Pub Question: Plug Sockets
Discussion
JCollins said:
Am bored s
tless waiting for my flight from Morocco back to the UK and was wondering, who originally chose the design of plug outlets for different parts of the world and how?
Yes I know it's a silly question.
It's an interesting question and not far removed from another excellent topic. You may find it an interesting read.tless waiting for my flight from Morocco back to the UK and was wondering, who originally chose the design of plug outlets for different parts of the world and how?Yes I know it's a silly question.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
techiedave said:
It's an interesting question and not far removed from another excellent topic. You may find it an interesting read.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Cheershttps://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
About twenty five years a supposed universal standard was devised which I think was called type M or N but it didn't catch on.
British plugs and sockets are thought to be safer because the plug is nearly always fused and the plug is designed so that if correctly wired because the live and neutral wires are shorter than the earth the risks of electrocution are minimised
British plugs and sockets are thought to be safer because the plug is nearly always fused and the plug is designed so that if correctly wired because the live and neutral wires are shorter than the earth the risks of electrocution are minimised
The British Standard plug is the finest design in the world. Sub fused with a safety earth. Robust body and chunky brass contacts that seat solidly in the socket. Not like these namby pamby foreign things with piddly little pins that wobble about in the socket and fall out at the drop of a hat!
Oldandslow said:
They are now. I was shocked(figuratively) when trying out my deceased FIL's old cine projector to see full length brass pins on it.
I've given myself a shock with those types - I'm always careful not to loop a finger under the plug when inserting or removing it now - that's a mistake you only make once. Or twice in my case.foxbody-87 said:
The British Standard plug is the finest design in the world. Sub fused with a safety earth. Robust body and chunky brass contacts that seat solidly in the socket. Not like these namby pamby foreign things with piddly little pins that wobble about in the socket and fall out at the drop of a hat!
And yet people in France, Germany, Italy, even the USA, manage to plug in and disconnect appliances without electrocuting themselves on a daily basis. Strange, if the designs used everywhere else were so dangerous you'd expect there to be thousands of deaths caused by them.foxbody-87 said:
The British Standard plug is the finest design in the world. Sub fused with a safety earth. Robust body and chunky brass contacts that seat solidly in the socket. Not like these namby pamby foreign things with piddly little pins that wobble about in the socket and fall out at the drop of a hat!
The reason we have a fuse is because it's a ring main - it NEEDS to. Homes in mainland Europe and the US aren't so cheaply designed (it was due to copper shortages post WW2 really). The Schuko plug is just as robust in its socket as the UK plug, but I do appreciate the external switch we have. The US one falls out whenever it wants to...
It doesn't help ours are a natural caltrop though...done that before
FreeLitres said:
Worst "I'm in Morocco" thread ever!
No this is this worst “I’m in Morocco” thread ever:https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
GroundEffect said:
The reason we have a fuse is because it's a ring main - it NEEDS to. Homes in mainland Europe and the US aren't so cheaply designed (it was due to copper shortages post WW2 really).
The Schuko plug is just as robust in its socket as the UK plug, but I do appreciate the external switch we have. The US one falls out whenever it wants to...
It doesn't help ours are a natural caltrop though...done that before
What is it about a ring main means it needs a fuse? And why is it cheap compared to Europe? What's the difference?The Schuko plug is just as robust in its socket as the UK plug, but I do appreciate the external switch we have. The US one falls out whenever it wants to...
It doesn't help ours are a natural caltrop though...done that before
The UK plugs need a fuse to protect the wiring from the plug to the appliance in the event of a short circuit in the appliance. The amount of power available in a 32A ring final circuit is more than enough to ignite the smallest cable size used for appliances, fitting a maximum 13A fuse in the plug guards against this sort of cable fire.
Where ring final circuits are not used i.e. radial circuits the plug is typically not fused as the protection is in the consumer unit and limited to 16A.
Ring final circuits are cheaper in material costs compared to radial but add more cost in the plug due to the fuse being required. From a consumer point of view it is more work/cost as when the fuse blows it needs to replaced instead of just flicking a circuit breaker in a radial circuit.
And UK 3 pin plugs are used in lots of places where the UK has had lots of influence.
https://www.iec.ch/worldplugs/list_bylocation.htm
Where ring final circuits are not used i.e. radial circuits the plug is typically not fused as the protection is in the consumer unit and limited to 16A.
Ring final circuits are cheaper in material costs compared to radial but add more cost in the plug due to the fuse being required. From a consumer point of view it is more work/cost as when the fuse blows it needs to replaced instead of just flicking a circuit breaker in a radial circuit.
And UK 3 pin plugs are used in lots of places where the UK has had lots of influence.
https://www.iec.ch/worldplugs/list_bylocation.htm
JCollins said:
Am bored stless waiting for my flight from Morocco back to the UK and was wondering, who originally chose the design of plug outlets for different parts of the world and how?
Yes I know it's a silly question.
If I understood the question, I think most countries either designed their own plugs based on their own requirements or simply borrowed someone else's. To know exactly why and how would depend on the country, govt at the time, et al.tless waiting for my flight from Morocco back to the UK and was wondering, who originally chose the design of plug outlets for different parts of the world and how?Yes I know it's a silly question.
A lot of countries use the US NEMA 1 or 5 standard, Ex-UK colonies often use the UK's BS 1363, Australia and NZ use the AS/NZS 3112 which is very similar to one China "developed" later so you can usually use Australian plugs in China and Europe uses CEE 7. Some countries (notably Thailand) use a combination US/EU style plug that can take both EU and US 2 pin plugs.
I like how the US 3 pin sockets look like a shocked face... "you wanna put what in me"
foxbody-87 said:
The British Standard plug is the finest design in the world. Sub fused with a safety earth. Robust body and chunky brass contacts that seat solidly in the socket. Not like these namby pamby foreign things with piddly little pins that wobble about in the socket and fall out at the drop of a hat!
The BS 1363 is the worlds safest plug electrically... but causes the most foot injuries. They are stupidly over-engineered for modern use. The AS/NZS 3112 plug won't fall out of a socket, in fact they were designed to require a bit of force to dislodge and won't go through your shoe if you tread on one.
Only the old US NEMA 1 plugs (2 pin) had a bad reputation for falling out, the US updated this design decades ago with NEMA 5 (3 pin) which fixed the problem.
As a side note, BS 1363 plugs will happily fall out of the wall if you've got enough weight on them... like a 200g universal power adapter.
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