only appliances that require 15 amp plugs are HUGE split systems, spas welders and other things like that.
Oh OK fair enough I was just going on the breakers. So does this mean my house breakers will happily supply to much power to anything above 2400W?
Seems rather odd that the sockets are the limiting point of safety but what do I know.
I have made a drawing for you. An appliance will draw power. Something that needs 5 amps, will only pull 5 amps even though the power point is 10 amps. Manufacturers determine what plug goes on the end of the cord (10 amp or 15 amp). If during testing an item pulls 11 amps and the manufacturer has said it's only going to pull a maximum of 10, it will fail and won't become certified. This is why you should only buy approved electrical equipment.
As for the drawing:
My house has an 80 amp safety switch. So if at any time, I am pulling more than 80 amps total, (Running EVERY appliance and every light) my safety switch will switch of.
For the purpose of this explanation, I have only included 2 circuit breakers.
For the 20 amp power circuit breaker, if I pull a total of 20 amps or more my power circuit will trip off. (This won't effect the lighting circuit.)
For the 10 amp lighting circuit, if I pull more than the 10 amp allowance, my lights will trip off. (Not effecting the power circuit.)
Normally powerpoints and lighting are split up into 2 or more circuits. So if there happens to be a fault, you only lose half your lighting, or power.
Let me know if you need more clarification (I can go into depth about Residual Current Devices used for safety)
@BensonP: How to tell what the maximum amps you can draw for the entire house? I checked the box outside but not sure which is which…..
Also what happens if you need/want to draw more current than what your house can support? If you can't edit this, does that mean you need to carefully think about purchasing equipment and assets that may use too much electricity and thus burn out?
Good questions !
Firstly, the biggest circuit breaker in your meter box will be the main switch. (More than likely 63 amps or 80 amps).
99% of dwelling will have no problem plugging in anything they need without having to worry about how many amps they are drawing.
But IF, in the off chance, your house does draw more than the Main Safety Switch allow, a higher rated circuit breaker is required. To upgrade the circuit breaker, you need to install a bigger cable.
Nah mate what you have there is a Smart Meter. That sends information to your power company so they can wireless reciece your usage to bill you.
I apologise for the confusion, but it looks like you have an old school switch board. Try not to disturb the board too much. It's made of asbestos (perfectly legal and safe)
Those white things are fuse holders. I personally haven't worked on those before but I believe they contain a small piece of wire which physically burns out when the current is too high. To replace you need to pull the fuse out and rewire it with the correct size wire.
If you ever have a sparky at your house, I would consider replacing those fuses with plug in circuit breakers.
@BensonP: Oh…haah….
So having an old school switch board, I can't tell what the maximum amp rating is for this entire house? Or….I should look for the second biggest thing? Hahaha
Does it tell you the wire size? Or do you have to find this out yourself somehow? And you can use any wire, even wire picked up randomly in the public(I have a habit of recycling things…), as long as it's the right size(or slightly bigger/smaller)? hahaha
There might be an amp rating on the outside of the ceramic fuse holder.
You need to use PROPER FUSE WIRE. I cannot stress this enough.
If you don't you run the risk of the fuse not operating as intended.
Sometimes I've gone to houses where the owner has had too many appliances on one circuit and the fuse has blown. They found this to be annoying so have replaced the wire with a timber nail or screw.
This WILL cause your house to burn down. The nail will take hundreds of amps, while the wiring heats up and burns your house down.
If you aren't sure, call an electrician. :)
@BensonP: ok so this is the only other unit that even mentions A or Amps and says 55 to 80, so 80 max then? The rest are with numbers in a circle(some don't even have a circle with a number - but have them switches), that could mean their individual amp ratings?
Oh ok, proper fuse wire then.
Why doesn't house owner make a separate circuit and fuse box for the extra stuff? Or is it too expensive?
Mum and dad only have 1 in the garage, i use it for welding
1) Stuff in the uk uses a different plug, so you'll need to replace it anyway
2)The 2.4KW rating is for the socket and plug contacts. You can modify 3KW appliances to plug into a standard australian socket, but you risk overloading it, potentially causing the contacts to weld together, the plastic to melt, or the whole thing to cause fire.
3) If you want to run it safetly, all you need to do is have an electrician replace a standard power point for a 15A one. These are rated for 3.6KW
4) what appliance are you looking to run?
"If you want to run it safetly, all you need to do is have an electrician replace a standard power point for a 15A one. These are rated for 3.6KW"
Not so straight forward, the pins are different on 15A, so other appliances will need their plugs changed too. Also the circuit breaker will probably need to be upgraded. If it is an old house the wiring for that circuit may need to be upgraded.
correct…. and you'll then need a 15amp power point installed to use it too!
A 10 amp socket has a smaller earth pin. It WILL plug straight into a 15 amp socket.
15 amp sockets CANNOT be wired into an existing 10 amp circuit. They require dedicated curcuit breakers.
BE AWARE THAT IT IS NOT AS SIMPLE AS CHANGING THE POWERPOINT.
(The following information is based on the house CURRENTLY compliant with Wiring Rules)
If you have a 10 amp socket, it will be wired using 2.5mm2 cable. In order to have it changed to a 15 amp plug, they wiring must be changed to 4mm2 on a dedicated circuit breaker. You cannot have 10 and 15 amp sockets on the same circuit.
Also, 10 amp plugs can be plugged into 15 amp sockets.
Hope this clarifies any misinformation.
I wondered if that might be the case. Good to know, thanks
Thanks for the replies, I think I'll just look for appliances under 2400w in that case.
Cheers.
It really depends on what you are looking at. Very few appliances seem to actually pull 3kW (fast boil kettles are perhaps the only one) and I've never heard of anyone having any issues with appliances bought over.
It was a kettle actually, it has a digital display and has functions I haven't seen on anything in my price range here.
I really like the instant hot water dispensers too but all the ones in Aus are no name Chinese brands.
for hot water, the more watts the better! As these will be installed in place, you can import, get the plug changed and have a 15amp socket installed, as you won't move them around too much.
The same could be done for the kettle, but seems like a overkill to save 5 seconds.
Want the kettle to boil quicker, put less water in the kettle!
Just get it. It sounds like you like it.
Worst that will happen is that your circuit breaker will trip when you use it
@wasdw246: Nope. The circuit breaker is likely to be able to handle the load, thy are designed to handle several 2400W loads on several different points.
The cable and power point will be underrated and potentially you end up with a fire.
@Level380: I can't think of any appliance that really needs more than what we get.
Like above, less water in the kettle will make it boil quicker and save you power too.
Why do you need a kettle with a digital display and extra functions? I thought it was just water in, turn it on and it stops when boiled. Press the on switch again if you forgot to make your tea the first time. If you want continuously hot water buy an urn.
@Euphemistic:
Why do you need a kettle with a digital display and extra functions?
You should ask these guys: https://www.firebox.com/iKettle/p6068 #internet-of-shit
The circuit breaker will indeed handle that appliance, all day every day.
The heat in the conductors will cause the insulation to go hard and brittle, which could break away and could short out, starting a fire.
@Euphemistic: for instant hot water, the more the better. They come in 3 phase in Australia, as heating water instantly takes a lot of juice!
Pretty sure you need a 3 Phase switch to draw that much current. Standard household elec runs off 2400W.
No that's not correct.
There's no limit to the amount of current appliances can draw. As long as the cable is big enough, and the circuit breakers are correctly selected.
For example an electric stove and range hood can be between 8000 and 10000 watts.
Well standard power points are rated at 10 Amps. 10 Amps x 240 Volts = 2400 watts.