Cable sizes are not always what they seem. Yeterday, before swapping out the cable, i measured what I had previously used and confirmed that cheap budget brands are straight-up smaller than advertised!

For example, if you buy standard 2.5mm² cable:

• Premium brands: Measure around 1.78mm in conductor diameter (the correct math for 2.5mm² area). BCC and Yazaki

• Cheap brands: Often measure down to 1.4mm in diameter (which is actually closer to 1.5mm² area!).

Undersized copper means higher resistance, dangerous voltage drops, and a serious fire risk under heavy loads. Don't risk your safety, grab your digital calipers and verify your copper before installing it!

Stay away from anything Chinese. Safe with BC, CYW and Yazaki.

Edited 15 minutes ago15 min by novacova

Yeah, it's come up a few times that the budget cables are not always quite what they claim☹️

You really do tend to get what you pay for, copper isn't cheap.

Of course, there's nothing to stop you using a smaller breaker suited to the actual measured size.