It happens that people suddenly need to protect themselves and their automatic washing machine from short circuits and electric shocks. At the same time, of course, no one wants to redo electrical communications. I want to stay with the old socket and battered two-core aluminum wiring without ground, while somehow protecting myself. And so, the market responded to the wishes of customers by launching an extension cord with an RCD for automatic washing machines. Can such an extension cord really protect someone? Read the article on how to choose such an extension cord with an RCD.
How useful is such a device?
First, let's figure out how useful an extension cord with an RCD is for a person in general and for a washing machine. washing machines in particular. An extension cord with an RCD is essentially an ordinary extension cord, the body of which has a built-in protective power switch. In the event of an overload in the electrical circuit caused by various reasons, the RCD urgently opens the circuit, de-energizing it.
In principle, it’s not bad if you use such a device somewhere on a construction site or during repairs to connect a hammer drill, grinder and other power tools. But we need to figure out the question: can such an extension cord be used to connect a washing machine? As a general rule, you can't. The fact is that a washing machine is a large consumer of electricity, which must be connected to a separate moisture-resistant socket protected by an RCD, and even so that the power supply to the socket cable section had the right one.
The problem is that the washing machine does not produce a peak of power immediately, but at the end of the program during the spin cycle.At the same time, trouble can occur with the wrong socket and wiring.
In our case, there is an ungrounded “ancient” outlet with aluminum wiring, an extension cord with an RCD connected to it, and a washing machine is already connected to this extension cord. No matter how you look at it, the weak link in this chain is the socket and extension cord with an RCD here, “...what a poultice for a dead person...”. In this situation, three negative outcomes are possible:
the circuit will break and the person will simply be electrocuted at the moment when, unfortunately for him, he touches the body of the washing machine, and the RCD will trip late;
an overload will occur in the circuit, which can ignite the wiring and the socket itself, while the chances that the RCD will trip and prevent a fire are 50/50;
a voltage drop will occur in the circuit, literally in a second it can burn out at least the washing machine's power filter, or at most the control board. The automatic washing machine will stop working, and the RCD will not react to this at all.
Well, do you think there is much benefit from an extension cord with an RCD that you equip your washing machine with? We think that, of course, there are benefits, but we also need to think about redesigning the socket with electrical wiring - there’s no way around it.
Features of choice
If you are convinced of the need to purchase an extension cord for an automatic washing machine with protection, you can, casting aside doubts, immediately proceed to discussing the features of choosing this item.
You can connect the washing machine through an extension cord that can connect the outlet to the power cord of the washing machine, that is, the device itself must have a power cord of sufficient length.
Extension cords with RCD lengths are available for sale:
1.5 meters.
2.5 meters.
3 meters.
5 meters.
It is quite rare, but you can still find extension cords with RCDs, in which the network wire has a length of 8, 10, 15 and 18 meters. Such extension cords, of course, are not used for domestic purposes. They belong somewhere on a construction site, however, the situations are different, so we found it necessary to mention them too.
Be careful! Some unscrupulous Chinese entrepreneurs supply extension cords with RCDs containing power cords with thin aluminum wiring. Such devices are potentially dangerous and should be avoided.
Next, you need to think about the cross-section of the extension cord for the automatic washing machine, as well as the maximum load that it can “hold.” Most RCD extension cords have 1.5 to 2.5mm copper cable rated at 3500W. Considering that most washing machines have a power in the range of 2000-2500 W, such extension cords are quite suitable for our purposes and there is nothing to choose here.
Review of similar devices
We have already figured out that you can purchase almost any extension cord with an RCD, and it will be suitable for our purposes. The exceptions are extension cords with too long power cords and low-quality devices, but we won’t talk more about them. Still, through which extension cord with protection is it better to connect the washing machine? What device do we need? A review of extension cords with RCDs that can be bought on the market today will help you understand this issue. Let's give this review.
Extension cord with RCD Brennenstuhl. This is a very high quality device made in Germany. It is characterized by excellent copper wiring, a sensitive, adjustable RCD, a moisture-proof plug, and a good switch with an indicator. Disadvantages: high price, minimum wire length 5 m, bright black and yellow colors.
Electrical extension cord with RCD UB-17-u. This is a Russian-made extension cord from the RVM Electromarket company. The device is 16A, cable cross-section is 1.5 mm, the RCD is sensitive, it triggers in a second. Power 3500 W. Disadvantages: the color of the cable and block with sockets is black, and the plug is red, the wire length is at least 10 meters.
Electrical extension cord with RCD UB-19-u. The device is from the same company, but with slightly different characteristics. 16A, 2.5 mm cable, waterproof plug, power 3500 W. The disadvantages are the same.
That's probably all. Our specialists were unable to find more good extension cords with RCDs on the market. Everyone comes across some kind of consumer goods that are simply dangerous to use. We hope that more such electrics will appear in the near future and their quality will be better.
To summarize, let us note, is it possible to connect an automatic washing machine through an extension cord equipped with an RCD? Conditionally it is possible, but whether it is of any use is questionable. If you want your washing machine to work for a long time and safely, you should not rely only on an extension cord with an RCD. Make a normal outlet with grounding, and install high-quality wiring to it directly from the panel, and then you can say for sure that everything will be fine!
It happens that people suddenly need to protect themselves and their automatic washing machine from short circuits and electric shocks. At the same time, of course, no one wants to redo electrical communications. I want to stay with the old socket and battered two-core aluminum wiring without ground, while somehow protecting myself. And so, the market responded to the wishes of customers by launching an extension cord with an RCD for automatic washing machines. Can such an extension cord really protect someone? Read the article on how to choose such an extension cord with an RCD.
washing machines in particular. An extension cord with an RCD is essentially an ordinary extension cord, the body of which has a built-in protective power switch. In the event of an overload in the electrical circuit caused by various reasons, the RCD urgently opens the circuit, de-energizing it.
Doesn’t a washing machine produce its peak power when the water heats up (heating element)?
Of course, when it warms up. And during the spin cycle, only the motor and pump work. Well, maybe a machine with a drying function.