We are running a pool filter and our drinking water pump through a 4 socket power plug. It is 2400 watt 10 amp. Every time we fill up our pool thereby using the water pump heavily the 4 socket plug thing cuts out and needs resetting. Could this be resolved by getting a more heavy duty device or do i need to get the water pump checked out. advice appreciated.
favouriteseller,
Dec 22, 10:41am
depends on the size of your pumps I expect it could be tripping out from current overload your pumps should have a current rating on the lables , add these up = ! also when a pump starts , it draws more current and then drops down when up to speed , which can cause tripping if one is all ready running
can you run a extension lead out to one pump from a differant socket outlet -swap them arouind to see if mutli box still trips better still if you have an inline RCD unit to plug in - if it does not trip the rcd - then at least it is safe - as no electrical seepage to earth if a pump is noisy , the bearings could be worn which will increase friction and increase current draw, if you know someone with a clamp on amp meter/ trhis would tell you if its current overload as well if you are still unsure yes it would be wise to get it checked out
zak410,
Dec 22, 10:42am
plug the pump directly in a power point, its too 'heavy' for a multi points box.
wendalls,
Dec 22, 10:45am
Thanks guys. Very useful.
russ18,
Dec 22, 10:46am
Reason they have a 10 amp overload is that's what the plugs and sockets are rated at. sounds like you are right at the limit.
davea74,
Dec 22, 10:52am
the 10a overload protected mulit sockets seem to deteriorate with age, when you run high amperage devices off them.
favouriteseller,
Dec 22, 10:53am
yes I would expect so too but one cannot afford to assume anything with electricity, have to be certain
t_naki,
Dec 22, 10:57am
So the pump is rated at 2400W, 10A or the multi board!
favouriteseller,
Dec 22, 10:59am
multi board rating and they do trip easy
steve56467,
Dec 22, 11:01am
And they are of low quality in the first place.
wendalls,
Dec 22, 4:18pm
Ok.so ih ave now swapped the uv lamp plug with the water tank pump so the latter is straight into the !mains supply. If any further problems i guess the fuse will blow!Perhaps i should only fill the pool when filter is off ! Anyway if any further probs i will get a sparky! Thanks everyone.
taipan4,
Dec 22, 5:02pm
2400w = 10.25 amps so your socket is over the limit with nothing else running on that circuit, best you call your sparky & get a dedicated cct from switchboard before your house burns down.By the way if you have ever seen inside a"power board" you would not use them for anything more than a 100w light bulb, the "wiring in them is "stamped out of metal not much thicker than the aluminium foilyou have in your kitchen drawer, seriously, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED I have seen entire bedrooms burnt out because of these.
russ18,
Dec 23, 5:27am
Did say 2400 watts, 10 amps so that's at 240v rating. More like 9.6 amps at 230 volts.
studio1,
Dec 23, 7:59am
Many appliances are rated to Australian or UK standards where the nominal mains voltage is (or was) 240 volts. I believe Aussie has now adopted 230 volts as their standard. The cheap electrical crap coming out of china seems to adopt the same standards ratings. Seen a lot of stuff in Mitre10 and Bunnings that carries 240 volt ratings on it.
OP says they are running both their pool filter pump and their drinking water pump through the power board. Combined start-up draw of both pumps would easily exceed 10 amps. I would not be running any of these items through a power board, especially the el cheapo plastic ones that you can get from the Red Shed for less than $5 each. As Taipan says, the internals are just sh*t and a fire just waiting to happen.
clwheat,
Dec 23, 1:37pm
Little bit ott there fella, have we determined what sort of protection the circuit has,. what else it on the circuit. agree with multi box bit. they are shithouse.
wendalls,
Dec 23, 6:15pm
Ok so more importantly now, we have two of those shithouse "powerboxes in our bedroom. Can you get reasonably priced non shithouse ones! We have an expensive one in our office and for our plasma tv. .Brother in law put out fire in his ensuite from chinese illegal towel rail recently. Must post warning.
wendalls,
Dec 23, 6:30pm
Anyhow. There are 3 devices running in the pumpshed which is some way from the house mains. It has a double electrical outlet.Multibox looks pretty cheap. Surely we can buy a better one, with an rcd on it! Or are yu all saying the pump needs to go straight to the main power fuse box such as when we got a spa wired up at another place and it cost about $600.! If so i'll put a smoke alarm in the pumphouse. Must be lots of rural properties in this situation.
taipan4,
Dec 23, 8:31pm
how much more info do you want FFS get your sparky when he comes back from holiday to do what I just said in my other post
taipan4,
Dec 23, 8:33pm
I can't understand why you persist in staying with multiboards for running hi current devices on a permanent basis, multiboards are for occasional use only
elect70,
Dec 24, 3:06pm
Those things are crap only forvery light loads .If put 2400 watts through itit wouldburn out .I have seen many that have wery nearlycaused a fire .Put a proper double PP in .
taipan4,
Dec 24, 5:17pm
elect 70 with #1 it's like beating your head on a brick wall so I'm out, buys slab of speights & waits watching for inevitable "electrical fault" causing fire
studio1,
Dec 25, 7:24pm
Yes we are saying spend some money and get your sparky to wire things properly instead of trying to do it on the cheap (like most Kiwis seem to want to) and end up regretting it later when something catches fire and burns down. Multi-boxes generally don't have RCDs on them, and the portable ones designed for running power tools etc outside are only rated at 10 amps. I had to pull one out recently that a customer had used to supply their caravan with. It was a callback job - they said the caravan had no power. So I get out there and sure enough, the cable RCD was hot and not passing the neutral. So the caravan had a phase feed and no neutral return. An accident just waiting to happen.
Yes you can buy more expensive multi-boxes but for what purpose! They're still only rated at 10 amps max so you are no further ahead. Things like pumps and commercial equipment that draw more than 10 amps (or combined loads) need designated circuits with the correct size cabling and protection rated for those loads. That's why us sparkies have jobs. To provide these things. Otherwise everyone would just use bits of wire strung from here to there like they do in Thailand and wonder why nothing works or it keeps blowing up!
wendalls,
Dec 25, 8:19pm
Ok i get the picture thank you. I re read everything more slowly to understand all the technical jargon since taipan was such a prikc about it. Didnt quite get the bit about the 10 amp being the max for any socket. This setup has been used for 7 years by previous owners which of course does not mean it has been safe. i wonder why that sort of thing gets CCC! It will be a very big job to get that sort of cabling done with it having to be buriedat the correctdepth etc and tree roots galore.
studio1,
Dec 28, 5:48pm
A standard single phase three pin socket is rated at 10 amps. That's the actual socket itself, even if the cable feeding it and the breaker protecting it can supply more. The socket will carry more - and there is a percentage of headroom calculated into the design of it. Indeed, systems can run for years without too many problems, but no guarantees it's right or it's safe. It's quite possible you can use your pool filter and water pump from the same socket, just not via a multi-box. The breaker feeding the cable that supplies the shed may well be a 16 amp or 20 amp unit - and the cable should be 2.5 mm² or larger - in which case it will carry the rated current of the breaker (providing it hasn't been played around with by someone who doesn't know what they are doing). The solution therefore is a second socket hardwired to the cable. To get a safe overview of the whole situation though, it's best to get a sparky to cast their eyes over the installation. We can often suggest alternatives or better ways of doing something and not always will it involve spending a lot of money.
Since the public registrations are closed, you must have an invite from a current member to be able to register and post in this thread.
Have an account? Login here.