Power draw threshold limits for UK socket

[Erina]

I have an electric blanket which works on the bassis of halves i.e. my wife and I can control our respective half of the bed, very much like how an induction hob works, it really is night and day.

This system as such requires two power outlets to plug into, and whilst we have two available nearby power outlets in the wall, we use a single power plug and I was wondering how safe this was ?

The reading I get from one plug (i.e. half of the electric blanket) on the favoured medium setting is:

• Volts : 233.8
• Amps : 0.212~0.267
• Watts (hi) : 0.1
• Watts (low) : 61.3

If you could imagine a doubling of this on one plug socket, how safe would this be ?

More to the point what is “safe”, and how do I calculate it please ?

[exchemist]

54 minutes ago, Erina said:

I have an electric blanket which works on the bassis of halves i.e. my wife and I can control our respective half of the bed, very much like how an induction hob works, it really is night and day.

This system as such requires two power outlets to plug into, and whilst we have two available nearby power outlets in the wall, we use a single power plug and I was wondering how safe this was ?

The reading I get from one plug (i.e. half of the electric blanket) on the favoured medium setting is:

• Volts : 233.8
• Amps : 0.212~0.267
• Watts (hi) : 0.1
• Watts (low) : 61.3

If you could imagine a doubling of this on one plug socket, how safe would this be ?

More to the point what is “safe”, and how do I calculate it please ?

Since this is a UK adaptor, I would expect it to be fused. That would stop it drawing a current that was unsafely high. The lowest fuse setting in the UK typically is 5 amps and the highest 13amps. 13amps at 240V corresponds (W =Vi)  to 3kW - enough for a powerful electric fire or kettle. If your blanket is drawing no more than 60W each side then the combination is 120W which draws a current of 0.5 amps. This is equivalent to 2 bedside lights and is well within any safety limit - and any fuse that may be fitted in the adaptor.

    

[mistermack]

The weakness of these kind of adapters is the nature of the removable electrical connection. When the connectors get old and tired, you can sometimes get a poor connection that involves intermittent arcing, and that generates far more heat than the unit is designed for.  So best practice is to keep the plugging in and out to the minimum, and test the unit regularly by feeling it, to see if it ever feels warm or hot.