The MK Safety plug

[Bodo]

Feel free to amend more properties to the standards comparison.

	UK Plug	Schuko	US Plug
nominal power	2860W	3520W	1650W
socket compatibility	G	C, E & F	A
soft edges	No	Yes	No
advancing earth	Yes	Yes	No
unidirectional mounting	No	Yes	No
cost	high	lower	lowest
shutters	Yes	No	No
180° cable outlet	No	Yes	Yes
90° cable outlet	Yes	Yes	No
protected contacts when mating	Yes	Yes	No

[curlyks2]

Bodo said:

Feel free to amend more properties to the standards comparison.

	UK Plug	Schuko	US Plug
nominal power	2990W	3520W	1650W
socket compatibility	G	C, E & F	A
soft edges	No	Yes	No
advancing earth	Yes	Yes	No
unidirectional mounting	No	Yes	No
cost	high	lower	lowest
shutters	Yes	No	No
180° cable outlet	Yes*	Yes	Yes
90° cable outlet	Yes	Yes	No
protected contacts when mating	Yes	Yes	No

'* not common, but available for more industrial, folding and stupidly priced designs.

Edited by curlyks2 on Saturday 17th December 10:45

[Halmyre]

curlyks2 said:

Bodo said:

Feel free to amend more properties to the standards comparison.

	UK Plug	Schuko	US Plug
nominal power	2990W	3520W	1650W
socket compatibility	G	C, E & F	A
soft edges	No	Yes	No
advancing earth	Yes	Yes	No
unidirectional mounting	No	Yes	No
cost	high	lower	lowest
shutters	Yes	No	No
180° cable outlet	Yes*	Yes	Yes
90° cable outlet	Yes	Yes	No
protected contacts when mating	Yes	Yes	No

'* not common, but available for more industrial, folding and stupidly priced designs.

Edited by curlyks2 on Saturday 17th December 10:45

I clicked on that last link and was looking at the picture/price and thinking WTF, then realised what market it was aimed at...

[ruggedscotty]

Dr Doofenshmirtz said:

It's less likely to make your heart go into fibrillation (which is what ultimately kills you when you get an electric shock). So if you fancy grabbing the live and neutral wires with both hands...you'd better hope a defibrillator is nearby!
The higher the voltage, the more you screw up the hearts natural electrical impulses.

By the way...it's only 55v as referenced to ground - it's still 110v between live and neutral on a site transformer.
You can safely touch the live or neutral on a site transformer and not get a shock...but if you touch any two wires you will get a shock, be it 55v or 110v.

Safely touch live or neutral on a site transformer..... If I saw you do that Id have you red carded and thrown off site before you knew what had happened. Touching any electrical circuit conductor is a no no, no matter who says its safe or not. touching any energised conductor is totally mad.

On a site transformer that is centre tapped to ground there is still potential for a shock between the conductor if your not properly isolated from earth. You can be earthed in a number of ways even of you dont know it, and all it takes less than 0.1 on an amp to kill you. You might be lucky the current flow misses your heart, but then again you may not and that current flow stops your heart and bingo.

Is it really really worth it proving that you are right by being johnny big nappers and touching a line conductor ? In fact its not even a neutral as its not zero volts its 55v with reference to earth. As said it lowers the risk somewhat but it does not eliminate it. You also have to take into consideration that with alternating current there doesnt need to be a direct connection, the capacitative effects between you and the general mass of the earth can add to current flows that can give rise to hazardous situations.

Edited by ruggedscotty on Monday 26th December 14:48

[anonymous-user]

Concerned about the posts above.
I don't want anyone taking electric shocks to prove a point. As a matter of interest my other half uses a thing with batteries they are only 1.5 volts and there 2 of them but its still only 3 Volts. When she uses it I get concerned as with her facial contortions and the way she starts spasms its like she is having a heart attack.
And it's scary.
So no messing about with electric guys and damaging your health. In my case the salmonella from when she cooks the turkey will probably do for me.

[Halmyre]

techiedave said:

Concerned about the posts above.
I don't want anyone taking electric shocks to prove a point. As a matter of interest my other half uses a thing with batteries they are only 1.5 volts and there 2 of them but its still only 3 Volts. When she uses it I get concerned as with her facial contortions and the way she starts spasms its like she is having a heart attack.
And it's scary.
So no messing about with electric guys and damaging your health. In my case the salmonella from when she cooks the turkey will probably do for me.

Yes, my missus can't work the TV remote either.

