Talk:Overcurrent

	Engineering portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Electrical engineering, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Electrical engineering on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.Electrical engineeringWikipedia:WikiProject Electrical engineeringTemplate:WikiProject Electrical engineeringelectrical engineering articles
Mid	This article has been rated as Mid-importance on the project's importance scale.

Normal and harmless

AIUI overcurrent is current above the rating of the device, eg cable. Overcurrent in domestic wiring is normal, and does not in most cases cause any risk of fire or melting.

Many appliances consume a gulp of high current when switched on
Fuses & breakers dont act until substantial overcurrent occurs, and it is common, especially in British ring circuits, for short term overcurrent to occur. And since it does not cause any increase in fire, it causes no risk IRL. This is due to cable thermal capacity, and to some extent the difference between rated ampacity and real world ampacity.

Tabby (talk) 11:13, 31 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]