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A question about... plugs

23:47 / 20.11.04

I am sure that folk on these boards appreciate the odd mundane question? I have a German appliance with the plug that says 250V and 16 amp fuse. Now, I have an adaptor that I thought would happily make it usable in the UK... it is 250V, but sadly 1 amp fuse (it's for shavers). Blah.

Also British plugs have fuse limit of 13 amps.

Do I have a problem here? Or can I just lob off the German plug and wire up a British plug? Hmm... given that there are only 2 pins on the German one (does this mean only 2 wires?).

Or do adaptors exist that bridge the gap between German and British (allowing for the higher amp requirement for fuse)?

Clearly I haven't a bleeding clue here.

00:22 / 21.11.04

Depends entirely on the appliance. Whta is it? With a 16 amp fuse, it sounds like a heater/hairdryer/something else with a really big heating coil. 250v should be no problem, but it's the 16A that's the question. If it really is something that REQUIRES 16 Amps to run, there is probably no way you can run it anywhere in Britain because you just can't get fuses that go that high unless you're an electrician and it's probably dangerous anyway. The highest-rated fuse we do domestically is 13A, and if you're sucking up that much power those'll blow straight away. That's the whole point of fuses. They stop you blowing things up.
The chances are, though, that you could run it on a 13A fuse to see what happens. I'd be surprised that anything domestic needs that much wattage, and if a 13A fuse blows, you're using something very inefficient. Get a more efficient replacement, and stop wasting power. We're fighting unnecessary and horrible wars for that stuff.
Don't try running something that powerful off a shaver socket. Given that these tend to be in bathrooms, you'd be running a gauntlet every time you turned it on to see how long the massive power/water interface takes to kill you...

00:25 / 21.11.04

and on a quick re-read of your post (where did that "post you're replying to" display go?), DO NOT EVEN THINK about just using a two-wire plug with no earth for something like that. Are you mad?

01:11 / 21.11.04

Cube. Thanks. I'd actually done some research on the web since I posted this up, and worked out that the problem would be the 16 amp fuse. There are loads of visitors-to-the-UK type of adaptors which will take a German 2-prong plug - but they only go up to 13 amp. Oh, the appliance is a lightbox (you know, one of those high lux thangs that stop depressed folk topping themselves during Winter). You only use it for an hour a day.

From what you are saying am I right that I could try the german-to-UK adaptor (13 amp) and if it doesn't fuse it then it's OK to use... but more than likely it will fuse?

10:00 / 21.11.04

Yeah, that sounds OK. If it needs more than 13A, then the fuse will blow straight away, and you'll know you can't use it. You could just test it out at home by putting a 13A fuse (or possibly even lower, most lamps just use 5A fuses) in and seeing what happens. If it works, then just get an adapter with a 13A fuse and you should be fine. Still not very happy about it being unearthed, but I've just remembered that my TV is unearthed, so maybe that's just being a big scredy cat. I still go with the "not in the bathroom" rule, though.

12:06 / 21.11.04

Most appliances sold in Germany these days are unearthed, unless they're things like washing machines, fridges or cookers that usually sit on an isolated circuit. My computer only has a two-prong plug, as do my stereo components. These seem to run OK with 13Amp fuses, but then again they don't draw much current.

Now that I think of it, I have never seen a German plug with an integrated fuse. What kind of lamp is it? Brand name, I mean...there might be technical specs on the maker's website (if there is one).

On lobbing off the plug and wiring up a British one: I've done this with a couple of appliances, and never had a problem. The one thing to make sure of is to connect the correct colours to the correct terminals.

13:45 / 21.11.04

What kind of lamp is it? Brand name, I mean

Brand name is Elta. The manual for the lightbox says that the power consumption is 72 watt. The sticker on the back of the lightbox says 'Rated: 230V~, 50Hz, 2x36W, 0.3A'. Does any of this sound incompliant with the option I think I am going for (i.e. use a german-to-british adaptor, with a 13 amp fuse)?

13:59 / 21.11.04

I'd say the adapter would work. If you're going to use it on a regular basis then I'd recommend you replace the plug with a British one. Don't worry about the lack of an earth lead...you might have to jury-rig something in the plug to stop the earth terminal from rattling about (small wad of paper or fill it with a glue gun).

17:46 / 21.11.04

72W? If it really required a 16a fuse you'd looking at something that has a theoretical maximum of 4 Kilowatts (four bar electic heater/really big cooker)!
That means you should have it on a 3 amp fuse (or lower, if possible) to stop it pulling too much current and overloading (that's where things blow up and fires happen, y'see). 250v times 0.3a is 75W, so the ratings sound right. If those really are the specs it would be best to use a 1A fuse!

20:05 / 21.11.04

Flippin hell. Sorry but I think someone is going to have to spell this out to me in short sentences. I seem to be getting conflicting advice. And given that I don't know my arse from my elbow wrt electrics, I can't even use common sense to untangle the options.

I have a 'shaver only' adaptor (German-to-British, 1 Amp fuse, 250V). Should I use this?

20:15 / 21.11.04

Cube's done the math, and according to that your adapter with the 1Amp fuse should work. If the light doesn't work with your 1Amp adapter, try replacing the fuse with a 3Amp one. Regardless of the fuse you eventually place in the adapter, for long-term use you should consider replacing the German plug with a British one that has an appropriate fuse in it.

A quick guide to wiring (your cable won't have the yellow & green strand in it):

20:44 / 21.11.04

Great. Thanks! This is super. I finally feel that I understand how to get a working light, without blowing it (or myself) up. Thanks to you both.

21:01 / 21.11.04

21:31 / 21.11.04

You're evil. Easy way to remember is Bottom Left=BLue, Bottom Right=BRown.
Works for me, apart from the fact that Brown goes top right, not bottom, but there is no bottom right. Ah, well. Mnemonics seldom work properly.