[Some Guy]

I like using the Permaplug offering. As its rubber clad, it is also approved for industrial use and (mostly) unbreakable.

[anonymous-user]

Some Guy said:

I like using the Permaplug offering. As its rubber clad, it is also approved for industrial use and (mostly) unbreakable.

May I be the first to say that's one hell of a plug and its square block looks are something to behold.

[bristolracer]

techiedave said:

As a matter of interest my other half uses a thing with batteries they are only 1.5 volts and there 2 of them but its still only 3 Volts. When she uses it I get concerned as with her facial .

Mains powered magic wand is where its at these days.

[anonymous-user]

As the OP of this thread it was interesting to revisit it.
I never expected it to get the responses it got and genuinely and generally found most of the replies interesting.
Anyway its sort of timely (though maybe three weeks too late to mention this)

I went to a friends daughters house to set up her new Virgin self install kit. It soon became obvioyus why she was unable to do what the instructions said as the box was missing one of the actual cables. That was soon remedied.

Anyway half an hour later Virgin V6 box and of course the Tv service all installed and working
She commented on one set of her Xmas tree lights not working so I took a look
The plug they were wired to was the cheapest piece of crap I have seen. Sure it was the type you could open up but the terminals were cheap the quality of metal thin and to my surprise the fuse seemed soldered in with no indication of its value.
The plug though was labelled 3A
They were bought from a well known store too

Just goes to show - be safe and check

[dhutch]

V8A*ndy said:

techiedave said:

Plugs are not the most interesting subjects and most people won't give them a second thought but I'm referring to this :

It's a good looking plug. The terminals are a bit odd, but the extension my parents used to run their Christmas lights off had this type and part of Christmas routine included taking the plug off, passing it through the keyhole of the old front door and then re-wiring it. So from an early age I learnt on one just like it.

Always used round pin for the dimmer racks on the lighting rigs. Stops idiots plugging other stuff in.

Also mainly as they don't have a fuse in them, which for the application, is what you want. As said however they are slowly being replaced by 16a ceeforms. Certainly in the mobile/event world they are long gone.

Daniel

[anonymous-user]

This excellent and thought provoking thread was the best place to pop in this timely post.

Here we have Corporal Ashley who is about to assume porch light Christmas duties for the 33rd consecutive year at TD towers
Prior to that his duties involved at different times a Pye 20" TV a Hitachi Hi Fi music centre and I think a VHS video recorder at the earlier TD residence.

Corporal Ashley and Private Pifco (I think is the manufacturer) have been responsible for the porch lights since 1986.

Thank you

[Morningside]

techiedave said:

This excellent and thought provoking thread was the best place to pop in this timely post.

Here we have Corporal Ashley who is about to assume porch light Christmas duties for the 33rd consecutive year at TD towers
Prior to that his duties involved at different times a Pye 20" TV a Hitachi Hi Fi music centre and I think a VHS video recorder at the earlier TD residence.

Corporal Ashley and Private Pifco (I think is the manufacturer) have been responsible for the porch lights since 1986.

Thank you

Is that cable/cord/wire/lead (depending on your decade) mechanically secure?

added: I can remember putting on plugs to a couple of boxes full of computer power cables way back in 1982 on a YTS scheme.

Edited by Morningside on Sunday 1st December 15:52

[Mr Pointy]

techiedave said:

Concerned about the posts above.
I don't want anyone taking electric shocks to prove a point. As a matter of interest my other half uses a thing with batteries they are only 1.5 volts and there 2 of them but its still only 3 Volts. When she uses it I get concerned as with her facial contortions and the way she starts spasms its like she is having a heart attack.
And it's scary.
So no messing about with electric guys and damaging your health. In my case the salmonella from when she cooks the turkey will probably do for me.

Well fortunately someone's taken the shocks for us: step up Big Clive (all hail) with a video titled 'Can I let go of 10mA mains (240V 50Hz) current?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5R-KBa18ME

You'll need to sign in to see this one as he didn't some kid frying themselves trying to copy him.

[anonymous-user]

Morningside said:

Is that cable/cord/wire/lead (depending on your decade) mechanically secure?

added: I can remember putting on plugs to a couple of boxes full of computer power cables way back in 1982 on a YTS scheme.

Edited by anonymous-user on Sunday 1st December 15:52

Thank you for the concern and the observation of the picture.
Yes the wires go through a strong cord grip. I must confess that the pins are not sleeved so care is taken when inserting and more importantly withdrawing the plug.
It just gives me a smile when I take these out of the box each year.

