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Re:Why does the USA use 110V and UK use 230-240V? by mytailorisrich on Tuesday August 29, 2023 @06:50AM (#37305792)
There may be several circuits, and they all have independent breakers. Certainly, an electric cooker/oven will be on its own circuit as it has higher requirements.

Then, standard ring circuit is 32A, and individual sockets are limited to 13A (via fuse in plug). So you will need to have 2 kettles on on the same circuit and then add a third device pulling not an insignificant amount of power (32 - 2x13 = 6A) before the breaker trips. This will be safe if the ring circuit is not faulty as they are usually wired with two 2.5mm2 cables (two because it's a ring) that have a standard rating of 24A each...

Re:Why does the USA use 110V and UK use 230-240V? by sph on Tuesday August 29, 2023 @06:54AM (#37305831)
Thanks, that's incredible. I won't have to worry about tripping the circuit breaker anymore.
Re:Why does the USA use 110V and UK use 230-240V? by housemusicfan on Tuesday August 29, 2023 @11:35AM (#37309475)
UK electrics are mad - with the ring main and what not requiring fuses in the enormous plugs. All vestiges of post-WWII design. By code a modern American kitchen must have:

- dedicated 50A 240V for an electric stove or oven (unless gas service is present)

- dedicated 20A 120V each for the fridge, microwave, dishwasher, disposal (the latter being uncommon outside the US and Canada). The last two often share a circuit.

- two 20A countertop circuits with GFCI protection (what the Brits call 'RCD' - the difference being ours trip at 5mA vs 30mA and won't knock out half the house.)

Re:Why does the USA use 110V and UK use 230-240V? by iso1631 on Tuesday August 29, 2023 @11:47AM (#37309655)
You assert that it's mad but then describe a mad situation in the US.

A typical British kitchen will have a ton of sockets (although never enough), to plug in a fridge (or two, or three), a microwave (or several - they rarely goes about 1kW anyway), a dishwasher, a washing machine, a tumble dryer (UK kitchens tend to have washers and dryers, rather than bathrooms. Larger houses have separate utility rooms)

The only thing on a dedicated circuit would be a hard-wired oven.

Re:Why does the USA use 110V and UK use 230-240V? by housemusicfan on Tuesday August 29, 2023 @12:28PM (#37310285)
Thinking that having dedicated independent circuits is madness sounds like Stockholm syndrome. The point being a single faulty appliance won't knock out the lights and sockets to half the house simultaneously (a common occurrence during a fault in the UK, especially the RCD). It's also quite convenient to switch off a single appliance for service. Yes British sockets are all switched but not necessarily in a convenient location.

A software analogy would be running all your services on separate VMs, as opposed to running them all on a single server which could go down at once.

Brits don't even put outlets in the bathroom, minus a current-limited transformer-isolated one for an electric razor.

Re:Why does the USA use 110V and UK use 230-240V? by mytailorisrich on Tuesday August 29, 2023 @01:33PM (#37311188)
Ah, the regs have changed and we can now have a full socket in the bathroom as long as it's far enough from bath (.6 + 2.5 = 3.1m from edge), which rules out most bathrooms...
Re:Why does the USA use 110V and UK use 230-240V? by housemusicfan on Tuesday August 29, 2023 @05:06PM (#37314102)
I assume the temptation to use the electric tea kettle whilst having a bath is too great...
Re:Why does the USA use 110V and UK use 230-240V? by iso1631 on Wednesday August 30, 2023 @07:49AM (#37320613)
It's more about wet fingers and electricity.
Re:Why does the USA use 110V and UK use 230-240V? by laurencerowe on Tuesday August 29, 2023 @02:41PM (#37312053)
My apartment in San Francisco which I pay an absurd amount of money for has just two or three 20A circuits in total going by the breaker. I regularly trip the power.
Re:Why does the USA use 110V and UK use 230-240V? by bluGill on Tuesday August 29, 2023 @03:45PM (#37312903)
How old. What you describe sounds like it was built before 1970 and never updated to modern standards. Since the wire is often in okay shape few consider it worth the cost to replace it even though it really can't supply enough power for modern uses. (often you have to replace it all as if you touch it the insulation will break and then it isn't okay)
Re:Why does the USA use 110V and UK use 230-240V? by laurencerowe on Tuesday August 29, 2023 @06:56PM (#37315247)
Built around 1910 I think but the wiring is definitely a lot newer than that, 70s or 80s at a guess. They just didn’t put many circuits in.

Has never been an issue anywhere I lived in the UK. As I understand it they have been putting in 30A/230V ring circuits as standard for 75 years now.