# Workshop Electrics



## paulm (27 Jan 2009)

Thought I would post a query in this section for anybody with some electrical knowledge.

Planning to upgrade the motor on my bandsaw from 1100w to 2200w which means I'm advised that the new motor won't run on a 13amp plug as the running current requirement is 13.2 amps.

So I think this means I need a 16 amp connection.

I'm assuming the best way to do this is run a dedicated 16amp circuit from the workshop consumer unit, and not just to introduce a 16 amp socket on the existing circuit (which does actually have a 16 amp breaker by coincidence) ?

If a new circuit is called for I have one spare slot in the consumer unit, but it's to the right of the unit and the rcd breaker and therefore not covered with the rcd (it's in the unprotected part with the lighting circuits). 

Assuming I take all necessary precautions ( I have done a fair amount of basic electrical work in the past), is it straightforward to reposition the rcd breaker one bay to the right and therefore reposition the vacant bay to the left of the rcd and to be protected by the rcd with the other socket circuits, or would I have to do anything additional other than wiring in the new circuit to the rcd and vacant slot and putting in the additional 16 amp breaker ?

Many thanks for any advice.

Cheers, Paul


----------



## StevieB (27 Jan 2009)

OK, firstly you will need to run a radial 16A feed for the bandsaw from a dedicated breaker in the CU. Don't put it on an existing circuit - despite the 16A breaker your circuit is on, running anything else on the circuit at the same time as the bandsaw may trip the breaker anyway.

As to moving the rcd - depends entirely on your CU and how it was made. The busbar (positive rail with teeth the MCBs sit on) will be split to keep the two sides of the CU seperate. Thus if your box is full you will need a new busbar cut appropriately to maintain this split between the two sides. Some split CUs have a fixed trip switch and cannot be moved - without looking at the CU its not possible to tell, but look at the negative feed to the trip - is it a solid bar or is it a cable? A solid bar will not move, a cable might (I stress might, not will here).

Finally, the only possible consequence of running it from the non-rcd side and tripping the MCB is that the entire box goes dead from the mains tripping. This means no lights, but apart from that not a major problem. The bandsaw is one of the safer power tools in the shop and you will need to decide how likely it is that your circuit trips and how likely it will be you can see nothing if the lights go out. If you are worried by this, or touching the blade before its stationary in the dark then don't wire into the non-rcd side.

If you cannot get the circuit onto the rcd side you have two options - run a secondary box from the rcd side replacing an existing mcb into the new box, or replace the entire CU with a larger one. Neither are straightforward solutions and depending on your setup may require dropping the meter tails from the mains (illegal, and means breaking the electric comapnies lead seals) as well as the usual part P caveats that people are bound to mention further down the thread.

You dont say whether you are talking about the house main CU or a smaller one in the workshop - could you possibly run a single lighting feed from the house CU to the workshop, bypassing the shop CU and thus leaving a light on if the workshop CU fails? I am assuming here that your workshop CU is wired into the house one - if you are running from the house main CU this is not an option.

Steve.


----------



## andrewm (27 Jan 2009)

StevieB":7s8s6n89 said:


> Finally, the only possible consequence of running it from the non-rcd side and tripping the MCB is that the entire box goes dead from the mains tripping. This means no lights, but apart from that not a major problem. The bandsaw is one of the safer power tools in the shop and you will need to decide how likely it is that your circuit trips and how likely it will be you can see nothing if the lights go out. If you are worried by this, or touching the blade before its stationary in the dark then don't wire into the non-rcd side.



How about wiring from the non-RCD side to a seperate 16A RCD by the bandsaw socket. That way you have RCD protection for the bandsaw without too much messing around with the consumer unit, it is easier to reset should it trip and it won't plung the whole workshop into darkness. 

Andrew


----------



## StevieB (27 Jan 2009)

> How about wiring from the non-RCD side to a seperate 16A RCD by the bandsaw socket. That way you have RCD protection for the bandsaw without too much messing around with the consumer unit, it is easier to reset should it trip and it won't plung the whole workshop into darkness.



