Walsall gauge sockets in my local argos!?

[eveares]

I never know there was so many different type of plugs and plug sockets in the UK! Other than the common BS1363 plug and plug sockets, the Round Pin BS 456 socket/plugs and the old MK electric clock socket were the only others that I knew about.

I wonder why my local Argos had 1 double and 1 single Walsall gauge sockets next to normal BS1363 sockets.

i.e. this:

Also these links are very interesting, especially the top two links:

http://fam-oud.nl/~plugsocket/British2.html
http://fam-oud.nl/~plugsocket/British1.html
http://fam-oud.nl/~plugsocket/OldBritish3.html
http://fam-oud.nl/~plugsocket/OldBritish2.html
http://fam-oud.nl/~plugsocket/OldBritish1.html

 

[333rocky333]

I wonder why my local Argos had 1 double and 1 single Walsall gauge sockets next to normal BS1363 sockets.

Its quite common in retail to have non standard sockets on dedicated circuits usually for till equipment generally called EPOS

Red or white ELECTRAK sems to be popular, though WALSALL was popular in the 80's

 

[eveares]

So you recon they used to provide power to tills and other important gear, as they were not in use. Do you recon also that they were on their own circuit?

 

[RF Lighting]

We used to regularly install electrak sockets in pubs as dedicated EPOS supplies. They were specced to be supplied from the origin of the installation.

It doesn't seem to happen these days with most EPOS being derived from a standard computer.

 

[winston1]

I've seen electrak sockets mounted along the display shelves in Currys. Then they plug in all their on display devices via BS1363 to electrak adapters!

 

[333rocky333]

So you recon they used to provide power to tills and other important gear, as they were not in use. Do you recon also that they were on their own circuit?

Fair chance.
Sometimes they are even fed via a small UPS, or sometimes just purely from a dedicated dist board, simply to reduce the chance of accidentally swithing off, by having them seperate from other gear .

in the 80's the new big tesco stores used two boards
COPC for check out power clean feeding Electrac sockets for the till computer and
COPD for check out power dirty, feeding normal sockets for the till belts.
In real terms the supply wernt no different and no cleaner than the dirty.
It I assume was just to reduce accidental switching off and keeping the important stuff together.
In those days all hell broke loose if you turned off a computer, as RF says these days its not so common due to newer till systems and over the years the tills supplied with moulded kettle leads just get plugged in anywhere.

 

[Risteard]

We used to regularly install electrak sockets in pubs as dedicated EPOS supplies. They were specced to be supplied from the origin of the installation.

It doesn't seem to happen these days with most EPOS being derived from a standard computer.

We still regularly install red Electrak sockets for EPOS.

 

[Lectrician]

They were generally used on EPOS (electronic point of sale) systems to prevent other equipment being being plugged in.

They would be usually be on their own circuit, fed from the origin, often via a filter and surge arrestor.

They could also be fed from the comms room where the server / switch was located, fed from a UPS, the UPS on smaller sites simply being fed from a 13amp FCU.

These days, the back office server (usually just a PC running some software) is UPS protected, and each "till" connects to the server. Should the power fail to the "till", while it's inconvenient, when the power returns, the "till" session carries on where it left off, as the server continued to run. For this reason, dedicated circuits are not so important any longer.

 

[eveares]

Anyone personally come across items 17-19 of this link?:

http://fam-oud.nl/~plugsocket/British2.html

Or these items?: http://fam-oud.nl/~plugsocket/Wylex1.html

 

[winston1]

I've come across the Wylex plugs in the second link. Not in use though, they were in a box of bits at a boot sale.

 

[deadshort]

Anyone personally come across items 17-19 of this link?:

http://fam-oud.nl/~plugsocket/British2.html

Or these items?: http://fam-oud.nl/~plugsocket/Wylex1.html[/QUOTE]

Yes i have rewired a property which had been wired in the 1940's which had the wylex plugs and sockets fitted.

Regards,

DS

 

[powersurge]

The old science lab in my secondary school had the Wylex ones built into the front eges of the wooden benches (Built 1935) apparently to stop the equipment being taken elsewhere, although by the time I was there in 1976 they were out of use and the equipment with that type of plug all gone (New lab built)