Question on making my own electrical plug extension?

savedmoney

Hi

Looking to save a bit of money and make my own electrical extensions.

I got the plugs from No Frills with a 13amp fuse for 45pence, a 13amp rubber trailing socket from Wilkinsons for 99pence.

My question is on what wire to purchase there are two types at No Frills one is a
1.5mm2 for 45p/metre Maximum rating 16 amp
the other
0.75mm2 for 29p/metre Maximum rating 6 amp

Obviously the 0.75mm2 is cheaper, what if I make an extension with that what could happen in terms of safety what could happen if I use it for a product say like my washing machine?
Would it just not work or would something else happen?

Thanks

Money_saving_Diva_2

I am just not convinced that this is a good idea.. I wouldn't mess around with electrical things at all.

Sorry, but it is so risky unless you are a qualified electrician!

Diva.

savedmoney

Thanks Diva

Essentially what I am asking is
Can I make an extension using the 0.75mm2 wire
If so what limitations will it have?
If not does that mean all extensions need to be made with the 1.5mm2 wire?

Appreciate any info, Thanks

nanokitten

You should probably try the techie forum, more sparky types on there.
You do need to be careful with extention leads. It really depends on what you want to run off them (and how long you want them to be), as far as I remember you add the current or power of each appliance together to get the total so if you want to run several high power appliances together your load could be over the output of the wire (easiest way is to add together the fuses so 2 x 13 amp fuses = 26 amps (which is too much for either wire). If you just want to run a couple of table lamps then you might be ok but a washing machine has a heating element in it and probably consumes quite a lot of power. Also if you make a lead for low power appliances, you wont always be able to control what it gets used for in the future. There are other effects (such as induction effects, length of wire etc).
The worst that could happen is that the high load could cause the wires to over heat and melt, causing an electrical fire and burning your house down. In theory the fuse in the extention lead socket should blow, but this does not always work out.
In my opinion this is a false economy. get yourself to a hardware store and buy some cheap extention leads unless you Really know what you are doing (which it seems you don't or you wouldn't be posting).

tru

I read the OP as making longer leads, not a multi socket extension lead

For a multi socket extension lead, I have no idea

For extending cables on appliances, you'll need 1.5mm.

O.75 only suitable for lighting

1.5 for everything else

Olliebeak

Proper extension leads are so cheap these days, I wouldn't take the risk. I only have a plug at one side of my double bed, so have an extension lead along the back of it to plug a lamp in for OH.

Think I paid £1.99 for it and it's got 4 sockets on it.

ariba10

If you are making any type of extension lead with three pin plugs and sockets you must use three core cable.

I would also make sure that the cable will carry a minimum of 16amps.

geordie_joe

Use the 1.5mm cable and you'll be fine. Just make sure you follow the instructions, if you are unsure then google "fitting a plug" and you;ll find lots of sites that show you how to do it.

Double, even triple check that you have the wires in the right place and there is no extra wire hanging out to touch one of the other wires.

SailorSam

Whenever i'm throwing things like lawnmowers, washing machines hoovers etc etc away, i always keep the leads in case i need an extention. Some are more powerful than others.

Butterfly_Brain

My husband trained as a sparks and said he wouldn't advocate doing it yourself unless you have relevant training to do so.
If you are determined to try make sure that the cable is rated to twice the voltage or amperage that you think that you will be using.

savedmoney

Thanks to all.

Yes I am only looking to make a single plug extension.
A multiplug is a little to complex and as mentioned by posters sold at cheap prices.
The idea only came to me as generally single plug extension leads are not really sold at the places I tried or where they are the single socket at the end is unnecessarily bulky or the length of the cable was too long or short for my specific needs.

I will only use the 1.5mm2 wire (which is 3 core so contains earth)
This was sold at Wilkinsons by the metre at around 45p/metre or £16.95 for a 50m roll.

So to make my 3 metre extension with the cost of the plug and socket total cost £2.79
(Not to mention nowhere I went sold such a sleek looking 3 metre single plug extension)

MoneySaving Old Style
or is that
Old Style MoneySaving :money:
Thanks to all.