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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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    Old hat now, I know, but incandescent lamps are a different story.


    First, tungsten has a higher temperature coefficient than heater element wire. Second, the temperature difference between "cold" and "hot" is much greater (operating at a filament temperature of > 3000 K, rather than the 400-650 K we've been talking about up to now).


    Hence, incandescent lamps may well have a significant inrush current, but the power is still quoted under operating conditions.
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    Old hat now, I know, but incandescent lamps are a different story.


    First, tungsten has a higher temperature coefficient than heater element wire. Second, the temperature difference between "cold" and "hot" is much greater (operating at a filament temperature of > 3000 K, rather than the 400-650 K we've been talking about up to now).


    Hence, incandescent lamps may well have a significant inrush current, but the power is still quoted under operating conditions.
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