I am NOT an expert in this field so I could likely stand some educating but the following seem to me to be common sense:
1) Household circuit breakers protect household wiring - only. They prevent wiring damage and fires. There is no practical way to provide breakers for every different kind of load. 2) I extrapolate your logic to imply that every appliance, including low power consumers such as a clock radios, would be forced to use AWG 12 power cords. 3) If an appliance such as a computer does have an internal fuse between power cord and power supply such that any short in the appliance will draw current through the fuse, why would the power cord have to be rated at any higher ampacity than the fuse itself, other than a reasonable safety margin? In other words, what is wrong with using a 6 or 10 Amp rated power cord with a device fused at 2 Amps, to use your example? ---------- >From: Gary McInturff <[email protected]> >To: "EMC-PSTC (E-mail)" <[email protected]> >Subject: skinny power cords. >Date: Wed, Oct 24, 2001, 11:06 AM > > > Fuses and breakers etc, are provided to protect the wiring > downstream from these devices. A 15 amp breaker is allowed to have 14 AWG > wire attached and run all though my house, and terminates in a 15 amp rated > receptacle - parallel blade with ground pin. > Why then can I plug in a computer that has only a 6 or 10 amp rated > power cord? Surely, its not because the computer has supplemental fusing at > 2 amps or whatever. That 2 amp fuse can't protect the wiring between it and > the 15 amp breaker in my garage from prolonged operation at 15 amps. The > breaker is completely happy running at that value so the wire just sits > there and cooks! > One would think that any cord rated less than 15 amps, would have > to be terminated in a plug that doesn't mate with the wall outlet, much like > a 15 amp connector plugged into a 20 amp outlet. > Gary > > ------------------------------------------- > This message is from the IEEE EMC Society Product Safety > Technical Committee emc-pstc discussion list. > > Visit our web site at: http://www.ewh.ieee.org/soc/emcs/pstc/ > > To cancel your subscription, send mail to: > [email protected] > with the single line: > unsubscribe emc-pstc > > For help, send mail to the list administrators: > Michael Garretson: [email protected] > Dave Heald [email protected] > > For policy questions, send mail to: > Richard Nute: [email protected] > Jim Bacher: [email protected] > > All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: > No longer online until our new server is brought online and the old > messages are imported into the new server. > ------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE EMC Society Product Safety Technical Committee emc-pstc discussion list. Visit our web site at: http://www.ewh.ieee.org/soc/emcs/pstc/ To cancel your subscription, send mail to: [email protected] with the single line: unsubscribe emc-pstc For help, send mail to the list administrators: Michael Garretson: [email protected] Dave Heald [email protected] For policy questions, send mail to: Richard Nute: [email protected] Jim Bacher: [email protected] All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: No longer online until our new server is brought online and the old messages are imported into the new server.
