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Appliance Ratings and 13A plug tops

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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0 mapj1 over 5 years ago

The test methods for 13A plugs and sockets are discussed in the old forum here

It was really in the context of electric car charging, but I think the general conclusion was that a 13A plug and socket are fine for 13A, in short bursts, but the steady state rating is a bit hit and miss - and the BS test method of clamping to the pins to test the plugs in isolation, and using test plugs to test the sockets may not catch all cases of contacts being not really well enough cooled to avoid the onset of heat induced oxidation and then thermal run-away.

Real plugs do not remain polished like new, and for good reasons no-one sticks little wire brushes into their sockets to burnish the contacts (*), so once things get a bit browned off, it is likely to go down hill irreversibly.

* Actually I did see an advert for such a thing for the CEE form sockets once, looking like a small bottle brush but with brass bristle, more like a suede shoe brush, and it struck me as a contender for some sort of "most dangerous product of the year" award. For such things sockets have shutters.

I'm not sure how well the old 15A round pin plugs fare on a 16A breaker, but the larger contact area must help.
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0 mapj1 over 5 years ago

The test methods for 13A plugs and sockets are discussed in the old forum here

It was really in the context of electric car charging, but I think the general conclusion was that a 13A plug and socket are fine for 13A, in short bursts, but the steady state rating is a bit hit and miss - and the BS test method of clamping to the pins to test the plugs in isolation, and using test plugs to test the sockets may not catch all cases of contacts being not really well enough cooled to avoid the onset of heat induced oxidation and then thermal run-away.

Real plugs do not remain polished like new, and for good reasons no-one sticks little wire brushes into their sockets to burnish the contacts (*), so once things get a bit browned off, it is likely to go down hill irreversibly.

* Actually I did see an advert for such a thing for the CEE form sockets once, looking like a small bottle brush but with brass bristle, more like a suede shoe brush, and it struck me as a contender for some sort of "most dangerous product of the year" award. For such things sockets have shutters.

I'm not sure how well the old 15A round pin plugs fare on a 16A breaker, but the larger contact area must help.
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Appliance Ratings and 13A plug tops

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