I have moved to a property with 5amp round sockets around the room. I want to remove the standard 3 pin plugs from my table lamps and re-wire them with the 5amp round pin plugs I have bought. This means they will be on a mains dimmer circuit, so I can choose to have the spotlights on, or the lamps come on with one switch. The problem is, 2 of the table lamps have 3amp fuses in. Can I safely attach them to a 5amp round pin plug and put them in the sockets without blowing anything up?
Electrical – modify 3 ampere table lamps to work on 5 ampere round pin plugs
electricallighting
Related Solutions
Power (Watts) = Potential (Volts) x Current (Amps). At 230 Volts a 40 Watt bulb uses 40/230 = 0.2 Amps. So a 5 Amp circuit will have no problem supplying this lamp.
Your choices are
- Change the plugs on your lamps.
- Use an adapter.
Changing the plugs is not difficult and should be within the competence of many people. If not you can probably find an electrician who will do this for minimal cost.
From a well known trade/retail store
Note that BS546 plugs are mostly not fused. I believe they should only be used on BS546 radial circuits that are individually protected at the fusebox ("consumer unit")
A few fused variants are available:
from an online retailer
If you can find a source, you can buy an adapter
Assuming this plug (a BS 1363)
and this BS 546 socket
To convert a 1363 plug to a 546 socket, this fused adapter (13A) can be safely used:
Related Topic
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- Electrical – Is it safe to replace a lamp’s UK 5 amp round 3 pin plug with a 13 amp rectangular 3 pin plug
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Best Answer
3A lamp on 5A outlet
You should be OK to use a 3A appliance on a 5A circuit. The circuit is capable of supplying up to 5A but it is the individual appliance (lamp in this case) that determines how much current is drawn.
Round-pin plugs vs rectangular-pin plugs
Modern usage
I'm surprised a new home would have BS 546 round-pin plugs instead of the more usual BS 1363 rectangular-pin plugs.
Wikipedia says
Until now, I thought the only place where round-pin plugs were used was in theatrical stages, where I think they are used to prevent people plugging inappropriate devices into theatrical lighting circuits.
Safety
If the BS 546 plugs don't have built-in fuses, they don't provide any protection to the line-cord between the plug and the lamp.
BS 1363 plugs have additional safety features which may not be present in BS 546 plugs
For example a small child can poke their hands (or part of a metal toy) behind a loose BS 546 plug and be in contact with 230 V.