Mains cable missing from box

Stephen Runnalls · 25 Dec 2020 at 11:39

Hi. I bought 2 pre-built gaming PCs from Overclockers - the boys opened the boxes this morning (Christmas day) and the mains cable has been left out in both. They are in tears. The spec says the box should include a Kolink AT/ATX "Kettle Plug" 1.2 5A Fuse Meter Mains Cable. It doesn't. I have kettle plugs that show 250v 10a, but I don't want to risk damaging the PCs and invalidating my warranty. Any advice on whether I can safely use 250v 10a power cable?

Space Monkey · 25 Dec 2020 at 11:45

Moved to GD as there's normally more people in here to give you an answer, just for today due to the circumstances

Terminal_Boy · 25 Dec 2020 at 11:45

That cable will be fine, it just has a higher rated fuse than recommended.

Rannoch · 25 Dec 2020 at 11:47

Will be fine.

Stephen Runnalls · 25 Dec 2020 at 11:48

Thanks Terminal Boy. Is there a danger that a power surge would damage the PC, though?

Space Monkey · 25 Dec 2020 at 11:49

Stephen Runnalls said:
Thanks Terminal Boy. Is there a danger that a power surge would damage the PC, though?

Do you have a 5A fuse in any other plugs to swap?

Stephen Runnalls · 25 Dec 2020 at 11:50

Thanks Space Monkey.

arknor · 25 Dec 2020 at 11:50

10amps is 2300watts? wouldn't it be better to use a lower rated fuse?

The PSU will have it's own fuse anyway right? and this was moved to GD so people can make fun of you most likely or because staff are eating Christmas dinners at home

Stephen Runnalls · 25 Dec 2020 at 11:51

So I should put a 5a fuse in the kettle plug then power up the PC?

Space Monkey · 25 Dec 2020 at 11:52

arknor said:
10amps is 2300watts? wouldn't it be better to use a lower rated fuse?

The PSU will have it's own fuse anyway right? and this was moved to GD so people can make fun of you most likely or because staff are eating Christmas dinners at home

No it wasn't :mad:

iamdjdz · 25 Dec 2020 at 11:53

That should be ok. And I disagree with arknor its because its highest footfall today.

Diddums · 25 Dec 2020 at 11:53

Stephen Runnalls said:
So I should put a 5a fuse in the kettle plug then power up the PC?

If possible, yes. But the power supplies will have their on fuses as well so you should be fine to just use it

Merry Christmas to you and your boys, lucky kids!

Terminal_Boy · 25 Dec 2020 at 11:53

Stephen Runnalls said:
Thanks Terminal Boy. Is there a danger that a power surge would damage the PC, though?

The fuse is there to stop the appliance at the kettle socket end from drawing too much current in the event that it develops a fault. As others have said, a 5A fuse from another plug would be better.

If you want to protect the PC from mains surges/spikes, buy a surge protector extension block.

Maccapacca · 25 Dec 2020 at 11:53

If you swapped the fuses for 5a fuses should be okay.

Diddums · 25 Dec 2020 at 11:55

If you're unsure, can you see what brand the PSUs are? We can probably find the spec sheet online which will give you 100% peace of mind.

arknor · 25 Dec 2020 at 11:57

Diddums said:
If you're unsure, can you see what brand the PSUs are? We can probably find the spec sheet online which will give you 100% peace of mind.

I think he only want's confirmation if he uses a 10amp fuse will ocuk void his warranties or not

just steal 5 or 6amp fuses from something else in your house, you must have something

Fuse just determines the maximum power draw before the fuse pops so unless something goes wrong

but the psu most likely have a fuse or some other fail-safe built in

Diddums · 25 Dec 2020 at 11:59

arknor said:
I think he only want's confirmation if he uses a 10amp fuse will ocuk void his warranties or not

just steal 5 or 6amp fuses from something else in your house, you must have something

Yeah probably. Given that it's just a cable, I couldn't think of a reason for OcUK to not honour the warranty provided there is a fuse built in to the PSU, but then I do not work for overclockers so this is purely a random person's comment.

chaparral · 25 Dec 2020 at 12:01

Diddums said:
If you're unsure, can you see what brand the PSUs are? We can probably find the spec sheet online which will give you 100% peace of mind.

Would just need to know the wattage of the PSUs to know what amp fuse to fit

arknor · 25 Dec 2020 at 12:03

chaparral said:
Would just need to know the wattage of the PSUs to know what amp fuse to fit

5amps is 1150watt more than enough for any PC surely? no one is running SLI anymore?
but he meant to check if the PSU has it's own fuse, not all do but the ones that don't probably have some other failsafe in them

Diddums · 25 Dec 2020 at 12:08

chaparral said:
Would just need to know the wattage of the PSUs to know what amp fuse to fit

I asked because many PSUs have their own fuse either in the back or inside the unit themselves, like this:

Mains cable missing from box

Tea Drinker