How many watts can a 13 amp line handle

[Yelamanchili manohar]

Hi all ..

I live in one of the modern crop of crap apartments with precast concrete walls with concealed in wall wiring. So if any wire burns, then it will be a outright nightmare to renew it, and will include ripping the false ceiling off.

My small room originally came with a 10 amp breaker at the mains. And when I had a class A amp with 380 Watts of continuous power draw, sometimes it used to trip the room's breaker upon switching on. Subsequently, I got the breaker replaced with a 13 amp one, and the tripping stopped. At that time, I had asked the electrician to replace with a 20 amp breaker. But we were not sure if the noodle sized in wall wiring could handle it. So I expect, that iam stuck with a 13 amp line for now.

Considering the above limitation, how many watts of electrical load can I put in my room without hopefully burning the wiring. Thanks

 

[bornfi]

Hi all ..

I live in one of the modern crop of crap apartments with precast concrete walls with concealed in wall wiring. So if any wire burns, then it will be a outright nightmare to renew it, and will include ripping the false ceiling off.

My small room originally came with a 10 amp breaker at the mains. And when I had a class A amp with 380 Watts of continuous power draw, sometimes it used to trip the room's breaker upon switching on. Subsequently, I got the breaker replaced with a 13 amp one, and the tripping stopped. At that time, I had asked the electrician to replace with a 20 amp breaker. But we were not sure if the noodle sized in wall wiring could handle it. So I expect, that iam stuck with a 13 amp line for now.

Considering the above limitation, how many watts of electrical load can I put in my room without hopefully burning the wiring. Thanks

Assuming that wire is 10awg or thick, 13x220 = 2860W

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

Assuming that wire is 10awg or thick, 13x220 = 2860W

Wow.. Thanks a ton for your prompt reply @bornfi

P. S : is there someway to verify if the wiring is actually 10 awg please.

 

[mbhangui]

Wow.. Thanks a ton for your prompt reply @bornfi

P. S : is there someway to verify if the wiring is actually 10 awg please.

Check the diameter of the bare exposed wire. Is it around 2.5mm. You can take a small ruler and measure the dia.

Here is a conversion chart

AWG Wire Gauge Chart & Table – American Wire Gauge (AWG) Standards

The AWG (American Wire Gauge) wire size chart with detailed specifications on wire diameter, resistance, and ampacity. Find conversions between AWG sizes and metric units for electrical and engineering applications.

www.engineeringtoolbox.com

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

Check the diameter of the bare exposed wire. Is it around 2.5mm. You can take a small ruler and measure the dia.

Here is a conversion chart

AWG Wire Gauge Chart & Table – American Wire Gauge (AWG) Standards

The AWG (American Wire Gauge) wire size chart with detailed specifications on wire diameter, resistance, and ampacity. Find conversions between AWG sizes and metric units for electrical and engineering applications.

www.engineeringtoolbox.com

Thanks sir .. Will do so. I was Infact expecting a reply from your goodselves.

 

[bornfi]

I forgot to add that a malfunctioning MCB can trip for no *reason. That does not mean that your amplifier is sucking power more than your apartment can afford. What amplifier is it or was, if I may know?

*Actually, the items with transformers have something called in-rush current that is way more than what your amp is rated for. When MCB gets old/becomes faulty, it fails to handle in-rush current and trips. There could be other reasons too but this is something I have experienced. Changing MCB solved the issue.

You can get something like this and measure the actual wattage after the whole system is set up. https://www.amazon.in/Meco-Metering...d=1683120352&sprefix=wattmeter,aps,204&sr=8-5