What happens when you send maintained 250amps through 1mm flex.

Darkwood · May 22, 2013

I do this so you dont have to

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Sending 250amps through a 1mm approx 10amp rated flex...... down the earth core until it evaporated the copper.

[ElectriciansForums.net] What happens when you send maintained 250amps through 1mm flex.

You can see how the earth spirals in pic 2 as it burns and melts away all the insulation and sheath adjacent to it.... i expect it got a tad hotter than 70 degrees as is the rating of the cable.

SirKit Breaker · May 22, 2013

I best not wire my shower in it then!

Darkwood · May 22, 2013

trying for bigger pics BRB

tazz · May 22, 2013

Love it....great way of testing computer server rooms, we do similar tests with 6v, 20amp accross 1mm cable, on boards to test vesdas, called the hot wire test.....loads of fun

Darkwood · May 22, 2013

To tell the truth ...i had a little help from a dopey welder who drop his weld gun while on permanent feed onto a speed control box for a dc motor on his turn table hence it used the alternative earth path which was a tad under-rated.

Megavolt · May 22, 2013

Wow nice one

tazz · May 22, 2013

Shame you didnt take a video of it

Darkwood · May 22, 2013

tazz said:
Shame you didnt take a video of it

I was called out to it... the damaged had already been done and from all accounts a lot of smoke as the insulation found itself several orders of heating than it was rated to..... as i said in parts the copper has vaporised with no trace .... it lasted a few seconds and other cores that were not in direct contact with the earth core are untouched from damage, it was a 5core flex so 2 cores survived the other 2 show external heat damage from the earth.

Jimsparky · May 22, 2013

I called at my grandads the other week who was having problems in his shed. Bandsaw cable had burnt out and cable had literally melted so had everything around it. Could not work it out. Then I see the welder "grandad have you been welding with metal laid on the bandsaw" " yeah but it's ok I put the earth clamp on that plastic vice handle there" ahhh ok problem solved !!!

GLENNSPARK · May 22, 2013

darkwood said:
To tell the truth ...i had a little help from a dopey welder who drop his weld gun while on permanent feed onto a speed control box for a dc motor on his turn table hence it used the alternative earth path which was a tad under-rated.

when i worked in fabs they had these mig torches with the latch on the gun....and i bloody hated em n all....
i often accidentally left it on....then would go away...and come back to find a load of overheated mig wire all over the floor....lol...
done it a few times that....