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Appliance Ratings and 13A plug tops

statter
Hello

I looked last year for portable heating and not surprisingly there was little above 2.5kW rating.  All the old 3kW stuff has long gone.

I was surprised however to find a wide range of steam irons rated at 3000W and even 3100W.  (that's almost 13.5A at 230V).  I realise of course that irons are likely to be much more intermittent than heating and that 13.5A is very unlikely to blow a 13A fuse but it cant be good practice to overload plug/ socket like this.  A decent ironing session can still be hours ……   OFC at 240v its under 13A but 230v has been the standard for ages now.   In my experience many socket/ plug combinations are marginal approaching their rating so deliberate overloading will only make matters worse over time.  I would have thought that these appliances wouldn't qualify for CE marking and couldn't be sold legally?  Does anyone know if there is a BS or EN for small appliances?


Thanks


Peter
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    I was surprised however to find a wide range of steam irons rated at 3000W and even 3100W.  (that's almost 13.5A at 230V).



    But what voltage is that rating for? Simple resistive heating elements will draw less power at lower voltages. A lot electric showers still claim their 240V rating - presumably because larger numbers sound better to marketing departments. If it is a 240V rating then it's still within 13A.


    As for the CE marking it might be possible - most continental sockets have both 16A and 10A variants.


       - Andy.
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    I was surprised however to find a wide range of steam irons rated at 3000W and even 3100W.  (that's almost 13.5A at 230V).



    But what voltage is that rating for? Simple resistive heating elements will draw less power at lower voltages. A lot electric showers still claim their 240V rating - presumably because larger numbers sound better to marketing departments. If it is a 240V rating then it's still within 13A.


    As for the CE marking it might be possible - most continental sockets have both 16A and 10A variants.


       - Andy.
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