Australian Plugs.No fuses?

[Guest interested16]

How come there are no fuses in ozzi plugs leke the ones we have in the uk?

i have baby monitor which topped working..i thought fuse be blown in plug but no fuse..mmmm

any ideas?

[thewebweazel]

How come there are no fuses in ozzi plugs leke the ones we have in the uk?

i have baby monitor which topped working..i thought fuse be blown in plug but no fuse..mmmm

any ideas?

 

Circuits in OZ are protected by electromechanical circuit breakers and Earth leakage units (RCD). there is no need for fuses as the circuit is protected as a whole. The fuses in the plugs in the UK are required as some houses in the UK still have Fuse Boxes without the superior protection of electromechanical circuit breakers and Earth leakage units (RCD). Maybe a Sparky could give us a better explanation ?

 

 

You need to test the Power supply with a Volt meter to see if it is still working? Have you checked that the Plug socket is working??

[Guest fatpom]

Circuits in OZ are protected by electromechanical circuit breakers and Earth leakage units (RCD). there is no need for fuses as the circuit is protected as a whole. The fuses in the plugs in the UK are required as some houses in the UK still have Fuse Boxes without the superior protection of electromechanical circuit breakers and Earth leakage units (RCD). Maybe a Sparky could give us a better explanation ?

You need to test the Power supply with a Volt meter to see if it is still working? Have you checked that the Plug socket is working??

 

I'm not sure all houses have RCD's installed particularly older ones.

 

You should always get a sparkie to look at it, never do it yourself... not just because its the law but because it's the safe option. People have killed themselves using meters incorrectly thinking a circuit is off when in fact its not. :shocked:

 

The one thing which surprised me at first is 240V plug sockets in the bathroom often close to the sink. :smile:

[Mongrel]

I'm not sure all houses have RCD's installed particularly older ones.

 

You should always get a sparkie to look at it, never do it yourself... not just because its the law but because it's the safe option. People have killed themselves using meters incorrectly thinking a circuit is off when in fact its not. :shocked:

 

The one thing which surprised me at first is 240V plug sockets in the bathroom often close to the sink.

 

Hi

You are right FP we are rentin an old house and there are no rcds, the wiring is a nitemare and they have painted the carzy:twitcy:

 

Mally

[Mr Jamland]

I asked my Dad, who is a sparky, if he knows why but all he could think is that they may not have a ring main in Aus but different circuits (can't remember exactly what he said) or it could just be down to regulation in Aus. He said he's also pretty sure that the States is the same or at least Cali anyways.

[Mr Jamland]

I did ask if it was because they all have RCD's and he said no not necessarily.

[thewebweazel]

I'm not sure all houses have RCD's installed particularly older ones.

 

You should always get a sparkie to look at it, never do it yourself... not just because its the law but because it's the safe option. People have killed themselves using meters incorrectly thinking a circuit is off when in fact its not. :shocked:

 

The one thing which surprised me at first is 240V plug sockets in the bathroom often close to the sink. :smile:

 

I don't have any experience of OZ wiring regulations but I cannot see that they are to much different to the UK and South African regs! I would put the fact that houses with out RCD's and Electromagnetic Circuit Breakers would have been built before newer regs requiring them. I doubt that you would see a new build with only a fusebox for protection. But of course this is only spectulation on my side.

 

As for the testing I was talking about using the Volt meter to test the output of the Power Supply / Transformer of the baby monitor(which is quite safe even if you do use the incorrect setting on the multimeter as it is 9 to 12V and at a very low current.) and not the plug socket. the plug socket can be tested with another appliance that you know that works.

 

I was also very surprised by the proximity of the plug socket to the was basins when I visited OZ, The only way that it could be safe was if it was connected using an Isolation Transformer between the socket and the Mains. Maybe an Ozzie Sparky could shed some light on this one!

 

I did ask if it was because they all have RCD's and he said no not necessarily.

 

Sorry I disagree, an RCD's could be the difference between being Fried and living another day, and being so cheap it is pretty stupid not to install one! There should be a law that every house should be protected by a RCD. Living with 2 Carpet rats in the house I would not be with out one!

 

In South Africa we do not use Ring Mains only Spurs so OZ might be the same? I also heard some where that the neutral in OZ wiring was tied to ground but I do not know whether it is true or not.

[mjc123]

I don't have any experience of OZ wiring regulations but I cannot see that they are to much different to the UK and South African regs! I would put the fact that houses with out RCD's and Electromagnetic Circuit Breakers would have been built before newer regs requiring them. I doubt that you would see a new build with only a fusebox for protection. But of course this is only spectulation on my side.

 

As for the testing I was talking about using the Volt meter to test the output of the Power Supply / Transformer of the baby monitor(which is quite safe even if you do use the incorrect setting on the multimeter as it is 9 to 12V and at a very low current.) and not the plug socket. the plug socket can be tested with another appliance that you know that works.

 

I was also very surprised by the proximity of the plug socket to the was basins when I visited OZ, The only way that it could be safe was if it was connected using an Isolation Transformer between the socket and the Mains. Maybe an Ozzie Sparky could shed some light on this one!

 

 

 

Sorry I disagree, an RCD's could be the difference between being Fried and living another day, and being so cheap it is pretty stupid not to install one! There should be a law that every house should be protected by a RCD. Living with 2 Carpet rats in the house I would not be with out one!

 

In South Africa we do not use Ring Mains only Spurs so OZ might be the same? I also heard some where that the neutral in OZ wiring was tied to ground but I do not know whether it is true or not.

 

I know this is really old, however I would like to say that from a standpoint as a british Electrician I would like to say a few things. What Mr Jamland, and his father said is true, that an RCD would not make a fuse redundant. In that, a fuse provides protection to a circuit, from and only from an overcurrent (too much current). And an RCD is a safety device intended to prevent electic shocks by detecting earth leakage (current not returning down the neutral). I am also not sure why Australian plugs do not have fuses. We use Circuit Breaker's and RCD's just the same as Australia does, however plug fuses are still necessary as the circuit for my 'downstairs sockets' may be on a 32A ring main, on one 32A breakerhowever most plugs are wired in 1mm or 1.5mm cable which would be protected by a 13a fuse, near 30a the cable would be melting. I'm not sure if all australian appliances are wired with cable sizes of and over 2.5mm but I doubt it.