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Replacing Amp's Power Cable (help)


eddi
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Hey all,

thanks in advance for the support as I know nothing about electrical stuff. Long story short: my amp's power cable has gone missing after a show with my band and I need a replacement. I'm guessing not all cables are interchangeable and I probably need a specific one, but I have no idea where to start! I own a Tc Electronix BG250-208, on the amp's socket i can see "100-240VAC 50-60 Hz, 70W @ 1/8 Max Power".

Any tip or link to suitable cables is much appreciated!
Thank you so much,
Ed

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5 hours ago, bertbass said:

Thanks for posting that - just reminded me that I needed another kettle lead... 

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45 minutes ago, jacko said:

that's an interesting one cos I've never had an electric kettle that had a removable cable. 

You must be very young then, and only seen cordless kettles ie those with a base and a removable jug. There used to be another type of kettle where the jug was not cordless. Instead of being permanently wired to its lead, there was a separate lead with a connector technically known as IEC60320 variation C15 (on the lead)/C16 (on the appliance inlet). C15/C16 is the notched variation, for high temperature applications (.......such as a kettle), however the very similar looking one without the notch, C13/C14 (lead and inlet respectively) became widely, but technically incorrectly, known as a "kettle lead".

AFAIK a C15 variation will normally go into the C14 inlet although it might be ever-so-slightly bigger, because the notch is designed to prevent a C13 lead (not high-temperature specification) going into a C16 inlet (ie appliance requiring high-temperature variation specification) so is keyed as such.

 

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45 minutes ago, paul_c2 said:

You must be very young then, and only seen cordless kettles ie those with a base and a removable jug.

 

Thanks for that. 58 last month so any compliment is welcome.  We only ever had copper kettles for the gas stove till about 20 years ago when I couldn't afford to replace the last one.  All the electrics we've had (and seen) since have had bases.  

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Thought we were talking about Kettles :scratch_one-s_head:  Saying that though, when did amps start getting kettle leads?  Certainly my first few up to around 1994 all had hard wired cables - HH, Marshall, Carlsbro and a laney linebacker.  First seperate lead I got was on a Trace 1210 combo I bought new in 1995.

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My first ever amp, a Carlsbro 90, had a kettle lead. I remember, because I went to "band practice" once and forgot the power lead. So we borrowed the one off the kettle. The sister of the keyboard player came downstairs to make a cup of tea, we had to pause the rehearsal for 5 mins while the kettle boiled......

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Proper kettle leads can take higher temperatures and have a little cutout. Ordinary ones without the cutout won't fit into things like kettles, ovens and fryers that get hot.

But you can fit the high temperature ones in ordinary low-temperature goods.

Not a lot of people know that.

From wikipedia:

C13 C14 IEC 60320 C13.svg 14 (H)
4 (V)
Yes I Yes 10 70 Very common on personal computers and peripherals. Commonly but incorrectly referred to as a "kettle cord", but kettles actually require the C15/C16.
C15 C16 IEC 60320 C15.svg 14 (H)
4 (V)
Yes I Yes 10 120 For use in high-temperature settings (for example, electric kettle, computer networking closets). Also used in Cisco Catalyst series switches, Cisco MDS9500 series rack-mounted SAN switches,[15] HP Procurve switches, Dell PowerConnect switches and early Xbox 360 power supplies.
C15A C16A IEC 60320 C15A.svg 14 (H)
4 (V)
Yes I Yes 10 155 For use in very-high-temperature settings, such as some stage lighting instruments. Similar to C15/C16, but the top is narrowed to exclude the C15 cord connector.
Edited by Stub Mandrel
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Now this is actually helpful for me cos I've got a whole stash of kettle leads, some working, some faulty. 

I meant to get some replacements on weekend but just flopped in the sun instead. 

My question is what sort of fuse rating are we meant to be using for bass amps, PA powered speakers, stage lights and the like? 

Ivw always just used whatever is available but pretty sure there's more science to it than that! 

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2 hours ago, bassbiscuits said:

My question is what sort of fuse rating are we meant to be using for bass amps, PA powered speakers, stage lights and the like? 

I've always just used whatever is available but pretty sure there's more science to it than that! 

The current drawn by a device is worked out by the formula I=P/V where 'I' is the current (in Amps), 'P' is the power (in Watts) and 'V' is the voltage (in Volts). So in the case of the OP the amplifier is 250W at 240V which means it draws just over 1 Amp (250/240 = 1.04A) current.  Depending on the inrush of the amp when it is first turned on, I would suggest either a 3A or 5A fuse would be adequate. These should do most equipment as you need to remember two things; one is the amp will probably already have a factory fitted on-board fuse to protect from any overcurrent due to an internal short circuit etc and the second is the fuse in the plug protects the cable and not the device as commonly thought. The cable will almost certainly be capable of handling up to 13A continuously so by using a better matched fuse, any surge on your electrical system will be cleared by the plug fuse long before the power cable starts to get stressed and potentially overheat.

Hope this helps.

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7 hours ago, Ashweb said:

The current drawn by a device is worked out by the formula I=P/V where 'I' is the current (in Amps), 'P' is the power (in Watts) and 'V' is the voltage (in Volts). So in the case of the OP the amplifier is 250W at 240V which means it draws just over 1 Amp (250/240 = 1.04A) current.  Depending on the inrush of the amp when it is first turned on, I would suggest either a 3A or 5A fuse would be adequate. These should do most equipment as you need to remember two things; one is the amp will probably already have a factory fitted on-board fuse to protect from any overcurrent due to an internal short circuit etc and the second is the fuse in the plug protects the cable and not the device as commonly thought. The cable will almost certainly be capable of handling up to 13A continuously so by using a better matched fuse, any surge on your electrical system will be cleared by the plug fuse long before the power cable starts to get stressed and potentially overheat.

Hope this helps.

Thanks Ashweb, that's nice and clear - much appreciated!

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