Aye, as I said you can run a secondary CU from the first. A two way garage CU will be fine, but I would still want it on the rcd side of the main CU to prevent the possibility of the lights going down. You might well find it difficult to get a secondary CU that has a main trip of a lower rating than the main trip on the main CU, thus making sure you secondary goes before the main (is that a Donald Rumsfeld type statement!). I would have to go hunting through the TLC website as I don't know off the top of my head. Secondary CUs still require meter tails via a Henley block, making it difficult to position then where you want them ie next to machines as emergency cutouts. A cutout switch is better for this purpose.

Steve.


----------



## PowerTool (27 Jan 2009)

2,200W / 230V = 9.56A,so will theoretically run fine on a 13A supply.
I take it the start-up current will trip a 13A breaker,and can't be solved by using a "B" curve MCB ? (Although it will obviously be better on a seperate supply,or it doesn't leave you much spare to run a dust extractor..)

Andrew


----------



## Jake (27 Jan 2009)

StevieB":3beqwqr1 said:


> A two way garage CU will be fine, but I would still want it on the rcd side of the main CU to prevent the possibility of the lights going down. You might well find it difficult to get a secondary CU that has a main trip of a lower rating than the main trip on the main CU, thus making sure you secondary goes before the main (is that a Donald Rumsfeld type statement!). I would have to go hunting through the TLC website as I don't know off the top of my head. Secondary CUs still require meter tails via a Henley block, making it difficult to position then where you want them ie next to machines as emergency cutouts. A cutout switch is better for this purpose.



Main trip? What main trip - we are talking about the non-RCD side of the CU, so there is no main trip (unless there is a whole house RCD, but that has not been mentioned), just the 100A isolation switch which is going nowhere until it melts.

There isn't an issue with discrimination to worry about if Chisel sticks a 16A breaker on the non-RCD side (or rather, no more issue than there is with the workshop CU as a whole). 

No need to touch the meter tails in this scenario - you just feed a socket from a new 16A MCB - and to get RCD protection you either use an RCD protected "commando" socket (at an ouch price!) or feed a 2-way 'consumer unit' box stuffed with an rcd, and then out to the naked commando socket.


----------



## Jake (27 Jan 2009)

Actually, simpler still would be to fit a single unit 16A RCBO if you can find one which fits your CU.


----------



## andrewm (27 Jan 2009)

StevieB":2t0yqo0h said:


> Aye, as I said you can run a secondary CU from the first. A two way garage CU will be fine, but I would still want it on the rcd side of the main CU to prevent the possibility of the lights going down. You might well find it difficult to get a secondary CU that has a main trip of a lower rating than the main trip on the main CU, thus making sure you secondary goes before the main.



What about something like this?

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/ ... index.html

If it is on the non-RCD side of the main CU then an earth fault will just trip the local RCD. Only an over-current will trip the main CU. I haven't looked to see whether these are available in any lower currents but this is intended for an electic shower so must be fairly common.

Andrew


----------



## Anonymous (27 Jan 2009)

2200W does not draw 13A!!!!!

It will be around 9A

You will be fine running it from a 13A socket


----------



## Sawdust (27 Jan 2009)

2200W is about 3 HP. My workshop has three machines with 3HP motors - all running fine from 13A sockets so I would be tempted to try your motor before going to a load ef expense re-wiring.

You might be unlucky and find the start-up current trips your supply but I would definitely try it out first.

Cheers
Mike


----------



## paulm (27 Jan 2009)

Thanks guys, lots of options it seems.

Think I'll try the new motor (haven't ordered it yet) on the normal 13a plug first, like Tony says it should in theory only draw 9a (2200w/240v), only the motor supplier said the running current (not startup current) was 13.2a because motors are never 100% efficient so the theoretical 9a was in real life 13.2a, but I have other 2200w (and more) equipment that runs on 13a plugs with no problem, so think I'll try it and see.

If it is an issue in practice then looks like a 16a solution of some sort can be sorted without too much trouble or cost.......

Many thanks, Paul


----------



## RogerS (27 Jan 2009)

chisel":3fwsfyua said:


> ....
> 
> If it is an issue in practice then looks like a 16a solution of some sort can be sorted without too much trouble or cost.......



