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Ok thanks.10a is correct for a 3 pin plug
It's primarily limited because the design of a BS1363 plug, and the design of the integral fuse, are not rated for 13 A continuous use. The maximum continuous rating of a 13 A plug and fuse is really only 10 A, 13 A is a maximum rating. The main issue is heat generated by the fuse when run at 13 A, which then tends to overheat the line terminal of the plug, as the fuse is in intimate thermal contact with that pin. The heat then passes down the line plug pin and heats up the sprung brass contacts in the outlet, causing them to reduce their contact pressure with the pin. This then increases the contact resistance at this point and generates more heat, making the problem worse.
Very interesting - thanks. I had previously assumed that the robust appearance of UK plugs made them better than the rather weedy alternatives in other countries ... but those other countries don't normally include a fuse so I suppose that's how they manage it. Wouldn't it be better if the UK had an alternative fuseless plug design for use in high load applications? I realise there is/was the 15A round pin design but I was thinking of one based on the 13A design without a fuse in the plug itself but adding a heavy duty inline fuse for the charger (or whatever other piece of equipment).
The solution, IMHO, is to get rid of ring final circuits, and do as most other countries do, and install radial circuits, with lower rated protection devices in the consumer unit. We could then adopt a more robust outlet and plug design, perhaps like the Schuko design that's fairly common in Europe.
..so is there any technical reason why we couldn't have our present 13A plug design but without a fuse so it doesn't get hot (and put the fuse in the equipment itself or inline)? This would presumably allow us to use the full 13A for continuous applications.
Does the car report the current draw from the main or the current after AC>DC conversion 'cos I guess there will be losses?
Putting the fuse in the equipment wouldn't protect the flex, unfortunately, as a fault in the flex (which is quite likely as a consequence of physical damage) could then cause a high current to flow through it, and the fuse in the appliance couldn't protect against that.