Replacing a power cable to an adapter

[AndyJ]

Hi all,

On the basis that the only stupid question is the one that is not asked .....

I've got a power adapter that I use to charge a Li-Ion battery. The power cable end that plugs into the mains is European style on the mains end and cloverleaf on the end that plugs into the adapter. I want to change this power cable so that it has a UK plug on the end.

I've seen many different rated cloverleaf cables - how can I know what type I should use ? What about the fuse ? Do I (should I) first find out what fuse is in the supplied cable ? What about the lead rating ?

Is there a danger of supplying too much to the adapter ? although I guess this is what the adapter is for - to adapt ;o) What about supplying too little ?

 

[garethpa]

i think most are fused at 5a, which should be more than adequate. Your current one probably has no fuse

Be careful of the "cheap" ones on ebay from chinese sellers. I've purchased a couple in the past, and the outer cable insulation was very brittle and cracked where it met the plugs.

If your lead is good quality - why not cut the euro plug off and replace it with a uk plug?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Is there a danger of supplying too much to the adapter ? although I guess this is what the adapter is for - to adapt ;o) What about supplying too little ?

They no more "supply" the adapter in that sense than a bridge supplies weight to vehicles using it.

 

[plugwash]

What about the lead rating ?

The cloverleaf connector is rated at 2.5A. The smallest standard flex is 0.5mm which is rated at 3A. So any standard flex should be fine.

For some reason most cloverleaf cables I see seem to be 0.75mm even though 0.5mm would be perfectly adequate for the current.

What about the fuse ? Do I (should I) first find out what fuse is in the supplied cable ?

The existing cable almost certainly will not have a fuse. Fuses in plugs are a british oddity.

Any appliance designed for sale on the european market will have been designed under the expectation that it would be connected with an unfused plug. Personally i'd preffer to have a 3A fuse in the plug on the "fuses should be no bigger than nessacery" principle but it's not something i'd get massively worked up over.

The biggest issue is taking steps to avoid dangerous substandard products that carry fraudulent markings and often suffer from undersized wires, substandard insulation materials, noncompliant connectors etc. You can't completely eliminate the risk of getting this crap but you can minimise it by chosing large reputable vendors and in-particular avoiding ebay, third party amazon sellers and similar.

Personally I tend to buy mains leads from CPC, they have reasonable prices, are big enough that you are unlikely to get dangerous substandard products, ship quickly and right now they also have a "free delivery on any size order" offer running.
http://cpc.farnell.com/pro-elec/pe01098/lead-mains-2-5a-c5-to-13a-plug/dp/PL13337