ChipAmp 1875 kit questions

[AndrewT]

4) The absence of a fuse does not make a device unsafe. Many appliances rely on the distribution box for safety. E. g. a table lamp, a hair dryer, an electric iron, etc. Don't tell me you can't cut their cables and produce a short on the long end of the cable. Still a table lamp with 0,5 mm² wire gauge on a 16 A fused wall outlet is considered safe.

that general case does not apply in the UK and those examples are downright unsafe and should never be implemented.

We in the UK do not rely on the distribution board circuit breakers and/or residual current circuit breakers to protect the whole downstream (mains) circuit.
Each spur (of a lesser rating that the MCB/RCCB) must have it's own fuse rated for the cables downstream of the fuse. Each plug top must have a fuse rated at less than all the (mains) cables downstream.
Each appliance would normally have a fuse rated to protect all the small gauge internal mains wiring.
It appears from what you have said that the EU does not follow the same standards as the UK.

I think you mislead any builders that are not familiar with correct fusing by suggesting that deleting fuses can be considered the norm when the designer is able to prove that the equipment is just as safe.
I will go further.
It is potentially very dangerous to even plant the idea, that fuses can be deleted, within the minds of those who are not competent to carry out your full safety design exercise.

I do wish we could hold this conversation in private until we could agree what would be safe to present to the Forum.

BTW, most of our domestic power distribution wiring consists of rings with two feeds of 2.5sqmm to each socket outlet.
I have seen what our BS1361 plug top looks like with a single 2.5sqmm flex squeezed into it. I cannot imagine how anyone could squeeze a 5sqmm flex into a BS1361 plug top.
We can usually get enough power (~3kW) for any portable appliance through our 13A fused plug tops. We don't need cables rated at 30A or bigger to suit the distribution board MCB

 

[pacificblue]

It appears from what you have said that the EU does not follow the same standards as the UK.

Being EU member does not mean to be IEC member. All IEC members follow the same standards. They only implement them differently.

I think you mislead any builders that are not familiar with correct fusing by suggesting that deleting fuses can be considered the norm when the designer is able to prove that the equipment is just as safe.

I hope I don't. Although I don't consider that an issue, because a person, who is not familiar with correct fusing, can never prove that safety anyhow and must therefore use additional fuses to the ones provided in his home installation.

It is potentially very dangerous to even plant the idea, that fuses can be deleted, within the minds of those who are not competent to carry out your full safety design exercise.

You have to know the math and the regulations to decide, if you can drop the primary fuse, so for most DIYers it will be better to use the primary fuse anyhow.

I do wish we could hold this conversation in private until we could agree what would be safe to present to the Forum.

I think, we should not present the fuse topic any further to the Forum, because you are right in assuming that some readers may draw the wrong conclusions.

BTW, most of our domestic power distribution wiring consists of rings with two feeds of 2.5sqmm to each socket outlet.
I have seen what our BS1361 plug top looks like with a single 2.5sqmm flex squeezed into it. I cannot imagine how anyone could squeeze a 5sqmm flex into a BS1361 plug top.
We can usually get enough power (~3kW) for any portable appliance through our 13A fused plug tops.

Our wiring consists of a star-shaped distribution of 3G1,5 mm² cables. They are fused groupwise with 16 A in the distribution box. Each layout has its pros and cons, both are safe and both comply with IEC regulations.

Is that BS1361 fuse in the wall outlet or in the plug at your appliances' cable?

We don't need cables rated at 30A or bigger to suit the distribution board MCB

Neither do we. You need cables rated at 13 A, because your BS1361 provides that fusing. We need cables rated at 16 A, because our distribution boxes provide that fusing. Looks very similar to me.

 

[AndrewT]

the BS1362 fuse, available in ratings from 1A to 13A, is fitted inside the BS1361 plug top.

The socket outlet is protected with a fuse further back up the line towards or in the distribution board.