But no-one has mentioned the dreaded Part P. The proposed work falls squarely under it IIRC.


----------



## bob321 (27 Jan 2009)

i can run a 2100w TS and a 1200w dust extractor and about 50w of lighting

bob321 8)


----------



## misterfish (28 Jan 2009)

PowerTool":1py3wt0e said:


> I take it the start-up current will trip a 13A breaker,and can't be solved by using a "B" curve MCB ?



It is a simple job to replace a 'B' type MCB with a 'C' type which is designed to cope with the transient initial surge of the motor.

My table saw is on a dedicated 16 amp MCB circuit - with a type 'B' in place it regularly tripped on start up. With the type 'C' there is no problem. 

Misterfish


----------



## paulm (11 Feb 2009)

Bit of an update on this.

After a lot of emailing to and fro and discussions with suppliers have finally ordered a 2.2kw motor as a replacement and should be here hopefully in time for the weekend.

If everything goes according to plan (!) then the flange mounting I've ordered with it should make it a straight bolt on replacement, but we'll see [-o< 

Unfortunately, but quite sensibly I guess, the bigger motors come with a bigger shaft diameter which means I've had to order a replacement pulley for the shaft as the existing one on the bandsaw was a smaller hole diameter and I don't have the means to bore it out accurately. I also want to keep all the original stuff in case the whole plan falls apart and I need to retreat back to what I have currently !

If I can get as far as getting it all mounted and set up then will try running it on the normal 13a supply, but if that proves a problem I'll stick in a new 16a dedicated supply which isn't too difficult or expensive to do.

If anyone is interested it cost around £90 for the motor, £15 for flange and pulley and £10 for shipping from this chap here who proved very helpful http://stores.ebay.co.uk/electric-motor ... asstQQtZkm

If it all goes pearshaped for some reason then I may find an alternative use for the motor (can't think what though at the minute !) or sell it on and recoup some money, but hopefully it will all work out and I can get back to some serious resawing !  

Cheers, Paul


----------



## paulm (16 Feb 2009)

The motor turned up today so didn't unfortunately have the opportunity to set it up over the weekend as hoped, but managed to make some progress this evening.

Glad to say the flange mounting chosen was spot on so it was _nearly_ a case of unbolting the old and bolting on the new.

Almost, because I needed to find some longer bolts and use a bunch of washers to space the motor further back from the frame as the electrical box on top of the motor would otherwise foul on the bandsaw frame.

Luckily the motor shaft was a bit longer than the original so no problem there in setting it back a bit.

Another lesson learned was not to fit the new taperlock pulley on the motor shaft before fitting the motor as it proved impossible to then mount the motor after  

A rummage around the garage failed to turn up the 3 leg puller thing that I know I have somewhere :-k , so a trip to Halfords and 15 quid later I manage to take off the pulley and remount the motor.

All seems to fit okay and the motor tightened up securely, so just need to take the wheel pulley off and turn it round the right way again :roll:, (hammer) line up again with the drive pulley, remount the wheel and then on to wiring up the electrics to the motor.

Hoping it will work okay on a 13 amp plug but it might blow under heavy load, will have to wait and see and put in a 16 amp circuit if needed. Anyway, the electrics will need to wait till the weekend when I, _hopefully_, will have a bit more time.

Cheers, Paul


----------



## paulm (21 Feb 2009)

All done and it works a treat \/ ccasion5: 

Took a couple of hours this morning to finish installing, a minor amount of grinding to the new, slightly larger, pulley to avoid fouling the inside of the bandsaw wheel, connected up the internal electrics, and put a new blade on.

Tested it on another half log of walnut from Paul C and went through it like butter, no hesitation at all even in the 11" thick wet timber that I had previously had problems with.

Didn't blow the 13a fuse either so looks like no need for a dedicated 16a supply either.

So rather than spend a fortune on a new more powerful bandsaw, for £100 or so this one now does everything needed, and with ease  

Just have to see if the motor lasts and is of decent quality, or fails after a bit of hard use, but at this stage I'm well chuffed.

