Brewzilla plug warped

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Not disagreeing, but FWIW if it were me then I’d carefully remove the casing from the BZ, disconnect the existing mains cable and replace it with a longer one.
You may ‘invalidate the warranty’ but tbh manufacturers’ warranties are of little value in my experience …

 

[Theoriginalrich]

Sorry to contradict you, my friend, but that's not quite right :-)

The cable and the load form a series circuit (see diagram); so the total resistance of the circuit is R = rL + 2 x rc
Now to get the total circuit current we just use Ohm's Law: I = V / R
So if rc increases (longer cable, thinner conductors etc), then R gets larger; and of course V remains the same (240V).
Therefore for a longer or thinner cable, the current drawn from the mains, I, gets smaller.
This also follows intuitively: imagine using a very high resistance cable (say rc = 1MΩ). You would rightly expect the current drawn from the mains to be very low.

View attachment 65598

The reason you might need to use a heavier duty cable if rc increases, is because the power dissipated in each conductor of the cable (due to Ohmic heating) is isquared x rc.
If you work this out using the above formula for i , and assume that rc << rL, you will get this power as (V / rL) squared x rc (see below).

So if you double the length of the cable (or halve the conductor cross-sectional area) then, regardless of the fact the current is lower, you lose twice as much power in the cable.

Note in fact that as you increase the length of the cable, the power dissipated per metre remains roughly the same, so the surface of the cable doesn't get any hotter... UNLESS it's all grouped together on a cable reel ... which is why extension reels tend to melt if you don't fully unreel them.

View attachment 65599

Mike drop

 

[The Baron]

Just as with Brewing more than one answer and solution it seems
I am sure all the solutions will work so all should be good

 

[RoomWithABrew]

I'm hanging on for the next Physics lesson, it was all quite clear. LODO brewing in a nutshell perhaps? although perhaps too small a volume to be practical.

 

[fury_tea]

With all the conflicting advice, I've got a bit of choice overload. I think I'll do a mixture of the suggestions...

I'll change the plug on the Robo and extend the cable while I'm at it, make a little dual socket extension that I can mount next to the extractor hood and use for both for the hood and Robo.

I'm also going to make another one of those wall mounted extensions for the other side of the garage that I can plug in in the utility room next door (and route a cable properly) for my sparge water tea urn, as at the moment I usually just trail an extension.

Thanks for all the advice!

 

[Rodcx500z]

The only laws i know are sod's and Murphys

 

[Cheshire Cat]

The only laws i know are sod's and Murphys

And Deni’s Law

 

[Rodcx500z]

And Deni’s Law

Na never heard of that Law CC,

 

[RoomWithABrew]

The only laws i know are sod's and Murphys

I like Coleslaw

bit of shredded cabbage, carrot, mayo and some seasoning much more palatable.

 

[moto748]

I had some issues with my boiler overheating, and one time I ended up with a burnt-out mains plug. But a new plug, correctly fitted, and a new power point with good wiring, and it's all good now. Seems to me that it's a matter of, if you're approaching the maximum loading on your wiring, you need to make sure that it's up to scratch.

 

[fury_tea]

Well it might be one of the most boring pictures ever posted on here, but here is my extended socket

 

[samale]

View attachment 65702
Well it might be one of the most boring pictures ever posted on here, but here is my extended socket

Not even a bit of plastic conduit

 

[fury_tea]

Not even a bit of plastic conduit

Woah there, Mr Fancy Pants

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Must rush downstairs and get a picture of my " brewplug "

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Twin 15A sockets on a dedicated 30 amp spur. Subtle difference from the usual plugs here which are 10A rated. These sockets have an earth socket that is taller in vertical view than a 10A so dedicated 15A plugs with this bigger blade can fit in. They are backwards compatible also taking a 10A plug as its earth blade not as vertically tall. If that makes sense or you haven't passed into a coma! I think the sockets here look a little emoji like.

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

My advice would be to replace the plugtop and socket , pay the extra and buy MK Brand . Generally I've found that heat damage to plugs and sockets is caused by people unplugging them under load over years (a previous tenant may have regularly unplugged a heater or kettle etc without switching it off first ).
For kitchen sockets especially where higher powered items are being plugged in and out, it's always better to opt for switched MK sockets . They also manufacture the plug top with the round connections pictured earlier . The MK plug top will accommodate 2.5 sq flex but its fiddely. But as Donegal John has said previously 1.5 sq would be fine ,2 .5sq flex would be required for a longer extension lead .
You should contact the landlord and tell him theres a faulty socket and have him send around a sparks to replace it. You could order the MK socket from Screwfix or Amazon and have it ready for him , rather than have him replace the socket with a regular cheap one. You might also be able to negotiate a good price for him to install an extra socket while he's there and save yourself a call out charge .

 

[fury_tea]

My advice would be to replace the plugtop and socket , pay the extra and buy MK Brand . Generally I've found that heat damage to plugs and sockets is caused by people unplugging them under load over years (a previous tenant may have regularly unplugged a heater or kettle etc without switching it off first ).
For kitchen sockets especially where higher powered items are being plugged in and out, it's always better to opt for switched MK sockets . They also manufacture the plug top with the round connections pictured earlier . The MK plug top will accommodate 2.5 sq flex but its fiddely. But as Donegal John has said previously 1.5 sq would be fine ,2 .5sq flex would be required for a longer extension lead .
You should contact the landlord and tell him theres a faulty socket and have him send around a sparks to replace it. You could order the MK socket from Screwfix or Amazon and have it ready for him , rather than have him replace the socket with a regular cheap one. You might also be able to negotiate a good price for him to install an extra socket while he's there and save yourself a call out charge .

I was using an extension (I know it's not recommended), that's what stuck to the plug, nothing to do with the landlord's socket at all. Thanks for the advice though.
Also, if I'd melted his socket I probably would've changed it myself, electrics are basically spicy Lego.
[Edit- this was a joke, don't mess with electrics if you don't know what you're doing]

 

[Rodcx500z]

My view, electrickery is in visable you don't know were it is but if you do find it, it hurts like hell