Thread: using to many amps

Geoffrey, I think you do have a problem. The clothes dryer will be the heaviest, followed by the vacuum cleaner and the Triton saw - you would be lucky to have them all on at once!

I originally paid a friendly 'lecko about $150 to get an extra piece of cabtie between the switch board and carport (about 5 metres!) and can use my 1hp dust collector, plus my big old Makita in the worktable or the vacuum cleaner and my Hitachi TR12 in the router table - not all at once, or the breaker pops.

With a 'tight' circuit you also may need to be careful of what is turned on in the house - the toaster and the dishwasher or washing machine at the same time will pop the breaker.

I eventually had three-phase hooked up to cater for the air conditioner, and now run different areas of the house from different phases - don't ask me how, the guys just came and told me it was done after they had done it. Makes a fancy-looking switch board and three rows of breakers!

Johnno2

Originally posted by Johnno
....what is turned on in the house...Johnno2

mmmmm....other areas of the house, mmmm I tend to forget about them when in the workshop(garage/laundry/fire harard).

If I am carefull and only have the Fluoro light, vac and Circular saw on at once, all will be OK right - I did hear Geoge L say that on start up, the circular saw can draw a lot of power.

If the dryer accidently went on at the same time, what will be the result. A breaker clicking over, or a call to the fire brigade?

Thankyou

It should only trip the cicuit breaker if the switch is overloaded.

I have the shed hooked up to 15amps not 10 like the rest of the house. All up i have 4 x 4 foot fluros and 3 x 2 foot fluros in the shed and can run the power saw and dust extractor at the same time with no probs.

I also have rewired the shed so that there are no powerboards used, i have 6 seperate double powerpoints so that each machine/tool has its own powerpoint/switch

Of course every handyman should have a good quility fire extinguisher

Geoff - It aint all that hard to fit a 4 outlet powerpoint ware the single one is. By doin tis yous can have a point for the dryer and 3 stenshin cords with a 6 or even 8 outlet power bord on each. Then yous can run lots and lots ov stuff and if its too much the lil red swich'll pop out and turn off the power.

Thorts on the electric chair.
by Knuckles

I hate power
And I'll tell yez why.
Cos when the put yez in the chair,
It makes yez bloody fry.

Luv yez all.

Knuckles

Geoffrey, you have to develop a 'start up routine'. Make sure that you, for instance, can't switch the vac and the saw on together - switch the vac on first, then switch on the saw. Always make sure that these are controlled by separate switches and you should generally be safe. You may need to get a safety check done on running the clothes dryer together with any of the others. If your house wiring is old, you don't know what is going on behind the wallboard, and better safe than sorry!

Johnno 2

Great info - thanks Johnno

Tyrone, I'm curious. To what are all those double sockets connected? Did you wire them in yourself? Does your Insurance Company know? The power company may love you, but the insurance people will be most unhappy if there is a fire and you don't have the proper paper work!

Johnno 2

Its legit I have a mate who is a sparky so it just cost me for the parts. I dont use any more power than i would have otherwise i just wanted each machine to have its own point where it could be turned off. I like the neatness and not having to unplug/plug things all the time.

btw it would be interesting to know how many people do home electrical renovations, what with bunnies and co. selling everything electrical and home renovations being so popular.

I do some things electrical and also plumbing, but only up to a point. As they say -"a man has to know his limitations". I stay away from gas fitting, and the electrics switchboard, but power points and light fittings are relatively straightforward. Having said that,I got an electrician in to do my shop, because I wanted 20amp and safety switches.

Geoff,

You are almost certainly pushing the boundaries, and you really should avoid power boards if you can. I have one on my bench for drill battery chargers, but nothing else.

Geoffrey,a small investment but perhaps one that should be considered is a Clipsal Bodyguard Portable Residual current device which has four power outlets.

They are available in a range of amperage capacity...mine is a 15 amp one that I use for the Combination Unit and the Dust Extractor.

They are available in the 10 amp range and offer up a modicum of protection.

I have a hard wired Residual Current Device required by law in W.A. on any new houses or buildings and that caters for all the GPO outlets with which I use my power hand tools.

It is at this point that you may well be asking yourself that "Am I taking my expectations too far?" well in short ,yes you're compromising the available outlets in your draw capacity so the question arises of "what now?"
You have to ask yourself where your expected needs apply and spend to ensure your safety and requirements.
Just some views.
Cheers