Only thing is, with it being such nice weather today I need to get outdoors and do some gardening so no more time for the workshop :lol: 

Cheers, Paul


----------



## Jake (21 Feb 2009)

Good news - and well accomplished!


----------



## paulm (22 Feb 2009)

Thanks Jake, was beginning to think I was the only one who finds this interesting :lol: 

Cheers, Paul


----------



## leptus (30 Mar 2009)

great stuff paul i am glad every thing worked great . it will be great if you could supply some photos it will give other members some idea if they want to upgrade their bandsaw motors .i for one will be very interested .regards


----------



## paulm (11 Apr 2009)

Hi Leptus, sorry, saw your post and then promptly forgot all about it  

Not much to photo really to be honest, not sure what would help particularly, but happy to answer any questions if I can.

A request for the forum generally from me for some advice though. Had a mega resawing session yesterday and today, converting more of Paul C's walnut logs (there is a bright side to the damp weather, means I get excused gardening duties and can get some workshop time in :lol: ).

Late today though the bandsaw blade started stalling, and on investigation the drive belt was disintegrating, the new motor being too powerful for the narrow section belt I guess. So took a trip to Halfords and got a meatier fan belt, after trying about fifty odd to get one roughly the same size :shock: , fitted it and went like a dream.

Straight after though, it started to blow the 13amp fuses, and have now gone through four of them :shock: . On occasion it would start and run okay, but mostly just popped the fuse on start up.

Not sure why this should be ? The wheels and blade move freely, nothing else has changed, the mcb doesn't trip. Thinking I may have to run a dedicated 16amp circuit after all........

Any thoughts or advice welcomed  

Cheers, Paul


----------



## p111dom (11 Apr 2009)

I'm probably going to get in trouble for this but it depends how dodgy you want to go. If you don't want the mess with the expense of running new cabling and avoiding the part P issue altogether you could always splice in two 13amp plugs into the one cable. Yes its a bodge, yes it would make you think "what the hell" when you saw it but apparently the practice was quite common some years ago as a cost cutting/saving measure. When buying a machine a few years ago the guy has three machines wired up this way to double plug sockets and had ran them trouble free for 10 years. I spoke to a sparky about it and he said it wasn't advisable but it would work and he'd seen it before.


----------



## Night Train (11 Apr 2009)

I wouldn't recommend the double plug method as the fuse needs to be able to protect the cable to prevent over currnet from melting the cable and causing a fire. Two plugs would give you 26 amps to play with! Also the socket, even double sockets, are only rated at 13 amps total so you couldn't plug both into a double socket without risk of over loading the socket wiring connections.

If the motor worked before and doesn't now then something has changed. You changed the belt. Maybe the old belt was slipping a bit and reducing the start up load whereas the new meatier belt is transmitting all the load to the motor and increasing its start up current.

As an electrician I have a dedicated consumer unit for my workshop with a 100mA RCD and also an extension lead with a 10mA RCD on the end of my bench for hand power tools.


----------



## paulm (11 Apr 2009)

Night Train":3cpleylo said:


> Maybe the old belt was slipping a bit and reducing the start up load whereas the new meatier belt is transmitting all the load to the motor and increasing its start up current.



That's pretty much where I had got to in my thinking as well. Not too much trouble to pop down to Screwfix and get some 16 amp stuff I guess, might as well do it properly.......

Cheers, Paul


----------



## p111dom (11 Apr 2009)

Night Train":1ttkqg0q said:


> I wouldn't recommend the double plug method as the fuse needs to be able to protect the cable to prevent over currnet from melting the cable and causing a fire. Two plugs would give you 26 amps to play with! Also the socket, even double sockets, are only rated at 13 amps total so you couldn't plug both into a double socket without risk of over loading the socket wiring connections.
> .



