10 amp figure 8 power cable

[madman12]

Need a pair for LG TV and sub woofer.

Only been able to find 3 amp rated figure 8 power cables. Original power cables come with 10amp fuses so I'd assume that's what they need. Rather not risk the tv and sub woofer with under rated power cables.

 

[madmatt30]

What country are you ??
What's your mains voltage ?

If its 240vc then in all honesty 3a is more than enough.

That's a rating of 720w per appliance.

You are not going to see that draw (probably not even 25%) on a modern tv or a subwoofer

 

[madman12]

UK, 240v as far as I've been told.

If thats true then why does it come with 10amp fused power cables?

 

[madmatt30]

^ honestly mate I have no idea at all.

I'm UK too , did you know stuff like ikea lamps etc come with 13a fuses in the plug when they don't even need a 3a ?

Honestly the only appliances that need to be above 5a are toasters , kettles, heaters ovens etc (pretty much anything that's sole purpose is to actually get hot to do its job)

3a rated cables with 3a fuses in the plugs will be absolutely fine

 

[madman12]

So what would happen if you used a 3amp rated cable and 3 amp fuse or a 3 amp rated cable with a 5amp fuse for example in a toaster for example?

 

[madmatt30]

You wouldn't/couldn't get a 3a rated cable for any high power alliances - they're non replaceable (hardwired to the appliance) .

If you were stupid enough to actually modify & change the cable with a thinner gauge & fit a 13a fuse in the plug still the cable would melt/burn out.

If you put a 3/5a fuse in the plug the fuse would blow & that would be all that happens

Which is exactly what the fuses are for.

A 3a/5a fuse in a plug which is connected to a 13a appliance - the appliance will never get damaged , you'd just end up replacing then plug fuse very very often.

 

[madman12]

Right, so using an under rated fuse would be safer than an over rated fuse for the appliance.

What sort of tolerances does the wiring usually have? How much more amp than rated can they safely take. A 3 amp rated power cable with a 5amp or 10 amp as an example, how high is the risk of it burning out?

EDIT: 3 amp rated power cable with a 5/10 amp fuse just to clarify

 

[madmatt30]

Impossible to guage mate .
When it comes to actual electrical wiring in houses etc cables have huge amounts of tolerance because they carry a constant current & would get warm/hot othewise.

Appliance cables ?? You'd like to think at least 20% tolerance over its rated spec.

Re the cables you're talking about ??

They will have an ampage rating printed on the plastic on the fugure 8 connector, I would honestly think that all old figure 8 style cables (IEC c7) are max 5a - you're talking about the old style cables that work on portable radios/ghetto blasters /ps2 consoles etc ??

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Metre-Figure-Mains-Cable-Power/dp/B0094JE9RS

I've never seen one with thicker guage wiring that I would assume would handle 13a (over 3000w).
I've also never seen an appliance with a removable cable that need 13a either (barring a 1800w PC PSU)

But yes the smaller the plug fuse , in essence the safer.

 

[madman12]

The original cable that came with the tv and sub woofer is rated at 25 amps and 250 volts. Which just confuses me as to why there any in circulation of the same if not at least 10 amp.

Would guess that these would have been made specifically for LG and there requirements but still.

 

[madman12]

What I'm thinking of doing is just going for a 3 amp and see if it blows. If it does than I'll know whatever it is be it tv or sub woofer pulls more than 3 amps. It's just a matter of how safe it would be to try a 5 amp with a 3 amp rated cable that would be the issue then.

 

[madmatt30]

On your TV & subwoofer itself there will be a label or tag with a wattage rating - every electrical appliance has to have one.

Divide that wattage by 240 & that's how many amp its capable of drawing max down the cable & from the socket.

Everything in my av setup has 3a fuses apart from my home av receiver & my PC which both have 5amps in because in all honesty I'm not sure how much they draw under 100% duress (which never actually happens)

My 60inch tv pulls a max of 170w BTW, my Boston acoustics sub has a 220w rating (its actually a 180w sub on paper but must be slightly inefficient in power conversion) - they're both fitted with 3a fuses.

 

[madmatt30]

Here you go , have a quick read of that page.

https://community.sony.co.uk/t5/other-tvs/why-does-my-tv-have-a-10amp-fuse-in-the-mains-plug/td-p/641687

& the debate on here

https://www.avforums.com/threads/plugs-and-fuses.1547002/

;-) lol - not on your own.

 

[madman12]

What I found on them was the following:

sub woofer: 200-240v 50/60hz 33W. TV: 100-240v 50/60hz 1.3a 130W

So, the sub woofer is something like 0.1375a and tv 0.416a correct?

Isn't a 10amp fuse in a not even 1amp appliance dangerous to the appliance? For example were there to be a surge of electricity reaching 10amps as an exmaple wouldn't it short the tv before the fuse since it doesn't even need 1amp?

 

[madmatt30]

What I found on them was the following:

sub woofer: 200-240v 50/60hz 33W. TV: 100-240v 50/60hz 1.3a 130W

So, the sub woofer is something like 0.1375a and tv 0.416a correct?

Isn't a 10amp fuse in a not even 1amp appliance dangerous to the appliance? For example were there to be a surge of electricity reaching 10amps as an exmaple wouldn't it short the tv before the fuse since it doesn't even need 1amp?

In my eyes mate yes it is dangerous (or at least more dangerous than in needs to be)
Read those threads though & you find the fuse is to protect the cable from burning more than the appliance itself - The appliance itself should be fitted with internal fuses or safety circuits that protect it from overcurrent / overvoltage.

You have to bear in mind that the fuse is not what controls the actual max current into the appliance,the appliance itself draws what it needs from the mains.
Therefore if an appliance rated at 130w was actually drawing 10 amp down the cable it means its actually faulty/dangerous in the first place.

Your maths is fine though mate - You can see now why I said a 3a cable & fuse will be absolutely fine.

 

[madman12]

Thanks for the links, very interesting read.

I guess we'll have to see how things go with 3 amps.

Thanks for the help. Will make one of your post the answer when it works 😉

 

[madman12]

Well, just got the new power cables plugged in(3a fuse, 2.5a rated cable...) and they haven't blown instantly. We'll see how things go but so far no problems.