Wiring in multiple machines - safe-ish...?

[astro_al]

Hi guys, not sure where this would go - always seems to me that just about everything fits in the 'tools, materials & techniques' section. Anyway...

I have 6 3-phase sockets wired up around the workshop, but I have a lot more tools than that, and I find it a real bind to be constantly swapping plugs / extensions etc every 5 mins.

If I buy one of those sealed plastic enclosures can I run all the cables for a set of machines into it and attach the wires to 5 (l1, l2, l3, N, E) bus bars (I guess the brass ones about 10cm long with all the screws in that seem to be sold everywhere)?

Obviously I'd then wire the bus bars to one plu and stick that into the wall socket.

I can't think of another cheap-ish way to get them all wired in - is this acceptable / safe?

Cheers, Al.

 

[brightspark]

if all your machines have flex wired on them and not fixed wiring and providing the cables are rated to the size fuse feeding the socket there should be no problem. just make sure the output wires are clamped in a gland to stop the cables being pulled out .theres no regulations against doing so as its not a fixed apliance even if u run a few machines at once its ok as u can only pull the maximum current that the fuses or breaker are rated to without overloading the lead

 

[Drains]

Al, you can hard wire all your machines into a consumer unit/ distro box (one hard-wire line instead of one socket), but each line should be protected, plus, in theory, the total load on the unit shouldn't be more than the wiring and unit are rated for. There should be enough power available, and suitably sized wiring, to fully power every outlet. The advantage of having sockets is it limits the amount of power than can theoretically be used at any one time. "But I only use one machine at a time" I hear you say. Yep, well...

Even on a bus bar system, each output should be fused/rcd'd. Just wiring the lot straight into busbars (which I think is what you're suggesting), would be silly. And no, neither acceptable nor safe. Perfectly possible though.

Best thing - spray all your plugs with WD40 so they slip in and out nicely.

 

[astro_al]

Ah cool. So its ok to use those bus bars?

Each different amperage socket would have its own 'distribution box' so the amperage / fuses would be ok in each case.

I suppose it means that you could turn on several machines connected to the same socket, but if the load is too great the breaker will pop, so that seems safe enough.

Ta, Al.

 

[brightspark]

Ah cool. So its ok to use those bus bars?

Each different amperage socket would have its own 'distribution box' so the amperage / fuses would be ok in each case.

I suppose it means that you could turn on several machines connected to the same socket, but if the load is too great the breaker will pop, so that seems safe enough.

Ta, Al.

realy its just the same as making a a trailing socket up but make sure your loads are all even current wise and not a 16 amp fuse feeding a 5 amp machine

 

[Drains]

Ah cool. So its ok to use those bus bars?

Each different amperage socket would have its own 'distribution box' so the amperage / fuses would be ok in each case.

I suppose it means that you could turn on several machines connected to the same socket, but if the load is too great the breaker will pop, so that seems safe enough.

Ta, Al.

I don't think so... My guess is that the rating to the bus bars should also be enough to cover every machine running at once. The busbars should be wired to the consumer unit box. Not to a plug.

We use a busbar system at work as it saves on miles of cabling, and it's easy to move machines about - you just uncouple the distro box and shift it to a different access point on the bus bar (Zucchini is the make, BTW, not cheap).

Saying that, I'm not sure how a domestic ring main works in terms of available load. You can have a shed load of 13A sockets on a ring not designed to have full load on any more than a few of them. I don't see why it shouldn't apply to your scenario. As long as there is protection in the right places.

But I'm not a sparky, so don't rely on what I say cos as usual I'm making it up as I go along.

 

[brightspark]

on fixed wiring a string of sockets can be wired on radials or on a ring main or wired through switchfuses to each machine of the ring

 

[brightspark]

a domestic ring main can cover 100 square meters as many sockets as u like in the line . but the max current draw cant be any more than 30 amps . diversity must be used when planning the ring

 

[Drains]

I've been missing all your replies Brightspark

Keep it coming mate. I'm learning too!

 

[Welderpaul]

Spray your plugs with WD40?

 

[Drains]

Spray your plugs with WD40?

Yeah. Keep 'em lubed up, innit?

You want your 32A five pinners not to fight you, or do you like putting your foot against the wall and dragging the socket off its fixings?

 

[brightspark]

Yeah. Keep 'em lubed up, innit?

You want your 32A five pinners not to fight you, or do you like putting your foot against the wall and dragging the socket off its fixings?

 

[Drains]

Here Paul - a bunch of uses for WD40.

It even scares off pigeons.

 

[Welderpaul]

do you like putting your foot against the wall and dragging the socket off its fixings?

Lubricates prosthetic limbs

As always, Drains, you are a fountain of, er, knowledge

 

[madkayaker]

multi machines per circuit is fine as long as its all suitable protected and you have consider how many machine will run together. Vasaline is good for lubrication the plugs and sockets but as with all oils/ Greece it will pick up dirt quickly

 

[Drains]

Keeps flies off cows!

More here

What does "keeps paint from sticking to paint brushes" mean?

 

[madkayaker]

its called start you BASTA( you know the rest) in Australia

 

[astro_al]

Well, its just me, so actually there will only ever be one machine running at once )possibly more if you count the compressor etc at the same time, but that's off a different socket anyway).

You're not kidding - do people really lube their plugs & trailing sockets? I have to have a quick stand-still-with-hands-on-hips-puffing recovery session after swapping my mig for the plasma on a 32A trailing lead. This is EXACTLY the thing I'm trying to get rid of.

I'm not looking for something that 'meets regs', I'm just looking for something cheap-ish and safe for me to use alone.

This is all 3 phase 415v, so domestic ring mains aren't relevant.

Cheers, Al.

 

[madkayaker]

ive had to a few times but they were 125A 3/ph wireing them all back to a central joint box is fine and with the proper fuseing is fine

 

[astro_al]

Brightspark - re: post number 5 in this thread - all my machines have a minimum 16 A plug - thats the minimum, so how can I fuse them closer to the correct amperage???

Ta, Al.