MetalMonkey
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Noting that electricity was one of the parts of school I didn’t really understand …. When you say “bad practice” to stick a 32A plug on a 200A welder …. what’s the issue? Is it that it won’t pop the circuit in time if it needs to ?
I guess in the back of my mind having a second 32A supply could be future proof for another car (they’ll both be on or inside the garage wall) but I can’t see how pulling 60+ amps without even considering the dryer/induction hob/etc etc is ever going to work on the house supply. I guess they may be upping the supply into new builds ?? (Please note I am interested in the electricity side of this not the debate on EVs :-) )
Why’s it bad practice to plug a 16a plug into a 32a socket? Genuine question.
I do it when I’m nearer one than the other to save leads trailing about the place. Not very often mind, but I do it.
Also plug a 115v site box into the 16a supply. I was told that this is best practice?
Basically as 8ob and Brightspark have said - you are relying on the MCB for the circuit to act as the protective device for the equipment (depending on whether it has its own fuse or breaker built in) and certainly for the flex between it and the 32A socket.
A 32A mcb is going to require a significant amount of fault current before it trips, not a situation you want if the equipment and its cable was only designed for 16A.
If you think about it, it is really no different than a DVD player having a 3A plugtop fuse instead of a 13A or a lighting circuit has a 6A MCB.
With regards to EV charging, I believe they are allowing for more capacity for new builds. If you are going to be pulling over 60A then you would/should notify the DNO and may have to have your cut-out upgraded for example to a 100A.
But you also have to keep in mind the chances of you maxing out everything at once is slim, and even if you did have your EV charging and plugged in your welder, we are talking about a very short spike.
Different situation if you have two EVs charging and the Sunday roast on.
Reference site transformer - I'm not aware of any reason why you should plug it in to a 16A supply - I would have thought it is going to depend on the size of the transformer and the load and whether it comes with a 13A plug or not.
A lot of site transformers are not rated for continuous use at their nominal kVA. One advantage I could see on a 16A supply is the CEEform plugs are going to be better protected against the elements.
The splitter box MyOldLandy posted is basically the sort of thing I had in mind, but you can make your own with a cheap enclosure, and a couple of MCB and sockets for a lot less than that if you are tight like me.
I run two compressors with 16A plugs from a 32A supply using a splitter box with MCBs, think it cost me about £40 in parts to knock up.
The nice thing is if I ever want to plug my 32A welder in at that location it is a matter of seconds to pull the plug and swap, so it gives you flexibility.
Also handy if you want to upgrade your welder to a bigger one in the future, or a second one, because lets face it: more tools = more better.