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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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    broadgage:



    3Kw heaters are still available but are marketed as being for industrial use and are therefore supplied without a plug. No warranty claims about melted plugs if plug not supplied. 



    An electrician told me that manufacturers stopped making 3KW heaters for the domestic market back when legislation required appliances to be sold with a mains plug. To use a BS1363 plug continuously on 13A is pushing it to the limit. 3KW heaters were originally designed to be used with a BS546 15A plug.


    The electrician recommends BS546 15A sockets on dedicated circuits with a 16A MCB for high powered heating appliances but they are very uncommon in houses and the public generally doesn't even know that they exist.
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  • 0

    broadgage:



    3Kw heaters are still available but are marketed as being for industrial use and are therefore supplied without a plug. No warranty claims about melted plugs if plug not supplied. 



    An electrician told me that manufacturers stopped making 3KW heaters for the domestic market back when legislation required appliances to be sold with a mains plug. To use a BS1363 plug continuously on 13A is pushing it to the limit. 3KW heaters were originally designed to be used with a BS546 15A plug.


    The electrician recommends BS546 15A sockets on dedicated circuits with a 16A MCB for high powered heating appliances but they are very uncommon in houses and the public generally doesn't even know that they exist.
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