Plugs already included with appliances

[Adam_151]

There is also the reality of products being shipped into the UK with what appear to be 13A plugs but NO fuses or fuse holder .......

Theres also the reality of finding (in commericial buildings) such dodgy equipment that has been through a round of PAT and now has a "Pass" sticker on it, presumbaly because the guy going it has been tought to plug it into the machine, press go and then look at what the screen says. Including an IEC mains cable with no earth continuity (presumably they put it through as a class 2 appliance rather than a lead).

Unfortunatly PAT has been reduced to a compliance box ticking excercise...

 

[JohnW2]

Anyone remember the days when things electrical were commonly sold without a plug and you fitted your own.

"Commonly"? Wasn't it (originally) inevitably ?

When I was a youngster (and maybe also you) UK electrical installations were a mix of BS1363 and BS546 sockets (I was brought up entirely with the latter, and that remained the case in my parent's house until the late 1970s), so manufacturers wouldn't even have known 'which plug' to put on items they were selling (or, had they been forced to put BS1363 plugs on, many purchasers would have had to replace them!!!)

Kind Regards, John

 

[plugwash]

However there is always a risk in each case and it`s still possible for each to sell good or bad stuff too, just like in the high street and on market stalls too.

My understanding is that while the overall quality may vary somewhat, large established western manufacturers and importers generally try to avoid selling stuff that is outright dangerous. In the long term the cost of lawsuits, recalls and reputation damage just aren't worth it

Some buisinesses though, either lack the capability to do due diligence, or are deliberately run on the basis that the business will be long gone by the time their liabilities catch up with them.

And yes, dodgy buisinesses can be found on the high street. This is particularly true with landlords scrambling to keep the units filled in the face of high street decline and business rates that are slow to react to changes in property value but there have always been shops I have regarded as dodgy.

My heuristics for how likely a company is to be dodgy include.

How long have they been established?
Who are their owners?
Do they make it easy to find their legal buisiness name and look up their records?
Does the address listed on those official buisiness records seem to be an actual address of the buisiness?
How much data do they provide about their products?
Do they claim third-party certifications? if so can those claims be verfied?
Do they sell products without an identifiable brand (either their own, or the manufacturer's, I don't really care which)

Sometimes my opinion on buisinesses change, when I first encountered fusebox they struck me as very dubious, but they seem to have cleaned up their act. Their legal buisiness name features prominently on their website. The registered address of said buisiness seems to be an actual operational location rather than a virtual office somewhere and they have gone out and obtained certification of their products from a third party safety lab.

UK electrical installations were a mix of BS1363 and BS546 sockets

And a bunch of proprietary stuff too.

It seems the plug or adaptor needs to be fixed, so these View attachment 338006are not permitted, but these View attachment 338007 are

I presume the idea is if the converter requires a tool to remove, it won't get separated from the applicance, and therefore the user won't be tempted to do dangerous stuff to plug the appliance in.

These View attachment 338008View attachment 338009 all do the same job, but only one is fused, and non grip the plug firmly

It looks to me like two of the three are fused, though the fuse carrier on the middle one is difficult to see because it's the same colour as the plug body.

The left adapter seems like a shaver adapter, only suitable for very small class 2 loads. In my experiance, these most commonly use 1A BS646 fuses, though I have seen some with BS1362 fuses.

The middle adapter looks like a typical "visitor adapter". Supports multiple plug types which leads to a less than ideal fit. On the positive side, it does appear to be fused, has shutters and makes some attempt to stop mis-plugging. It will provide an earth for stuff with some styles of plug but not others.

The right adapter is what Clive calls a "death-dapter". It lacks a fuse, it also lacks any protection against mis-plugging. I've also seen reports that some of these adapters have very poor construction quality.

The radio came with a USA plug which I don't really want to change.

powerconnections make converter plugs for US plugs. The part number is "ACP" for 2 pin US plugs and "ACP3" for 3 pin US plugs.

 

[ebee]

"Commonly"? Wasn't it (originally) inevitably ?

When I was a youngster (and maybe also you) UK electrical installations were a mix of BS1363 and BS546 sockets (I was brought up entirely with the latter, and that remained the case in my parent's house until the late 1970s), so manufacturers wouldn't even have known 'which plug' to put on items they were selling (or, had they been forced to put BS1363 plugs on, many purchasers would have had to replace them!!!)