That's correct to a certain extent but you can always put a 13amp fuse in one and a 3amp fuse in the other giving you 16amp load not 26. If the machine is drawing nearly 13amps anyway when in full working order then the cable should be relatively beefy. An extra 3amps wouldn't make that much difference especially when you consider it will only be drawing over or near to 13amps on start up. Neither would the extra load on the socket. Most sockets are wired up to a 32amp ring main anyway so you would have thought that the socket terminals should be tested up to that. I rewired my twin motor extractor so each motor has a separate plugs so I can regulate the amount of suck remotely. Three years on despite the load being pretty high and with two 13amp plugs into one double socket I have had no problems. Its not something I'd advocate as a permanent solution but if I were say in the middle of a job and didn't have the time or money to wire in a dedicated 16amp supply, I'd do it in the interim. Its not like you would leave it unatended running.


----------



## Jake (11 Apr 2009)

p111dom":3qk3gp5x said:


> That's correct to a certain extent but you can always put a 13amp fuse in one and a 3amp fuse in the other giving you 16amp load not 26.



On the basis of that statement alone, I don't think you should be advising anyone on electrics!


----------



## p111dom (11 Apr 2009)

I take it that thats not correct then. Yes your right its probably a silly thing to do. I actually haven't done this myself. I've just seen someone else that has done something similar and seemed to have no problem with it for several years.I didn't ask if both plugs were fused at 13amps each. Personally I have a dedicated 16amp supply to the two machines which require it. This option was pointed out as a possibility when I was faced with a similar situation on a sanding machine which was drawing 12.8 amps on start up and blowing the fuse on every third start up. Would the load not be spread between the two plugs? I take it from the reply that wouldn't be the case. That said I would have thought the worst that would happen is the fuse would blow in anycase.


----------



## Night Train (12 Apr 2009)

What you are suggesting may sound right in a bodge kinda way but electrics can be very unforgiving to the bodger. Quite aside from the shock risk any risk of sparks or excessive heating of electrical terminals in a woodshop full of nice dry timber, wood shavings and saw dust is quite a fire risk.

It is worth noting that the reason a fuse blows is because it melts the wire that is inside it. Each time it melts the terminals have become heated and with each heating the expansion and contraction of the metals in the connections will cause the connection to loosen. Lose connections cause more heating and increase resistance to current flow. This reduces the voltage slightly and increases the current causing more heating.

As an emergency bodge a nail could be used to replace the fuse but is getting the job done that moment worth the risk?

I knew a welder who had added a cooling fan to the back of his portable arc set. The fan prevented the welder from over heating when used at maximum capacity but the extra current draw of the fan caused the fuse to blow.
His solution was to drill out the 13 amp fuse and solder in a 16amp fuse wire. Problem solved until he used an extension lead and the fuse there blew. He did the same to his extension lead fuse and used it like this for many months until one day the extension lead caught fire while he was welding.

I have a fitted a fan on my welder too. I just don't wind it up to maximum and have never blown the 13 amp fuse in 25+ years of welding with it.


----------



## p111dom (12 Apr 2009)

That's worth heading I guess. I don't have the best form on welding either to be honest. The last times I was welding a sill on the car, lying on my back when finished I was congratulation myself of a job well done and it wasn't till I stood up that I saw I'd set fire to the interior carpet. :lol: Even after a few beers last night I don't know now why I though that would work. I think the load would be drawn equally from both sockets so if the machine was pulling 13 amps total, the draw would be 6.5amps per plug. The plug with the 13 amp fuse would be fine having a 6.5amp load but the other one would blow with the 3 amp fuse. Two five amp fuses obvosouly gives you less that the 13amps of the one plug and with no domestic fuses rated between the 5 and 13 I guess you're stuck with two 13amp fuses which like you said before would require a surge or draw of 26 amps plus to blow the fuses. This would potentially overload the cable so its a bum idea. The problem with this forum unlike others is that people are on it so frequently that if you make a stupid post, by the time you go back on the edit it, several people have already replied. Note to self, beer and thinking don't mix.


