How are your appliances connected

[brisnat81]

Our electrical codes

The AU electrical standards have been around since 1931 and have only undergone significant change in the last 20 years so.

The current standard is AU/NZS 3000:2000 the first major update from the 1931 codes was AU/NZS 3000:1991.

I continue to be amazed that they designed a ruleset that lasted 60 odd years without any major updates.

Unfortunately to download an electronic copy of AU/NZS 3000:2000 you need to be a member of Standards Australia - www.standards.org.au

Zip cord is still used here in a single insulated format, but only in low voltage applications and even that is changing to double insulated format. Single insulated Zip cord was in use here up until the 2000 revision of our electrical codes. It is still however allowed, you just shouldnt be able to buy it.

I was shocked at the zip cord on Irons when we were in the US. Over here our Irons are 2400watts and have an earthed substantial 10amp cord. Zip cord is only used on very low wattage items here.

 

[toggleswitch]

There is good and bad in everything and everyone!

~I was shocked at the zip cord.
Well that would explain why it was banned!

if 1,500 watts or less is low wattage, then MOST of our plug in appliances are basically low wattage.

EVERYTHING here is zip cord. So round cords look odd to me!

One could also say that with a zip cord one SEES wear and can change it. The other way the wear is hidden.

 

[mielabor]

Steve:
When looking at your water department I do not feel myself in the least deprived, but your electric installation OMG it is factory-sized! Is this typical for an American home?

Noticed another detail: what's that cord on your water meter doing? Emergency blowup in case of fire?

 

[mielabor]

Now let's turn to a typical Amsterdam issue: houseboats. Here's the somewhat messy situation in my neighbourhood:

 

[mielabor]

The boats are connected to all possible amenities. One of the last things to disappear were the wood-fired heating systems on the boats. One had to walk right through clouds of smoke well into the 1990's because the chimneys of the boats ended at pedestrian head's level.

Here a close up of an electric connection pole:

 

[mielabor]

A telephone pole:

 

[toggleswitch]

The wire coming out of the water meter is a cable to feed the "remote reader" (i.e the remote dials). This allows the utility company can get a reading from outside.

~your electric installation OMG it is factory-sized! Is this typical for an American home?

It's hard to say. In my area a house built in 1850 is old; 1950 is "new". In other parts of this country 1950 is "ancient". So I am accustomed to very old (read: inadequate) systems. I would have to say that this is becoming more typical in newer homes. Remember, suing 20a @ 120v the max. we can get through a cable is 2,400w. The dishwasher, the refrigerator, the heating, the cooling the laundry, an outdoor circuit for garden machines all tend to be separate lines, so the number of circuits does add up quickly. In homes that are all-electric with resistance heating there would also be two circuit brekers for each of the room heaters! I have some duplications in my house such as two stoves/cookers, through-the-wall air-conditioning, then central air-condtitioning was added. I added electric heat to the basement when I had an old, unreliable boiler, so I would have to say many homes have fewer circuits.

Here is a picture of back-up/ emergency electric heat. As we all know, resistance electric heat is not generally as eco-friendly as oil or gas, (Unless your electric is hydro-electric, etc.) so I use the oil-burning heat generally.

So in summary, I really have a hard time saying mine is bigger or better than most.

 

[mielabor]

Boxes for cable television/data:

 

[mielabor]

Water and gas are piped through holes in the embankment:

 

[toggleswitch]

Somehow thick rigid steel pipe comforts me.

Here is my elecrical servce from the pole.
Yes Long Island is like a "turd"-world country, wires are allowed above-ground. New York City does permit such things.

 

[mielabor]

Many boats moored together can create a messy situation. Electric fuse boxes and gas meters are installed in the green cabinets. Water meters are in the pits just behind the cable television boxes:

 

[toggleswitch]

me and my shadow............

Meter pan. (Meter box)

 

[toggleswitch]

Neighbor's electrical drop from pole.

Plastic-sheathed wire STAPLED to house. I'm just wating for the fire. And it has deteriroated such that the neutral is visible. TISK TISK..........

 

[mielabor]

"Thanks" to vandalism one can see what is going on in the cabinets:

 

[toggleswitch]

Neighbor's meter-pan.

No rigid plastic conduit, no metal.

 

[mielabor]

Another one, this one is obviously not in use:

 

[toggleswitch]

OMG Theo, we are both posting again at one. I DO apologise.

 

[mielabor]

Close-up. Fuse box for three 25A (yellow colour) fuses:

 

[mielabor]

Sorry, we're cross-talking again. I don't believe it! We're also posting similar pictures. Well, I'm ready now.

I see that you have those awfully difficult to read meters with pointers. They are too difficult for us Europeans, we stick to displays!

