Kitchen Appliances Plugged into Powerboard

• 

  Hybroid on 29/08/2023 - 01:04

  +7

  • Powerboards have a maximum rating, generally 2400W for decent ones.
  • Standard power outlets are rated at 10A x 240V = 2400W. There are 15A ones but tend to be rare (wider Earth pin).
  • All appliances note the rating on them.

  In theory, if your power socket is 2400W and your powerboard is 2400W and none of your running appliances exceed 2400W, then you're fine.

• 

  Windows7forever on 29/08/2023 - 04:46

  +2

  Yes, it's fine. All modern powerboards should have overload protection. If you exceed 2400w it will simply switch everything off on the board to prevent it overheating.

• 

  Ridiculous Panda on 29/08/2023 - 06:29

  Thank you both :)

• 

  try2bhelpful on 29/08/2023 - 07:31

  We have most of our appliances on a power board and just use them one at a time. This includes our BambinoPlus. We generally do the Kettle and InstantPot on the other outlet.

• 

  GordonD on 29/08/2023 - 09:09

  What you can get is powerpoints that fit the existing hole in the wall and two fastening screws that have FOUR outlets and switches. You need an electrician to fit them.

  https://www.sparkydirect.com.au/p/NLS-30455-Quad-Power-Point…

  That's not to say that powerboards are unsafe. Good ones are perfectly safe. And in fact they can be a good solution because they have an overload trip on them that ensures you can't do something stupid by trying to turn on multiple high draw appliances at the same time that would overload the power point. But crap powerboard are dangerous crap.

  • 

    try2bhelpful on 29/08/2023 - 09:14

    In our case the power outlet is to one side so we need the power board to space the appliances across the bench. We have an extra deep bench so our appliances can sit at the back to be brought forward as required. We also have switches for each outlet do we can turn them off individually. I agree you need to buy a decent power board with overload.

    • 

      GordonD on 29/08/2023 - 09:27

      +1

      The thing about powerboards is that a kitchen is a hostile environment for them. Unlike say a home office with computer stuff in it where there's lots of devices that all only use a little bit of power each, kitchens have lots of high current draw appliances that can overload a power point if they are used at the same time, and there's lots of liquid spills that can get into powerboard that is sitting on the bench. If you're going to use one, get it up off the bench if possible, and make sure all the outlets have something plugged into them. They don't embed power points in the bench top for good reason, they put them up on the wall where stuff can't get into them.

      • 

        try2bhelpful on 29/08/2023 - 18:34

        Some power boards have holes so you can hang them off the wall. Personally we haven’t had a spill (fingers crossed). We aren’t near the sink either. Funnily enough I did manage to cause my other half’s laptop an issue by spilling an iced tea on it.

        I agree with the power so we don’t tend to use more than one appliance at a time.

• 

  ESEMCE on 29/08/2023 - 09:19

  +2

  The other thing to note in addition to the above is that the entire circuit is current limited at the fuse box (breaker box).
  In some (old) houses this can be half the house.
  So even if you use 2 high power appliances (ie toaster and kettle or kettle and hair dryer) on separate wall outlets,even in separate rooms but on the same circuit, you can/will overload the circuit.

  But provided your circuit breakers are operating normally, they'll trip out to prevent the wires in the walls from melting/burning.

  • 

    bargaino on 29/08/2023 - 11:21

    It normally takes more than two appliances at once to trip the breaker.
    Appliances are under 10A, and breaker is 16 or 20A. Breakers are designed to trip slowly (minutes) when current is just a few amps over, as it takes time for wiring to overheat.

    But two 2000W appliances on a powerboard should trip within seconds.

• 

  samyall on 29/08/2023 - 09:39

  +5

  On a related note, if you are using a power board in the kitchen it is good practice to wall mount it in case of spills/floods. This will also reduce the chance of it corroding and causing other risks.

  • 

    bdl on 29/08/2023 - 11:56

    this 10000%

    or use vertical double adaptors to get the plugs up off the bench (eg: https://www.bunnings.com.au/hpm-10a-slimline-double-adaptor_…)

• 

  Protractor on 29/08/2023 - 10:13

  Just use a decent quality brand and keep it off the bench. Or (if it's your property) get multiple outleted GPO's fitted in place of the existing ones

• 

  ddhar on 29/08/2023 - 11:37

  "Is it safe to connect them all to a powerboard and make sure we use one appliance at a time?"

  Yes, should be fine. I have a similar setup (air fryer, kettle, and rice cooker on one powerboard). Whenever the kettle is running (as the highest power consumer), nothing else is to be turned on. Sometimes we forget this rule and the switchboard simply cuts off. It's just a matter of turning the switch back on (my appliances automatically shut off when power is cut).

• 

  omguleh on 29/08/2023 - 11:45

  We do the same, we have a power board with a load breaker (has a button that needs to be pushed if its over loaded). Only thing that will trip it is if we have our induction top running and when the kettle is about to boil.

• 

  jizmo on 29/08/2023 - 12:19

  -1

  Feel the lead just as it comes out of the wall, if it is warm it's overloading, Some power boards use thin wire less than 1mm that can't carry the load and that's how your house burns down.