----------



## paulm (12 Apr 2009)

Oh no, just realised that being Easter Sunday Screwfix (and the rest of the world) is shut all day  

STill, preparing a list of bits and pieces to hopefully pick up tomorrow I came across this

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/27903/Ele ... Curve-RCBO

Seems to deal with the only slot in my cu being on the unprotected side of the box, but not sure if it is worth paying that much for it compared to a normal 16a mcb :-k 

Also a bit confused about the types of 16a plugs and sockets. There seems to be several which sound the same and look the same, but have very different prices so I am obviously missing something. I guess it may be worth going for IP44 rating (dust ingress ?) but then again none of my 13 amp supplies/plugs have that so maybe not really an issue after all and I should just go for the cheapest ?

Here's some of the alternatives, any help appreciated !

https://www.screwfix.com/prods/49232/El ... -2P-E-IP44

https://www.screwfix.com/prods/44755/El ... -2P-E-IP44

https://www.screwfix.com/prods/94163/El ... t-16A-240V

Cheers, Paul


----------



## p111dom (12 Apr 2009)

Again I'll probably get shot down here but I was told at the time by the sparky that the 16amp plugs technically can't be used in a domestic enviroment as the don't comply to something to do with the gaurding of the pins/terminals. I know several people that have them in their garage though but he advised against it. In the end I hard wired mine into a industrial type isolator switch so wiring to the none protected side of the consumer unit was fine. I was going to add an isolator anyway so I saved on the cost of the plug and socket. Fortunatley I have enough room so the machines don't need to be moved around the shop but if they ever did it only takes 5 minutes to click the MCB and unwire them from their respective isolator switches.


----------



## Deejay (12 Apr 2009)

Hello Paul

I'm no longer regarded as competent in electrical wiring since Mr Pescott's Part P tax was introduced, but I would think you want something like this

https://www.screwfix.com/prods/40962/El ... 2P-E-IP44#

screwed to the wall.

If you fit an RCBO in a slot for a circuit on the unprotected (Non RCD) side of the CU, it will give you both RCD and overload protection on that circuit. Fitting an MCB on the unprotected side will only give overload protection to the circuit it feeds.

I'd take Jake's earlier advice 'Actually, simpler still would be to fit a single unit 16A RCBO if you can find one which fits your CU.'

As far as ingress protection goes, all the screwfix stuff seems to be IP44 which keeps out solid objects greater than 1mm diameter, and splashes of fluid. If you want dust protection go for IP5x and dust tight is IP6x. I'd be happy with IP4.

One thing you might also check is the rating of the flex connected to the motor, since you've doubled the current it carries. 

Cheers

Dave


----------



## Night Train (12 Apr 2009)

Why not just hard wire it into a 20 amp double pole switch fed from a 16 amp mcb/rcbo instead of using a 16Amp socket? It is hardly a portable tool.


----------



## paulm (12 Apr 2009)

Think I'll go for an rcd type single mcb, angled mounted socket and connector, assuming our newly opened Screwfix trade counter has all that in stock tomorrow morning. As it's my first order there and I have a special text message I think I still get an initial 10% discount  

Don't think it's particularly easier or cheaper or advantageous to hard wire rather than plug as a switch is much the same price as a plug and socket I think ?

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Cheers, Paul


----------



## paulm (13 Apr 2009)

Popped into Screwfix this morning and picked up all the bits, except I got a normal mcb after all rather than an rcd variant as I couldn't really see the point in the rcd one for this application.

Took a couple of hours all in to get the stuff and wire it all up, fasten the cable and fit plug and socket, really pleased.

But then tested it and now the mcb just trips straight away :evil: 

Fitted a fly lead to the new socket and used a three pin socket tester on it which shows I've cabled it all up okay, tried a couple of other appliances on it and they are fine too.

So I'm guessing I need to swap the B type mcb for a C type, or actually the problem is with the bandsaw, but can't find a C type mcb (16a) on the Screwfix site although they do 6, 10 and 32 amp !!!

Will have to wait till tomorrow and find a proper electrical factors to get the mcb, and just hoping that does the trick and it isn't the bandsaw switch or motor.......

Cheers, Paul


----------



## RogerS (13 Apr 2009)

What current rating MCB did you buy, Paul?


----------



## Night Train (13 Apr 2009)

This bit of information on MCB ratings and types may help you decide what you need and what is happening.