[Morningside]

techiedave said:

Morningside said:

Is that cable/cord/wire/lead (depending on your decade) mechanically secure?

added: I can remember putting on plugs to a couple of boxes full of computer power cables way back in 1982 on a YTS scheme.

Edited by Morningside on Sunday 1st December 15:52

Thank you for the concern and the observation of the picture.
Yes the wires go through a strong cord grip. I must confess that the pins are not sleeved so care is taken when inserting and more importantly withdrawing the plug.
It just gives me a smile when I take these out of the box each year.

Thanks, it wasn't a complaint or attack it's just over the years I've seen some shocking (no pun intended) wiring. Worse one being an electric light in someones shed supplied by bell wire and coax joined by twisting the wires and Sellotaped!

[anonymous-user]

Morningside said:

Thanks, it wasn't a complaint or attack it's just over the years I've seen some shocking (no pun intended) wiring. Worse one being an electric light in someones shed supplied by bell wire and coax joined by twisting the wires and Sellotaped!

Never thought anything of it for a moment.
Though the wires do look like they shouldn’t go directly into a plug don’t they its like they are missing the outer sheaf. Funnily enough I have seen several plugs wired up with the brown and white going into the plug and the white sheathing terminating a few inches below

When I was 11 going into 12 I remember one Xmas one set of lights going off on the tree. I was interested in electrics at an earlier age and thought I can fix this.
These were the older sets that when a bulb went they all went off No safety white bulbs back in that time

Anyways I unscrewed and each bulb and looked closely at the elements all seemed fine (It was only a set of 12) I then put the bulbs back and pressed at the wire entry on each one and found the culprit.
I know I pulled the plug at that point as I had to unscrew the front part of the outer coloured shell.
My idea was that the wires must be loose at the bulb holder and so when soldered back would be fine. Sure enough one wire was loose. I don’t know why exactly but I plugged them back in to double check and sure enough just putting the wire to the holder they came back to life. I knew the wire needed stripping back slightly and ended up using scissors – metal handed scissors.

The shock was very noticeable but not overpowering. Just very unpleasant. When I unplugged the set again. I was more careful, stripped the wire back slightly soldered it to the bulb holder screwed the front and back of the holder together screwed in bulb and they worked, I was quite pleased with myself. Remember it very well
Funnily enough remember that on the TV there was an Xmas episode of Upstairs Downstairs that I always remember parts of.

I have seen some badly wired sockets in my time too. It’s also quite interesting how many people think extending a cable that runs under the carpet is ok and just use insulation type tape for the join.

[Gary C]

davepoth said:

griffgrog said:

I absolutley loath the UK 13A plug. They're huge and are responsable for no end of damage in laptop bags etc. I wish we had the euro stuff over here. So much smaller and more compact.

Euro plugs are awful. US plugs are a death trap. UK plugs are to my mind the best in the world.

Totally agree. Best in the world. How any country can have a plug where the lead usually comes out at 90deg to the wall so the weight of the cable tends to pull the flimsy plug out of the socket always baffles me.

The only problem with the 13A UK plug is

They hurt when you stand on them !!!

[dhutch]

techiedave said:

This excellent and thought provoking thread was the best place to pop in this timely post......

Corporal Ashley and Private Pifco .....

Excellent.

My parents still have similar period and likely brand miniature tree lights, used annually on the tree, but as they away where; turned off unless someone is in the room with them. These days we also often put an LED set on as well, which giving out less heat is likely safer to leave on unattended.

As a child I also grew up with a set of Pifco coloured outdoor lights, substantially made rubber cabled set using the 'olive' shape miniature candle MES bulbs which would have been new at around my birth, and that through my teens become increasingly unreliable as the rubber seals perished and the internals corroded. These were replaced with a new direct replacement set but the quality was awful and the only did a few seasons. They are not on the generic 'indoor outdoor' LED string lights which a cheap and chips but only last a few years, give a very different look and feel, and tend to flash/chase unless you ask them very nicely indeed to not do that! The only other option appears to the much larger industrial type festoon lights with either golf ball or gls bulbs.

To me these 'vintage' sets are still what tree lights should look like, a lovely warm light, delicate in size, but also well spaced so when wrap they appear as individual lights rather than a string of lights.

[AlexC1981]

OP, I was just putting away some 80s computers I had out and I thought you might appreciate a group shot.