 

[mielabor]

Oh, I see a label. Is your electric meter 75 years old?

 

[mielabor]

That explains the pointers

 

[mielabor]

Oh, and heating your house with electricity would cost you a fortune here.

 

[brisnat81]

Low Wattage here

Seems to be up to around 400watts.

Above that you usually have a round cord.

Double Insulated Zip cord is on TV's, DVD's, Mixers, Stick blendors, electric clocks, lamps, shavers, toothbrushes and the such.

Once you get above around 400watts, you get a thick round cord.

If an appliance is double insulated, you have a two pronged plug, otherwise (Excluding lamps) its a 3 pronged plug.

 

[toggleswitch]

~Oh, I see a label. Is your electric meter 75 years old?
The manufacturer is celebrating 75 years in business.

~Oh, and heating your house with electricity would cost you a fortune here.
Yes it does here too. Worst possible option in most areas. A heat-pump (reverse-cycle air-condtioner) is better, but still expensive!)

Sorry to have gotten in the way, Theo!
Love your posts by the way. If you think we are confused between our two electrical systems now, let's not even THINK about house-boats and earthing/grouding. O M G!

Your turn to post. I'm done for now! LOL Besdies you have to get to sleep before I do............

 

[jmirawm]

AHEM - toggles

I have total electric and the heating bill gets up to about $120 here in the winter. I am on the average billing plan and my bill rarely gets to $90 a month. <p> The rich B**** with electric heating that costs a fortune. <P> **muah** I do loves ya toggles !!

 

[toggleswitch]

Hey Dixie!

Is the south part of this country?
You call that a winter?

~Yes it does here too.
Can also be read to mean "in my city and area".

*MUAH* LOL.

OK OK Theo, he has a point. Some areas are sparsely populated and the demand for power at peak times in managable, so the rates there are low. .................

(DUCKS AND RUNS REALLY FAST so fast no one can see I'm
nekked under my clothes!)

I knows you stills wuvs me... LOL.

UH oh I'm in trouble now!

 

[dj-gabriele]

I LOVE THAT PENCIL SHARPENER!!! ...I really want it!!! Screeeeaaaammmm that I want it!!!

 

[toggleswitch]

I guess the nick-name given to me by our web-master of *Plug

This linkie was posted by our very own Sudsmaster in another thread.

Interesting that in the UK construction site power-tools and lighting is 110v usign a center-tapped 55v-to-earth system.
So I guess there weould be a double-pole two hot-leg (no neutral) system for construction sites. I'm curious to see 110v power tools for construction sites. Would anyone (Brit or otherwise) have a linkie? What would the plug configurations be? (eyes roll. LOL)

Also what are some industrial commerical voltages in other lands? In the U.S.A. have 110/208v 3-phase power and 377/480v power, which I also assume to be 3-phase. Beyond that I am not certain.

oh our electric trains (subways, in NY City) use 600v DC.
Can 25 hertz "pass" as DC to a DC motor? Because I could swear platform lighting was 25cycles/Hertz.

It was interesting to see that five 120 volt lamps were wired in series (therefore each lamp/light-bulb gets 120v) to handle the 600v DC when the lighting "fixture" was connected to the third rail to illuminate track work-sites. Now I'm not sure, but I beleive that when a current draw is sensed the traffic-signal lights would turn red, preventing rear-end collisions in gneeral and safety to the workers in this case.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split_phase

 

[mielabor]

Gabriele, you're not the only one. Sadly it doesn't seem to be commercially available.

http://www.gearlive.com/news/article/q407-wtf-of-the-day-doggy-style-pencil-sharpener/

 

[mielabor]

Window shopping...

Although speciality shops are disappearing, we still have a few around. During a nightly walk yesterday I passed a few shops with on topic window displays:

Here we have the socket (A) for Louis' dishwasher plug. This is known as a "Perilex" socket and together with the associated plug they form an odd couple. What's so special? Well, this socket can be wired in various ways.

First it can be used as a socket for 400V 3 phase supply. This is how it is normally used in a commercial setting e.g. for a laboratory washing machine. When used in this way the plug and the socket have to be wired according to a standard procedure. Nowadays the use of Perilex for 400V connections is decreasing. New sockets are no longer installed in commercial settings and CEE connectors (B) are used instead.

Perilex connectors are also used in domestic settings and here they are still popular for connecting cookers to the power supply and as such they can be used to connect the cooker to a 400V 3 phase supply which is wired as above or they can be used to connect the cooker to a special "cooking circuit" with 2 230V phase wires and 2 neutral wires. When used in the latter fashion there is no standard wiring procedure other than that the central flat prong is used for grounding. One must therefore always check the wiring before inserting a Perilex plug in an unknown socket.

Louis' "wasmachineschakelaar" (C) is also displayed.