----------



## paulm (13 Apr 2009)

Thanks for the info NT.

Roger, it was a 16a B type, nothing special, so I'm hoping it just needs a C type instead. The general circuit 16a mcb it was wired too before didn't trip but I gues that was just because the 13a fuses were going first, and now it's on a dedicated 16a circuit with commando plug/socket and no 13a fuses the trip is now going instead.

Pretty sure I wired it in correctly, as per my previous post the new circuit will run other stuff no problem if I use a fly lead temporarily........

Cheers, Paul


----------



## paulm (13 Apr 2009)

Decided to double check all my connections again, in case I had wired the plug differently to the socket or something silly, it has been done before :roll: , but not this time, nothing obvious wrong........

Cheers, Paul


----------



## misterfish (14 Apr 2009)

http://www.screwfix.com/search.do;jsess ... ton=submit is what I have for my table saw - it works fine while a type B nearly always trips.

Misterfish


----------



## paulm (14 Apr 2009)

Thats interesting, that is exactly what I was looking for and the 16a version doesn't actually show on the website if you look at all the other Wylex mcb's, how odd, or perhaps I'm doing something stupid !

Anyway, ordered one from Toolstation yesterday so hopefully will be here in a day or two and I can get the bandsaw up and running for the weekend.

Thanks for the help.

Cheers, Paul


----------



## PowerTool (14 Apr 2009)

Yeah,thanks for the link,Misterfish.

My SCMS sometimes trips the MCB (16A radial),and I couldn't find a "C" curve one on the website either  

Andrew


----------



## RogerS (15 Apr 2009)

Part P rules KO !!!  :lol:


----------



## Rich (15 Apr 2009)

It certainly pays to be part of a maintenance team, the leccy helps me out and I see to his bathroom, no money changes hands and all parties are happy, horses for courses.

Rich.


----------



## RogerS (15 Apr 2009)

Rich":p50mra2g said:


> .... I see to his bathroom, ....
> 
> Rich.



:lol: :lol: Mine could do with a clean :wink:


----------



## Rich (15 Apr 2009)

RogerS":2bfdxjan said:


> Rich":2bfdxjan said:
> 
> 
> > .... I see to his bathroom, ....
> ...



Best see Kim and Aggie. :lol: 

Rich.


----------



## paulm (15 Apr 2009)

It works \/ :lol: 

Arrived home to find a Toolstation parcel including the type C mcb and a few other bits and pieces, popped out to the workshop to fit it ( had a bit of a job getting the old one out, must be a knack to it), and tested it half a dozen or so times with no problems at all ! 

Well chuffed, as I was somewhat concerned that after all the time and effort that the motor might turn out to be a lemon, but not the case so far thankfully, so back to resawing big lumps of tree come the weekend  

Cheers, Paul


----------



## phil p (18 Apr 2009)

Hi,

Ive had the same problem more or less.

I recently bought a thicknesser that kept tripping the MCB in my garage.

The MCB was a 16 amp "A" rated, however Ive changed it, partially due to this thread, to a 16 amp "C" rated one, and hey presto, works great, wouldn't mind I had a mitre saw that done the same thing for years, however all I had to do was plug in an extension from the house and it worked fine.

Can't believe for £4.25 Ive saved myself this hassle which was a right pain in the butt.

Anyone with a bit electrical know how, this is safe isn't it???

Thanks


----------



## Digit (18 Apr 2009)

Yep! Standard procedure for anything that draws a heavy start up current. That is what the type 'C' is made for.

Roy.


----------



## paulm (18 Apr 2009)

I used the bandsaw for some more deep ripping today 10"+ and it was like a totally new machine due to the new Halfords drive belt delivering all of the power without slipping.

Now I wonder if it was the original Startrite small section drive belt slipping all along rather than the original motor being underpowered...... :-k 

Anyway, the big motor, new belt and dedicated 16a supply have turned it into a real beast, totally transformed it and now resaws the large stuff with absolutely no hesitation, got through loads of "stuff" today \/

Cheers, Paul


----------

