5 amp chop blocks

[Peter Woodford]

guys,

this may sound stupid why are there chop blocks rated at 5amp and a mcb can be rated at 6amp

 

[SirKit Breaker]

5 amp choc or connector block is a means of joining cables together, it is rated at 5 amps due to the amount of copper used during its construction and its size.

A MCB is a device designed to protect the wiring in the event of a fault, it is rated at 6 amps to protect the cable with the smallest CSA in the circuit, usually this will be the 0.75mm flex drop on the lighting pendant.

Connector block is available in allsorts of sizes, it is usually not possible to fit cables in which are capable of handling current in excess of the rating of it, however i have seen it done.

 

[sparks1234]

5 amp choc or connector block is a means of joining cables together, it is rated at 5 amps due to the amount of copper used during its construction and its size.

A MCB is a device designed to protect the wiring in the event of a fault, it is rated at 6 amps to protect the cable with the smallest CSA in the circuit, usually this will be the 0.75mm flex drop on the lighting pendant.

Connector block is available in allsorts of sizes, it is usually not possible to fit cables in which are capable of handling current in excess of the rating of it, however i have seen it done.

Yea you can if you file the cores down a bit...LOL

 

[a.e.s]

I have been wondering about this myself recently. So, is it ok to use a 5 A connector block on a lighting circuit, when it could potentially draw 6 amps through it?

 

[snowiespark]

yes mate it will be fine, specially if you push the wire in so its on both screws , all the connector is doing is holding the cable together realy...

 

[SirKit Breaker]

Yes it is, 5 amp connector block will carry an awful lot more current than 5 amps, this is just a safe rating given to it, somewhere in the development of connector block it will have been tested to destruction and subjected to extremes which in its normal service it would never be subjected to, this is common in the development of most things. Once it has gone through all that there will be some weird and wonderful calculation that says that if this bit of choc block it subjected to minus 35900 degrees C at an altitude of 155000 feet and hit with an hammer then it will only be safe carrying 5 amps for 3000 hours continuous with the odd 5 second surge of 150 amps, and so its safe rating is 5amps. They cant rate it at 6 amps just in case you use it in the afforementioned circumstances and then sue them cos it failed and burnt down the NASA spacestation you were fitting out with GU10 downlights.. In reality it will probably be happy at 13 amps plus, i say this because it is about the same size as the terminal in a plug top.