If I recall correctly, it's the 2000 revision of AS/NZS 3112 that enforced the transition to insulated pins by 2005. It was followed by the 2004 revision which upgraded the strength requirements for the pins, and I'll admit that most of the newer plugs aren't
too bad (although it's obviously still impossible to match the full strength of solid uninsulated pins). Still, it was a typical case of politicians acting before they think.
It's not just the flimsy pins on the plugs now, but the flex attached to most 2.4KW appliances in recent years is underrated and becomes too warm for my liking. Proper 1.5mm flex and a chunky old stock bakelite plug fixes the problem.
I have to admit, I find it funny that
you say that when you say on your personal website, in the page on
building replacement resistance cords:
This is also the first time I've used a line cord resistor, and from all the stories I've read I was curious about the amount of heat given off. It certainly isn't excessive, and I don't see it being a fire hazard.
You acknowledge that its dissipation is 32.4W (0.3A through 360R;) over 1.8m, which gives 18W per metre of cord. While the
worst-case resistance of 0.02R; per metre of 1.0mm² (32/0.2) flexible wire (with tinned conductors; with bare copper, as is usually the case, it's a little lower), counting both active and neutral,
and accounting for a 16% resistance rise from 20°C to 60°C, gives a dissipation of 4.64W/m at an accurate 10A, or 5.6144W/m at most if you allow for 10% above the nominal current (11A actual).
But for what it's worth, I don't think it's under-rated
per se. It's just the result of a typical bureaucratic compromise regarding the designated room temperature, which the previews of IEC 60320-1 and 60320-2-2 state as "not normally exceeding 25 °C, but occasionally reaching 35 °C" (whatever we're supposed to make of
that), and presumably the same applies to the official cord ampacities. But I expect that upsizing the cord conductors to 1.5mm² (10A) and 2.5mm² (16A) would be enough to reliably operate those connectors at 40°C ambient (especially given that the copper wires act as a heatsink-of-sorts for the contacts). Still, I wouldn't suggest officially adopting such an upgrade until they stop bundling
yet another cord with each new PC/TV/etc., or it would result in even more valuable copper ending up in landfill.
A pretty common occurrence with US grounded plugs... Don't think I've ever seen one with a completely solid ground pin. They are either circular & hollow, or U-shaped; the hollow ones break off all the time, which are generally found on molded plugs.
It seems to depend on who made the particular plug, whether it will break or not. The one NEMA 5-15 to IEC (60)320 C13 cord that made its way into my stash, made by
I-Sheng (who, judging by the sheer quantity of cords I have from them, are one of the largest manufacturers), has quite a solid ground/earth pin. Incidentally, I also have a batch of cords they made in (seemingly) the early insulated-pin days, so I got one out to compare – it's just as strong as any of the post-2004 models. So it looks like they, at least, are more competent than the politicians.
