Thread: 15 Amp Tablesaw but only 10 amp outlets

What would happen if I have a 15 amp cable running to my shed (just in case I ever have the money to buy good equipment) and then 10 amp outlets on the end?
My thinking is that if ever I have the money to upgrade/buy more gear I could then just change the plugs. Or would I be in danger of frying myself?

Originally Posted by haggismuncher

What would happen if I have a 15 amp cable running to my shed (just in case I ever have the money to buy good equipment) and then 10 amp outlets on the end?
My thinking is that if ever I have the money to upgrade/buy more gear I could then just change the plugs. Or would I be in danger of frying myself?

As far as I know, you can downgrade the outlet from a heavier wire, just as long as you don't alter a 15 amp plug to fit a 10 amd outlet. The internals of a 10 amp outlet is just not made to carry 15 amps draw.
I learned the hard way when my ex changed the plug on the air con because he was too stingy to get in a leccie and the cirquit breaker kept on tripping
Eventually the outlet melted and nearly caused a fire.
AND BTW you do NOT change the plugs, you change the power point.
Wolffie

I use to run a couple extension leads from two circuits from the house to the shed. One was a 15 amp extension cord which was coming from a 15 amp circuit in the house, the other a 10 amp. I made sure to keep the right tools on the right circuits and it worked ok, but I soon got sick of dealing with the extensions cords all the time and just had my shed wired. You can do a lot of the wiring yourself in the shed. I bought all the gear and wire, and set up 9 double power point circuits around the shed, one being a 15 amp circuit, all back to a sub-board, then ran the main line supply (heavier gauge wire of course) underground from the shed to house then fed it through the house roof down to the box. I left about a metre of cord from each circuit for the leccie to play with to make the connections to the main box and sub-board etc. I know a leccie and he got trade prices for me, so all components including wire, sub board, conduit, power points, ladder track, breakers, RCDs and switches ended up costing me about $600 I think all up. Non-trade price would be double this (yeah the suppliers rip the public off a bit). Paid him a couple hundred to hook it all up, even they he didnt want to be paid.

So I got it all done quite cheaply and he commented that my wire work was much neater than most of the stuff he sees around the place. But it took me a good full 2 days to run the wires for 9 circuits in the shed, and all the wires and virtually hidden almost too. Not easy work, and you wouldnt want to be paying a leccie for these hours! But as long as you know the basics, then explain to the leccie all you have done and have him/her test every circuit, they should be ok to hook you up and sign off on the job, but I guess some might be more antsy than others.

But in the end it was well worth it. I now have power within easy reach of most machines. I only had to wire in a longer 15 amp cord for the tablesaw which sits int he middle of the shed, but you can notice the difference in the power of the saw running straight off the mains supply than via an extension cord. It seems to run smooth too, but I might just be dreaming there

So it might cost a couple grand for a finished job, but its a good investment, and really, you would easily recoup that cost if you had to sell the house or shed. A fully wired up shed is worth a good 20k slapped on the house price, if not more And you cant really put a price on the convenience of power right there where you want it with no extension cords to trip over

Standard disclaimer applies to above text. If you don't know what you are doing, don't do it. get the pros in from the start.

Thanks to all for picking up the ashes of this "almost" 5 year old thread! (Thread originally started Sept 2003)

Have just ordered a 15Amp circuit breaker.Cost me $8.17 (postage included) From "Delixi Australia" for a...

"CDB17 Circuit breaker
"A" grade quality MOCB 6KA Latest design frame
Number of poles: 1 Pole
Current Rating AMPS: 16 amp" from

Item can be found here..

http://www.delixi.com.au:80/pd-13213...}&categoryId=3

Very good customer service!

Now just have to wait for sparky Friend to get some free time to wire in in for me!