ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Non-US Electrical Systems & Trades More British peculiarities

almost kid proof....almost...

I think we did touch on the subject of shuttered sockets a few months back in another thread. Every electrician here has to perfect the knack of opening the shutters with his meter probes for voltage checks!

The downside to the fact that the BS1363 13A plug always has an earth pin is that even a small appliance is fitted with this bulky plug, although the old BS546 15A type is even heftier.

There are some newer 13A sockets on the market here with a new design. These have a shutter which rotates slightly to uncover the line & neutral and no operating pin in the earth/ground hole. There must be equal pressure on both sides of the shutter before it will turn.

You mentioned the Australian/NZ outlets (for those who aren't familiar with these, they have three flat blades very similar to those on American plugs).

I once saw a design in an Australian catalog for a shuttered version of these. The small plastic disk containing the entry holes in front of the connections was pivoted at its center and sprung shut. To insert a plug, you pushed it into the holes on the shutter, turned it slightly to align it and then the plug would go right in.

P.S. Hutch, I'm curious: Are you actually in South Africa?


[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 05-29-2002).]

Paul Said...

P.S. Hutch, I'm curious: Are you actually in South Africa?

Hi Paul,

Actually, I've been living in the States for the past two and a bit years though previously I lived in RSA since 1982. I was born and brought up in the UK prior to running off to the colonies. I enjoy woodworking and have a nice selection of tools which needed custom wiring in an RSA garage with initially just one socket and light switch. Having a load of 240V gear in the USA initially presented problems but these have been overcome.

I am not an electrician by trade but I have a good understanding of the physics/technical aspects thereof and take great care/pride in doing work both safely and properly/to code. Having experienced three different systems, plus viewed others such as Oz, I am always fascinated by the differences and the pros and cons of each country’s code and methods. I must confess that here in the States, my first impression was that things were a little old-fashioned with the wrapping of wires around terminal screws and the use of wire-nuts; proliferated by the conventions of pig-tailing – i.e. only one wire around a terminal. I still feel much easier with chocolate-block connectors and grub-screw couplings on outlet-fittings that are designed/intended to take more than one wire and act as sound junctions in themselves rather than stuffing a box full of copper and wire nuts. Hey, but it’s learning about new methods that keeps life interesting.


[This message has been edited by Hutch (edited 05-30-2002).]

Hutch,

I spent some time working out in the U.S. as well. I'm in England at the moment, but still working on becoming an ex-pat again as it's just getting so expensive to live here now.

I know what you mean about comparing the various systems in different countries. There are many aspects of American wiring that I prefer over British, such as the use of decent depth boxes for switches and receptacles. Compare them with the typical 1-inch boxes for twin sockets here where there are sometimes three 2.5 sq. mm twin & earth cables jammed in.

About the only aspect of typical American domestic wiring that bothers me is the use of a combined neutral/ground wire for dryers and ranges, but that has been amended in the NEC to require new installations to be 4-wire, so at least that peculiarity should gradually disappear.

My background is as an electronics engineer rather than starting as an electrical apprentice, so maybe I see some aspects of wiring in a different way to those who have been trained (indoctrinated?) in the IEE school of thought.

As you'll see from the many discussions we've had here, for example, I'm not a fan of the British ring circuit, even though most electricians here express surprise that other countries are "backward" in not using it. I also try to get beyond the IEE's recommended/approved circuit arrangements and point out that there are other arrangements which might be equally suitable, if not preferable in certain circumstances.



[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 05-30-2002).]

pauluk,

Are you sure we're not the peculiar ones?

Well, the rest of the world often looks on the English as peculiar. O.K., let's face it: The rest of the world looks on as all as being somewhere between mildly eccentric and raving mad!

I guess every country has things which seem peculiar to the outside world, and in large countries like the U.S. things can seem strange to someone from another state. But doesn't it make life more interesting?

Just imagine if McDonald's had been given the franchise for creating the world!

Oh yes, and the cewrtainly are things in America that are quite different, certainly to anywhere in Europe. But I like it that way....




[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 05-30-2002).]

Paul,
Just to add another iron to the fire,
Over in NZ, here our main switches are
Two Pole types, but we use the second pole
to isolate the Hot-Water Pilot Wire, this
feeds the HW Circuit, as well as a
Night-Store heater, if one is installed.
But in NZ, we never switch the Neutral,
this has to remain continuous,under our
Regs,(This is where it enters the
switchboard, that the Neutral is not switched), it is connected directly to the
Neutral Busbar, by use of a(normally 16mm2)
crimp lug, held with a washer and a nut,
and an extra lock-nut.
This connection must never be broken,
apart from when testing is required,
it is actually dangerous to take the Neutral off of the Neutral Bus, if the mains are still connected,you never know
wether or not the house next door has a
Electrical Fault in it, this is one of the
downfalls of the MEN System.

One of the things that makes the U.K. supplies "interesting" is the three different earthing/grounding systems in use (see the diagrams in the Tech. Reference area).

At which point is the house earthing lead bonded to the neutral in NZ? Is it at the distribution panel, American style, or is it before the meter where the service enters the house, British style?

(The latter refers only to our PME -- same as your MEN -- system of course; in the other arrangements there is no neutral-ground bond within the house.)



[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 09-05-2002).]

Sorry Paul,
I don't think that I was clear enough about the Earthing arrangements, over here.
The earthing lead, that comes from the earth stake, runs directly to the Earth Busbar and is connected via a crimp terminal and with the same type of connection as the Neutral.
The Earth conductor must be in one continuous length, no joins what-so-ever.

O.K. on the continuous earthing lead, but what I was getting at is at which point is the earth tied to the neutral under your MEN system?

E.G. In America the main distribution panel has a common neutral/ground busbar to which are connected both the incoming service neutral and the main grounding electrode conductor to the rod. Under the British PME system we have separate earth and neutral busbars in the panel, and the earth busbar is connected to the incoming neutral just ahead of the meter.

At which point is your bond made to the neutral?