Why are 2x 2kw heaters not blowing the fuse?

[The Ghost]

I think a gas fire is a good idea. Why are you working in the room in the evenings? Is it your house or do you work there? If you are working why are you not keeping warm with the activity.

 

[hazymat]

Sadly it's not a wind-up. I'm working in a room above a basement with no walls on. Freezing air flows freely from below, up the chimney which is open from below, and into the enormous fireplace which is open, and up again three storeys. Trying to type on a computer in a 5 degree chill for a few hours is no wind-up.

(@Vortigern - my work is not active - I've set up a computer screen and using it as a temporary office)

As mentioned I'm a layman, genuinely wanted to know why a 13A fuse could take more than 13A - thanks for explaining, I understand now. Also I think the best hint so far was putting plastic on all the walls, anything to prevent the draft. There's an enormous open hath with flue that goes up 4 storeys and a flue that goes down to the fire below (i.e. basement room with free flowing freezing air) The space is brick and concrete, temporary power supply.

Having a fire extinguisher to hand (i.e. with intent) is not as ridiculous as it sounds, when you're working on a building site where builders regularly do ridiculous things like using a power breaker to remove sections of wall without checking there isn't live mains running through metal capping in the wall and a socket on the other side. (Yes really.) Or, my personal favourite, complaining that every time they touch the metal frame of a workshop they get an electric shock, even when their barrow touches it. (Yes, I had an electrician come round immediately, I ordered workers to get out of the space. I came back later to find them in there working again.)

In the last 2 years of developing my own home using contractors I've seen it all.

Only 3 weeks ago we had our mains upgraded to 3 phase. I was doing stuff out the front and watched the guy (subcontractor of a company working for SSE) put his spade through the incoming cable. Loud bang, a lot of smoke, and the bloke went white. Saw the whole lot myself. He put a cone over it and called SSE who came out within 25 minutes...

You guys should get out more - that's what a lot of groundworkers are like. Health and safety in the industry (maybe I should say "sections of the industry") is a bit of a joke. Sadly I'm not joking when I say that I've bought eye and ear protection and try and get guys to wear the stuff, and they refuse. I think you all may be used to working with other first and second fix contractors if you haven't been exposed to this kind of stuff before!

p.s. fire extinguisher was my insistence. As were the temporary fire alarms. I'm living in the flat above....

Anyway back to my own muppetry, not that of my deviant groundworkers. The reason you don't plug a big load into an extension lead that is wound-up is overheating, I wanted to know by how much and how quickly. But I take the point, the socket might burn before the wire.

Looks like I have a lot of chipboard to put on walls / fireplace and gaffer tape to run around the tops and bottoms of the room! And I may need a gas fire.

 

[Octopus]

You need to invest in a decent set of thermal underwear and a nice woolly hat...

 

[camerabloke]

And just in case put 999 on speed dial

 

[Upton Sparks]

fantastic post its made my day .. don't get too cold hayzmat and keep those hand nice and warm on that cable reel !

Please finish it off for me..... , are the fire extinguisher water based by any chance ? that would be the best one's to use, but of course your know that

 

[ferg]

We do get a few wind ups here and sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between genuine muppetry and educated wind ups.

Any thoughts of using the extension reel as a form of supplementary heating should be discarded.

The outside might be warm but the centre will be producing heat faster than the heat can dissipate leading to........

get yerself a wooly hat and gloves.

 

[hazymat]

I came down yesterday evening with one of those large hats that goes over your ears and velcros under your chin. And a massive blanket. Unfortunately I can't do my work (hours and hours of photo editing) with gloves on and therein lies the problem!

Just to reassure @Upton Sparks, the fire extinguishers are those large blue canisters that you see on campsites. They are supposed to put out electrical fires, right?

Seriously though, I do actually always forget which extinguisher is which, but luckily they say in very clear writing on the sides what you can and can't use it for. Gladly I've never had to use one in my life.

I think I might have to start plugging gaps and putting up plywood walls and taping around the edges... and only using one heater *sigh*

 

[static zap]

Wondering if a tent would help .
(but they are pretty flammable )
..Swift exit posible with a knife !
Cautiously touch plug tops - see how hot they run .
(will not be long - before fuse holder starts to discolour)
Damage will occur at weakest point's ...
just hoping none of them are anywhere important / unsupevised !