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Australian 10A plugs running 2k’s.


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Dear Forum members, 

For an upcoming project in far North Queensland Australia I’m planning on using several 2k and 1k mole fresnels. I recently moved back to Australia and have had the delight of finding out that the plugs use 10Amp instead of the regular 15 to 20 I’m used to. My instant thinking is that first of all we do not have the budget for rewiring a 20 amp circuit for each location (which I was told is a possibility), or buying and moving a generator up here so I am somewhat relying on mains power. 

After some research I found that although the amps are lower, Australia’s mains run a 240v instead of 110v. So using the calculation, watt = amps x voltage, means that the each circuit could sustain a 2k light? I am no electrician so I think this would work but I’d rather ask and make sure than be wrong and have 2k’s that I cannot use. I have always been told that a 2k Fresnel requires 20 amps. 

Another question I was worried about. Working up here a lot of the wiring, even mains wiring is temperamental. I have run a 2k off a house plug before yet I am wondering what is the worst that could possibly happen (within reason). There will always be circuit breakers but are there any extra precautions I could take to minimise the risk? 

Thanks in advance and I apologise for my poor grammar I wrote this on my phone.

Gabe

Edited by Gabriel Devereux
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7 hours ago, Gabriel Devereux said:

Australia’s mains run a 240v instead of 110v. So using the calculation, watt = amps x voltage, means that the each circuit could sustain a 2k light?

10 × 240 = 2400, so yes.

The worst that can possibly happen is that there's a bad joint or other high resistance problem in the house wiring which will set fire to the house, destroying the building and killing or injuring everyone inside, then start a bush fire.

In all seriousness, many household sockets are not often used to anything like their design capacity and if it is old I'd be cautious.

People specifying things in amps is an American thing and, as you gather, the lower mains voltage there implies more current for the same number of watts.

P

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A good visual inspection would give you an idea of the state of the wiring, a newer build would probably reliably supply. Maybe some locations would have higher rated cooker/kitchen circuit. 

It might be a time to transition to more LED fixtures, so maybe you end up using less tungsten. As well as reducing your power requirements, heat has got to be an issue in Australia at the moment. On those 40+ degree C days, a tungsten lit set has got be uncomfortable.

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I'm a bit out of date. Hopefully RCDs in the wall sockets or some such won't change things. If you are feeling uncertain, get a sympathetic electrician to have a look.

If you are using several 2Kw lamps you want to spread the load a bit. If it's like NZ, each circuit breaker will have multiple wall sockets, so you will trip a 10A breaker if it's running two 2Kws. So you map out which sockets are running through each breaker. Just plug in some small test lights and flip the breakers on/off.

The average electric stove always has a higher loading and breaker. If using the sockets on the stove they will have a max load also. Not sure what, but won't be less than 10A each.

The circuit for the laundrey room is also normally rated for higher loads, and sometimes a workshop etc may have a higher rated circuit. If your fuse box is properly labelled you will be able to see all the breaker ratings.

My house power breakers and socket setup could run 9x2Kw, but the main breaker, 63A will limit it to 7x2Kw.

If the house in Aussi is 80A main breaker then it allows 9x2Kw.  Assuming your  breakers and wiring for for the sockets check out ok.

Edited by Gregg MacPherson
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Thank you all! 

Ill go through the circuits of the house with one of my electricians and map it all out. I think we have one 20A plug as well so a lot of leeway. I’m pretty sure all are sockets will be alright, Australia is pretty safety conscious as a camera. If a forest fire does break out, at least we’ve had a lot of practice in the last few months!

Gabe

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The best thing you can do, is use your time on the location recce to track down the fuse box, and isolate which circuits feed which power sockets throughout the place, so that you can spread the load accordingly. 

Use tape to mark things out clearly in the fuse box, and draw a little map of everything for your gaffer (if they're not at the recce with you).

That way you can pre-plan where you're going to feed each lamp from, and can save you a tonne of time and trouble on the day.

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2 hours ago, Mark Kenfield said:

The best thing you can do, is use your time on the location recce to track down the fuse box, and isolate which circuits feed which power sockets throughout the place, so that you can spread the load accordingly. 

Use tape to mark things out clearly in the fuse box, and draw a little map of everything for your gaffer (if they're not at the recce with you).

That way you can pre-plan where you're going to feed each lamp from, and can save you a tonne of time and trouble on the day.

Quoted because it's important. If it takes fuses, absolutely ensure you have the right fuses in the right ratings for that particular type of fusebox, and know where everything goes. Then, if there is a problem, it's a five minute job, rather than two hours while someone tracks down a fuse. Many places in developed countries will have resettable breakers these days, but best to know.

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5 hours ago, Mark Kenfield said:

The best thing you can do, is use your time on the location recce to track down the fuse box, and isolate which circuits feed which power sockets throughout the place, so that you can spread the load accordingly. 

Use tape to mark things out clearly in the fuse box, and draw a little map of everything for your gaffer (if they're not at the recce with you).

That way you can pre-plan where you're going to feed each lamp from, and can save you a tonne of time and trouble on the day.

Thank You! On my recce we didn’t have a ‘plug tester’ (I don’t know what they are called exactly but I’m familiar). I asked my gaffer to go around with a small plug in lamp to isolate which plug to which fuse. I do have one question though. Inside the fuse box on the breakers/fuses they had a 20A rating. So I could run 4000 watts off one circuit I’d imagine? Better to give it enough ‘breathing room’ in case the lamps spike on turn on? Or is that only with HMI’s.

3 hours ago, Phil Rhodes said:

Quoted because it's important. If it takes fuses, absolutely ensure you have the right fuses in the right ratings for that particular type of fusebox, and know where everything goes. Then, if there is a problem, it's a five minute job, rather than two hours while someone tracks down a fuse. Many places in developed countries will have resettable breakers these days, but best to know.

Yes! I was on a recce with my gaffer and the fuse box of one location didn’t have resettable breakers! I was in shock as I always considered Australia to be rather ahead. Like you just just a drive to the closest town takes an hour up here. Thanks for the reminder!

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22 minutes ago, JD Hartman said:

The circuit might be rated at 20A, but the sockets are rated at 10A? In the USA that's a electrical code violation.  A 2k, not figuring in resistance of the cable, should draw 8.33A at 240vac. 

Dual 10amp plugs are the standard for outlets down here, whether they're on 10, 15, 20 or 30amp "oven" circuits. 

All extensions boards and the like are rated for a maximum 2400w 10amps @ 240v.

Would it maybe be code in the States because you've got less headroom on 120v power? On a 20amp circuit we can feed a total of 4800w @ 240v through a single double wall socket here.

Edited by Mark Kenfield
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A device drawing 20A/2400W would have a dedicated type outlet?  Likewise a 15A device?  Seems that it would take a lot of planning before wiring a room or a business premise. Over here the wire and all the devices must be rated to handle the maximum continuous current of the breaker.

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