trying to understand amp limits? (10 vs 15 vs 16A)

[indi]

I originally asked about this on a wacom forum, but I realized this is more a general electronic question than about the device itself.

I bought a cintiq 21ux recently, (basically a very expensive drawing tablet). Long story short - it unfortunately has a European plug, labeled 250V/16A

I went out to buy a European to US plug adapter, because the cintiq itself is able to automatically convert from 250 to 120V; however I never checked the details of the plug adapter til I got home; it says 250V/10A

THEN I checked my circuit breaker box, for outlets it says 15A; the extension cord in my room says 15A max. (sighs)

I'm wondering if the three of these are at all compatible in some way? [[EDIT: by that I mean, the possibility of buying a different plug converter is open for this to be true!]] For some reason I thought you had to match amps of an appliance to the circuit breaker amps, otherwise it wouldn't work for whatever reason, but I'm REALLY new to this stuff. ....
Well, most of all, it comes down to: will it be possible/PRACTICAL to use my cintiq in my apartment? (I think a transformer is a possibility to make it work for 3 hours at a time, but I could never have the patience for that) or am I better off with the american version, which will involve a lot of work for me to obtain (but no need for an adapter)?

Sorry if this isn't the right place to ask - I saw "circuit help" and just jumped here..

 

[davenn]

I went out to buy a European to US plug adapter, because the cintiq itself is able to automatically convert from 250 to 120V; however I never checked the details of the plug adapter til I got home; it says 250V/10A

those markings on the plug are the max current ratings for those voltages
it DOES NOT mean that there is 15 or 10 or whatever amps going through the plug, house wiring all the time

For some reason I thought you had to match amps of an appliance to the circuit breaker amps, otherwise it wouldn't work for whatever reason, but I'm REALLY new to this stuff. ....

NO, you match the voltages. The device will draw whatever amps when it's connected to the correct voltage
for example your tablet may only draw 0.5 A or say 1A at 250V from the mains power wall socket


As long as your tablet get's its correct voltage you have no problems


Dave

 

[indi]

those markings on the plug are the max current ratings for those voltages
it DOES NOT mean that there is 15 or 10 or whatever amps going through the plug, house wiring all the time



NO, you match the voltages. The device will draw whatever amps when it's connected to the correct voltage
for example your tablet may only draw 0.5 A or say 1A at 250V from the mains power wall socket


As long as your tablet get's its correct voltage you have no problems


Dave

Oh wow, thanks for clearing that up.
So I should be safe putting the 16A into the 10A converter into the 15A socket? (sorry, I really want to be sure I don't misunderstand and break the tablet )

 

[davenn]

The converter will have a rating on it

115 VAC in
250 VAC 5A out
or something like that

what does ur one say ?

 

[indi]

The converter will have a rating on it

115 VAC in
250 VAC 5A out
or something like that

what does ur one say ?

Hmm
All it says is 10A/250V ~max , nothing with VAC or in/out anywhere
Ohhh but on the box it does say 'designed for use with dual-voltage devices' so I think that suffices ?

 

[BobK]

Where are you getting this 250V 10A rating? There is no way that is the rating for the power supply to the tablet. If it were using that much power (2500W) it would be hotter than a space heaters, and could not be powered from a standard US outlet (120V 15A max).

Can you show us a pic of whatever you are reading this rating from?

Bob

 

[Rani Abalos]

250v/10A is the plug rating which means that plug can handle such. It isn't your device rating. Your outlets handle 15A Max. Your cintiq consumes 54 watts. If you're in north America where outlets are 115vac, I=P/E, 54/115= 0.47 Amp only. So there's nothing to worry.

 

[indi]

Where are you getting this 250V 10A rating? There is no way that is the rating for the power supply to the tablet. If it were using that much power (2500W) it would be hotter than a space heaters, and could not be powered from a standard US outlet (120V 15A max).

Can you show us a pic of whatever you are reading this rating from?

Bob

Oh - sorry if things got a little jumbled. Summarized:

Tablet info: Input: 100 - 240 VAC, 50 Hz/60 Hz Output: 12 VDC, 6.0 A max.
Plug converter info: all it says on the plug is 250V/10A max ; then on the box it says "designed for use with dual-voltage devices or a voltage converter"
My outlet info: 15A max load
Circuit breaker: 15A

 

[indi]

250v/10A is the plug rating which means that plug can handle such. It isn't your device rating. Your outlets handle 15A Max. Your cintiq consumes 54 watts. If you're in north America where outlets are 115vac, I=P/E, 54/115= 0.47 Amp only. So there's nothing to worry.

Ok. Thank you... Still trying to wrap my head around all this.

