Timber Floor Au

I must be thickest fella in world.... but

When i was in brissy cpl weeks ago , i went into Bunnings and spotted some plugs,...... for electrical stuff, the bit ya shuv in the wall.... so i thought cool, ill bring all my bits n bobs n stuff n swap plugs over VOILA..

BUT i couldnt see if there was a fuse in the plug, didnt seem to be one... so wheres the BLOODY FUSE !!!

ABCDiamond

Australian Plugs DO NOT have fuses

tinaj

They don't have fuses, if something blows I think there is a circuit breaker in the fuse box that cuts out. At least I hope there is

Timber Floor Au

So prey tell me, how does your circuit breaker know weather its a 5amp tv or a 13amp killer KANGO hammer lol

<befuddles> me

ABCDiamond

I read somewhere that things are double insulated here, but I haven't a clue what that means

But, the bottom line is: Australia does not have fuses in any plugs.

Jemo

Just like the rest of Europe :lecture: (except for the funny island where they don't have the Euro).

Jensen Healey

They prefer to use the smoke detectors to warn of an electrical fault when the cables overheat and start a fire because there's no 3 amp fuse on a 30 amp ring main!

Keeps the fire service in jobs I spose.

irishmolly

So, cutting to the chase......

What exactly do they use in Oz instead of a fuse ???

There surely must be some sort of safety device or circuit breaker - any electricians out there explain to use

Starting to worry about overloading appliances and FIRE !

Simone

I was just gonna say, yeah, I've never seen a difference between Dutch and Oz plugs!

Then I see you're Dutch too

Yeah, wierd Island that

Jensen Healey

As TinaJ said, they must rely on the MCB (modern version of a fuse) in the Consumer Unit (fusebox). Each circuit (upstairs lights, downstairs lights, upstairs ring, downstairs ring, cooker, etc) will have it's own MCB (or ELCB or RCCD but let's not go there!) in the CU and if there's a fault (e.g. a short circuit) or if the ring is overloaded the MCB (miniature circuit breaker) will trip out. This means that each individual appliance doesn't have it's own overload protection, which the UK regulations demand - hence fuses in plugs. Mind you - most of the rest of the world seems to manage without...

bindi

Hi,

I am NOT an electrician, but I am Australian and we definitely do not have fuses in each individual electrical appliance!

Almost every house I've ever lived in (and I've lived all over Oz, including country SA, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney) has what we call a 'fuse box'... which must be what jeff hardy refers to as a Consumer Unit.

On the odd occasion that something causes the circuit to trip (turn on the Christmas tree lights for example!) you simply go to the 'fuse box' and either replace the blown fuse, or in more modern houses, flick a switch that turns the power back on in that section of your house. Hey, I did say ... I'm no electrician!

4 years I've lived in Britain and I have occasionally wondered why British plugs are enormous compared to everywhere else in the world... now I know why!!!


bindi

Sazzle

The "bloody fuse" for those who cannot cope with a small change, is at the other end of the wire.......

Ho hum.

In the UK we use a ring main system where ALL your sockets can be on one piece of cable.. (actually its two, but I dont want to confuse you). These are then "fused" at the consumer unit . The sytem is dual protected, a fuse at the appliance and one at the electrical source.

Many other countries dont use the ring main system. Each socket is on its own length of wire. This is fused at the fuse box. The fuse takes many forms, from a simple fuse to any other approved form of safety switch.

It isnt inferior. It isnt primitive. It is merely different. For those who cannot cope with difference, save your money and dont emigrate. You will soon be a nervous wreck

Or accept the label winging pom... one who says "it isnt done right unless its done the way we did it in good old UK"

Darren&Leanne

Hi,
Im an Electrician(mr leannefr) hoping to be in Brisbane by the end of the year.
The consumer units have RCDs which are like MCBs but ·trip· faster if there is a fault.
The socket circuits are not like in uk where there is a ring main(two reds at mains board)they are radials which only take 20amp instead of 30/32 amps over here.
I think the plugs are rated(so ive been told).
The australian way is not half as safe as the uk way with electrics,but safe enough(you dont get socket outlets for your hairdrier in the bathroom next to the sink in the uk. ha)
Im looking forward to finding out the difference once i start work over there.(already done TRA and sent application and done meds etc)
Just a waiting game now.

Jemo

The only people that are afraid of a fire caused by the electrical system seem to be the Brits.

Peter

I know most of our plugs are grounded with the third pin. Above and beyond that, I have no idea. Perhaps us Aussies are thrill seekers and get off on having moderately dangerous electrical plugs around.

:scared: