[rob_s]

Hi
 If your flex is long enough,plug it in at the kitchen as this is protected by a 30amp circuit.This means you are less likely to blow at the consumer unit.


Regards  rob-s

[mark_roberts]

Don't worry about servicing with portables as there is none.  When it breaks you replace the part.  Only four parts- two vacs, pump and heater element.  Lots of secondhand portables out there at good money if you can't stretch a few grand.

£2500 for the recoil is nothing when you consider the money it COULD make you.  You'll only be saving a few pound after carriage taxs etc by importing yourself.

The question I'm asking is should I buy the recoil with the add ons or a truckmount.  Hopefully I'll make my mind up on 31st at Watford.

cheers
Mark Roberts

[Dynafoam]

Rob,

Nothing wrong with your maths - but we only get 230 volts these days.

Seems that that lot over the chanel only had 220 volts, so they nicked 10 of ours  

So:
   In theory we could draw 230 x 13 = 2990 watts
 
    In practice a 13 amp fuse will survive nearly 13 amps for about a second, 11 amps for several minutes and 10 amps for a prolonged period.

Real world result.......... 230 x 10 = 2300 watts is about the maximum that is practical.

John.

[Bryan H]

The maths seem logical, - so how do I manage to run my 3 kilowatt heater without blowing the fuse ??

I admit  I know more about carpet cleaning than I do about electrics !

Bryan

[Dynafoam]

Brian,

It must be the lepracorns   or maybe you have a 2kW heater.

Fuse wire works like a heating element - the metal and gauge of wire is selected to melt at  a specific temperature/amperage this is the reason that an amperage below the rated 'blow' level will still cause meltdown due to the accumulated heat stress on the wire.

John.

[Dynafoam]

Hi

To digress little.... the current drawn by a machine is becoming more important with the extremely sensitive boxes being installed in homes.

Derek

Derek,

I run a 4 vac unit on two leads, normaly without problems except on consumer units which have problems with two vacs.

The two things which cause these curcuit breakers to trip are earth leaks and surges.

The former is indicative of faulty equipment (often water shorting) and the latter can be overcome by progressive switching, allowing each motor to gain speed before switching on the next.

One thing which does cause tripping is worn-out motor brushes, which arc, causing  back-EMF surges to be generated within the field coils of the motor.

John.

[Derek]

John

I take your point...the scenario I had in mind was a job I went to do a couple of years ago...every piece of equipment I tried tripped the system...I ended up using next doors power source with no problems.

Whilst doing the job...eventually...the customer spoke to the supplier of the equipment who said..." if you boil a kettle of water that's fine but if you refill the kettle for a second boiling the moisture present from the first kettle full would be sufficient to trip the circuits"  

Cheers
Derek

[Dynafoam]

Hi Derek,

I have had two jobs where even my vacuum cleaner intermittantly tripped the CB.

I probably did not express myself with sufficient clarity but the main thrust of the post was that, on the units that caused a problem, it would have occured with a lesser machine.

The majority of 'trips' can be avoided with most modern consumer units.

Regards,

John.