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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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    GeorgeCooke:




    gkenyon:




    statter:

     I suspect that the dearth of 3kW space heaters is because the plugs are problematic at 230V whilst even the latest steam generating irons have duty cycles that are low enough to get away with it.  




    It's really probably energy efficiency - oil-filled and halogen devices are cheaper to run than a 3-bar fire or the "snail fan and coil" type heaters.


    All electrical heaters are 100% efficient. If it uses a kW of electricity it gives out a kW of heat whether it is an oil filled radiator, fan heater or bar fire.

     


     




    That may be the case, but assumes that none of the heat is wasted at any point in the process, and ignores thermal constants.

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  • 0

    GeorgeCooke:




    gkenyon:




    statter:

     I suspect that the dearth of 3kW space heaters is because the plugs are problematic at 230V whilst even the latest steam generating irons have duty cycles that are low enough to get away with it.  




    It's really probably energy efficiency - oil-filled and halogen devices are cheaper to run than a 3-bar fire or the "snail fan and coil" type heaters.


    All electrical heaters are 100% efficient. If it uses a kW of electricity it gives out a kW of heat whether it is an oil filled radiator, fan heater or bar fire.

     


     




    That may be the case, but assumes that none of the heat is wasted at any point in the process, and ignores thermal constants.

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