Kind Regards, John

John, I used the word commonly to describe the thinking.
Nowadays, commonly, things are sold with a plug on.
When I was young, commonly, without. You put your own plug on.
What was common practice changed, we get so used to that change then we tend to forget how things have changed or indeed how long ago they changed.
What was usual practice becomes unusual practice and vice versa. Our perceptions change and sometimes we think "Oh they were always like that when in fact they were not.

 

[JohnW2]

John, I used the word commonly to describe the thinking. ... Nowadays, commonly, things are sold with a plug on. When I was young, commonly, without. You put your own plug on.

I realise that.I was merely making the point that when I was young (and probably also you were),it was not just 'uncommon' but actually essentially 'unheard of' for products to come with a fitted plug - as I said, not the least because they wouldn't have know 'which plug'to supply.

Back then, some retailers (particularly small 'old-fashioned' ones) would offer to fit a plug of the type one needed (for little or no charge) when one purchased a product from them.

Kind Regards, John

 

[crystal ball]

I realise that.I was merely making the point that when I was young (and probably also you were),it was not just 'uncommon' but actually essentially 'unheard of' for products to come with a fitted plug - as I said, not the least because they wouldn't have know 'which plug'to supply.

Back then, some retailers (particularly small 'old-fashioned' ones) would offer to fit a plug of the type one needed (for little or no charge) when one purchased a product from them.

Kind Regards, John

I worked for the local Electricity Board in the 80s, occasionally I would be seconded to the delivery dept, each pair consisted of a driver & electrician, fitting plugs was one of the main duties (FOC) as well as connecting cookers, tuning TVs and fitting the occasional storage heater

 

[JohnW2]

I worked for the local Electricity Board in the 80s, occasionally I would be seconded to the delivery dept, each pair consisted of a driver & electrician, fitting plugs was one of the main duties (FOC) as well as connecting cookers, tuning TVs and fitting the occasional storage heater

That all makes sense. However,as you will presumably realise, I was talking about the late 50s and 60s when,at least for those in my household, BS1363 plugs/sockets were something 'new-fangled', which we certainly didn't have

I was in my early teens (by which time I'd already developed a keen interest in things electrical) when I first encountered a BS363 plug, and I reecall being 'intrigued' to find that it had a fuse inside it


Kind Regards, John

 

[opps]

my children were taught how to fit a plug at school in the 90's
no idea whats taught today - seems to be in the science curriculum but no idea what happens in reality these days

I started high school in 82- we were never taught how to change plugs.

I did metal work for a month and wood work for about a year. Neither taught me anything useful.

 

[Colin Brenton]

Interesting thread, I certainly recall being taught 'how to wire a plug' while at secondary school, in around 1997 or 1998.

If I recall correctly, most things my parents bought in the early to mid 90's didn't have plugs on them.

 

[JohnW2]

If I recall correctly, most things my parents bought in the early to mid 90's didn't have plugs on them.

Interesting. If the things they bought had leads, then their sale in the UK would have been illegal for a long time by the 90s, wouldn't it?

 

[CAWORK]

My Mother bought a Philips Europa Washing Machine in January 1984 (Machine manufactured in 1983).

It came with a moulded (Albeit pins un-sleeved) plug. The L & N plug pins were 'Hollow'.
(Over time, the plug started to get warm, and eventually in 2006- yes, the machine was STILL in use then, and suddenly the fuse went. The fuseholder had melted, so I chopped the plug off and fitted a standard one.

The sad thing is, a few months later, the pump packed in, and was basically the end of the machine ).

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Interesting. If the things they bought had leads, then their sale in the UK would have been illegal for a long time by the 90s, wouldn't it?

I think the rule only included appliances and similar items, intended for domestic consumption.

 

[RandomGrinch]

Yes, following campaigns from BBC watchdog and the Mail on Sunday in the early 90's

With a cursory search, here is one short mention of the campaign for fitted plugs - Watchdog 10/2/92 @27:53...

 

[plugwash]

Interesting. If the things they bought had leads, then their sale in the UK would have been illegal for a long time by the 90s, wouldn't it?

As I said earlier, I can't find anything about requring fitted plugs in the 1987 version of the plugs and sockets safety regulations, only in the 1994 version and my personal memory is that "fitted plugs" were something that came in as I was growing up.

 

[JohnW2]

I think the rule only included appliances and similar items, intended for domestic consumption.

Probably, but I would imagine that most of the "things" that Colin's parents bought would have fallen into that category, wouldn't they?