Fuse blowing BS400

[9fingers]

That sounds fairly standard. In your position, I would fit an additional MCB -ideally type C rated at 16 or maybe 20 amps into the consumer unit in the garage and using a single 1.5mm2 or 2.5mm2 cable, wire to a 16amp socket near the machine.

This should solve your problem

hth

Bob

Roy beat me to it! (at least we agree!!)

 

[Digit]

Any disagreement with me Bob is likely to be based on my general disregard for what I consider to be over regulation, such as Part P.
I suspect that I am considerably older than you Bob and have seen Regs come and go and colour blind sparks as well, don't ask me how he got the job! :lol:

Roy.

 

[9fingers]

I did not mean to imply that we disagree - more that I wrote my reply before seeing yours and what we said was virtually the same!

Quite agree Roy on the over regulation. I tend to avoid wiring questions other than when they relate directly to motors as I am not a qualified sparky.
My posts on here are generally on a (I suggest that you)" Do as I say not as I do" basis.
I am quite confident that what I do in my own workshop is safe but not always to the letter of the Regs especially when that letter is "P" !!

Bob

 

[Digit]

Frankly Bob I loathe domestic wiring, I'd rather run conduit than chase walls. I have little regard for lots of rules, but I don't compromise safety, this place had two sockets when I moved in so had to be rewired.
We have 3 rings in the house, 2 lighting circuits, radials to the washing M/C and T/D, separate circuits for green house, metal workshop, garden shed, wood working shop, 3 separate radials for outdoor sockets and 3 for out door lighting! All RCD protected!
Overkill? Yep!

Roy.

 

[Tierney]

So I checked my CU in the garage and it is 80A with a 30ma RCD Incomer, so good news there. I also checked the cable from the Main CU to the one in the garage, and that has 2*6mm written on it. At least I think I have the right cable.

Ok, so now I'm going to get a new 20A type C MCB (I have a spare way in the CU in the Garage) and will connect one Commando socket to a radial main. I'm going to go for 20A because I may extend the radial and add more sockets at a later date.

Lets hope this solves the problem.

Thanks for all the advice.

DT

 

[Digit]

Good luck.

Roy.

 

[andycktm]

What i cannot get my head round is people say you want this ,you want that.Yeah 16 amp dedicated circuit,
but bang a 20 amp breaker in for good luck! Does anyone use a hobby machine that requires 20amps running load? :?

 

[Digit]

It's not the running current that determines an MCB's rating and type Andy, it's the start up current and its duration.
I've known machines that will happily start/run on a 13A plug in warm weather but blow a fuse in cold weather, or when the user has made a number of repeat starts, or simply changed to a larger and heavier blade.

Roy.

 

[andycktm]

Type and rating are two different things shurely?
If the motor is rated at 17 amps and one day decides to take20 amps to self destruct if cannot unless of course you have a 20 amp breaker fitted.

 

[Digit]

Type and rating are indeed so.
Bear in mind that I have been retired for some time, and things change.
But, if not, here is the Bible according to Digit!
There are 3 TYPES of MCB, B, C, and D.
All are designed to trip within one tenth of a second when the over current reaches a specified level.
Those levels are thus....
Type B trips at 3 to 5 times the rating.
Type C trips at 5 to 10 times the rating.
Type D trips at 10 to 20 times the rating.
Allowing for the spread in tolerances you can see that a 20A type B should trip somewhere in the range of 60A to 100A
A 16A type C between 80A to 160A.
For that reason I personally always try a B type first.

Roy.

 

[9fingers]

Type and rating are two different things shurely?
If the motor is rated at 17 amps and one day decides to take20 amps to self destruct if cannot unless of course you have a 20 amp breaker fitted.

The function of a breaker/fuse is to protect the downstream cable NOT the load.
Any decent quality machine will have motor protection built in either by means of temperature measurement or in the DOL starter.

Bob

 

[joemarkey6]

Hi all, I just stumbled accross this thread by accident, I know its an old thread but i thought i would tell my experience for anyone else was looking for an answer to a similar problem.

Weve got a record bs400 in our workshop and when it was reaching about a year old, our machine started intermittently blowin fuses, and over about a 2 month period blew about 15 fuses, until in the end it wouldnt start without blowing a fuse. It was the capacitor, record sent me a new one as i agreed to fit it, and its been ok ever since.