 

[BobK]

Okay. Alll you need to do is use a plug converter, not a transformer. Or just clip off the plug and put a standard 120V plug on it if you do not intend to use it on 240V again. Any amp rating will do, your device will only draw about 1A or less at 120V.

Bob

 

[Tha fios agaibh]

A common point of confusion is the difference between nominal voltage and rated voltage.
Nominal voltage is the voltage a device or equipment is designated to run on. (The voltage the load should run on)

Rated voltage is the maximum voltage that can be safely handled. (Usually pertaining to the plug or conductors)

As Rani said, the plug is rated for 250v.
The tablet in this case will take any voltage from 100-240, but usually a nominal voltage is 120v (North America) or 230v (European)

John

 

[Dexterextra]

Hello first post here, I am a professional electrician 40+ years experience and have a brand new Cintiq 16 pro also.
Tablet info: Input: 100 - 240 VAC, 50 Hz/60 Hz Output: 12 VDC, 6.0 A max.
(copied tablet info from OP)
Multivolt rating of 100-240v (@50-60hz frequency) is adaptable to Line voltage (aka mains) power supplies almost anywhere in the world.
all you need is an adapter with an IEC320C13 (female socket) or IEC#@)C149male plug) on one end and the correct male plug on the other end to go into your appropriate female wall socket (mains/line voltage socket). 110-120V socket in the USA is the Nema 5-15R (receptacle) and accepts a 5-15P (plug end)
Note Nema 5-20P may be present ,Ok to plug a 15A plug into it, it will fit, your device will only draw the amperage it needs, as long as it is working right
Here are pictures of all the plugs:https://www.cablestogo.com/learning/connector-guides/power
You can cut the wall plug off and put the correct one on, but you must know for sure which wire is which and what goes where, AND have the tools/materials to do so safely and securely.
OR; just go and buy the correctly configured cord. In USA ask for a IEC32013 female x Nema 5-15P male cord. I have a box where I throw extra cords and wires for computers and electronics I bought that I didn't need when I bought stuff, there was a brand new correct cord in a bag there.....Score!

BTW: Circuit breakers are only to protect the wire in your home/office walls, they are not there to protect YOU or your equipment, only a fuse can protect equipment, they are failsafe devices, circuit breakers are not failsafe, they can fail to function and allow damaging levels of current to pass before they trip.
Only a GFCI is designed to protect YOU.

 

[Harald Kapp]

@Dexterextra This is an old thread from 2015. Did you notice?

 

[Dexterextra]

YES I was looking for other information

 

[Bluejets]

BTW: Circuit breakers are only to protect the wire in your home/office walls, they are not there to protect YOU or your equipment, only a fuse can protect equipment, they are failsafe devices, circuit breakers are not failsafe, they can fail to function and allow damaging levels of current to pass before they trip.

No truth in that comment what-so-ever.

Any "professional electrician" worth his salt would never make such a ludicrous claim.

I am a qualified lecky,and contractor with many extra post trade certifications and 50 years experience however, I've never had to make a claim that I was in any way, to be considered a professional or expert.

Simply lecky does the job thank you.

I've no doubt you'll jump up and down and complain, however, it is a fact, the more most complain in these instances, the more the fact is proven.

 

[Martaine2005]

There is actually a lot of truth in @Dexterextra ’s statement.
Fuses are a one time safety device to stop massive currents over loading the exsisting house wiring and causing heating/melting or fire.
The circuit breaker is very similar only re-settable. It is essentially to protect the house wiring from burning down the house.
The RCD and now GFI and GCFI for example, are more user/human friendly devices that protect us too.
All this I know you are aware of but his statement still stands.
I think over the pond you have 5mA GCFI’s?. I still have RCD in my place, 30mA.
If I cut a cable with RCD off, my unit still trips because it sees a neutral to earth fault.

Martin

 

[Tha fios agaibh]

I agree (in part) with Dexterextra.
Perhaps not the best choice of words, but I wouldn't call the entire claim ludicrous.

The primary role of a circuit breaker is to protect the home wiring in a residential setting.
In some cases they are required to have protections for people but they can also help protect equipment.

Usually protection of equipment is accomplished in or near the equipment itself downstream to a larger breaker (or fuse) supplying the branch circuit protecting the wiring from overload. So a circuit breaker can protect equipment but it's usually supplemental.

I agree fuses are faster at opening and often desired over the convenience of a resettable circuit breaker but both are widely considered safe over current protection.

The trouble with speaking in general terms to a wide and varied field, is pedantic folks will take umbrage.

 

[Martaine2005]

No umbridge or offence taken.

 

[Harald Kapp]

Umbrage?
Or rather Dolores U.?

 

[Martaine2005]

D J Umbridge..
But I meant umbrage..

I have no way of editing a post on this iphone once posted. So my typos and mistakes have to stay!. Sorry about that.