wodp Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 Having seen my uni housemate's 13A surge-protected 10way, I feel it would be useful to build a more durable 8-way one. First thought was to use a 16A feed into it, but then I had the idea of adding a through on the other side (I'm gonna make it a pretty shape so it looks nicer than just a bank of sockets on the floor, encasing wiring joining the sockets up inside it). The questions with this thought are:a) Should I put a 30A input and 30A output, and if so how do I parallel wire it so that my 13A sockets and the the 30A through out get the max available current at 240Vb) Would 30A in, 16A out be better so I'm only drawing max 14A on the 13A socket bank then sending the full 16A to the output? The sockets will probably be metal cased MK ones. Oh and any particular recommendations for the 3-core mains cable to join it all up internally? Thanks, Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ike Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 hmm its a bit late and its been one of those days so I cant vouch for the accuracy of the info (or spelling) but here goes. If you have a 30amp plug and socket you would do be to run three 30amp wires from the plug to 30amp socket for the live, neutral and earth connections (I wouldn't bother with three core stuff as 30amp flex is a pain to get hold of and use and twin and earth is pure evil!) also from the plug you would need to run cables to the sockets which would need to be wired in parallel so as to get 230v across them, for this you would probably do best to use 30 amp rated cable as well. If you are connecting a 16amp socket to a 30amp plug I would be very cautious - I don't know of any 16 amp connectors that are fused and you would therefore have to add a fuse/circuit breaker to your design to ensure safety. as I have said above I would not use three core cable internally - you can just use single core 30amp stuff when you do make it you need to ensure all exposed metalwork is directly connected to the inputs earth terminal and on that note im going to bed as I have had a busy day shouting at computers and fighting with steeldeck (it fitted in the truck last time we moved it...honest) :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wodp Posted December 4, 2003 Author Share Posted December 4, 2003 Thanks for that. I'll prolly put a 30A RCD on the inlet just as a precaution. I don't know of any 16A RCDs with my limited experience so prolly easiest to stick to 30A in -> 13A sockets + 13A plug. 30A single-core cable easy to obtain? Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryson Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 so prolly easiest to stick to 30A in -> 13A sockets + 13A plug. Pardon? Did you mean 13a sockets and a 16a socket? Cos a 30a plug - 13a plug is a very very bad idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wodp Posted December 4, 2003 Author Share Posted December 4, 2003 Oops yes. You feed 30A into this thing and get 8x 13A sockets + a 16A socket. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted December 6, 2003 Share Posted December 6, 2003 Hi, I'm a bit concerned that you don't understand what an RCD is. I'll explain MCB as well. An RCD provides earth leakage protection only. It has main two ratings: the trip current (30mA is most common) and the max rated load (typically in the 40A to 100A range). An MCB provides overcurrent protection only. Its main rating is the trip current. Two other important ratings are the breaking capacity and the type of characteristic curve. The latter determines the inrush handling and disconnection time. (Just to complicate things, you can get an RCBO, which is an RCD+MCB combined). When you feed a 16A socket from a higher-rated supply (eg 32A), you must use an MCB or other overcurrent protection device (eg a fuse). An RCD will not do this. You said you had "limited experience" and, based on your posts, I would strongly advise seeking appropriate help (or abandoning the idea altogether). Also, what do you intend to use this distro for? A 32A input is only of use if have a 32A supply to plug it into, and likewise do you have something to plug into the 13A socket? Dave (M) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wodp Posted December 7, 2003 Author Share Posted December 7, 2003 Just thought it would be a lil nicer to have a 16A in cos then it'll be more durable and hopefully on the offchance there's a mile of 16A cable around could use that (remember moving heads and parcans come with em on when theyre using max 2-3A). Perhaps thinking involving protection and 32A connections was me getting carried away and I should just stick to a unit with a 16A in. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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