ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Non-US Electrical Systems & Trades VDE vs. OVE

Schuko is short for Schutzkontaktstecker which means grounding plug. Nothing more or less.
Well, IMHO BS 1363 with unsheathed pins are indeed pretty scary. It's really easy to touch those huge pins while pulling out a plug. I've never had a problem using our old ungrounded plugs with unsleeved pins because they have a really huge face preventing you from touching the pins, but the older flat style lugs were pretty scary too, along with those cheap tiny NEMA 1-15 and some other plug styles. Some time ago I nearly got shocked by a NEMA 1-15 plug pack transformer when I tried to unplug it single-handed like I would unplug a European one (use thumb and index finger to pry between plug pack and receptacle face plate). Just before I was touching the live pins I realized it might be a good idea to develop a different technique in the future.

Here's an actual debate on the safety of BS1363 from our parliament in 1972.

Some of the last few comments are rather misinformed to say the least.
Debate from Dail Éireann, Irish Parliament 1972

[This message has been edited by djk (edited 11-09-2003).]

U.K. = United Kingdom. Which kingdom?

It's a little confusing but here's the explanation:

Geography:

Great Britain is primarily a geographical term = The island of Britain and its near-by off-shore islands. It does not include Ireland.

The British Isles = The collection of Islands to the North West of Europe i.e. Britain and Ireland and any off their off shore islands. Much as Scandinavia = Denmark, Sweden, Norway etc.

The present day United Kingdom = "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland"

i.e. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
(it excludes The Isle of Mann and the Channel Island states (Jersey and Gurnsey) which are "Crown Dependencies and not part of the UK or the European Union! and have almost fully independent legal and political systems but Britain handles their defense and forigen affairs responsibilities)

The 1801 Act of Union effectively merged the Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland together into one legislative entity.

26 of 32 counties of Ireland subsequently left the UK in 1922 becoming initially "The Irish Free State", which had something along the lines of Canada or Australia's relationship with the UK and later in 1932 declaired a fully independent republic and left the commonwealth and cut all ties with the UK.

The UK of Great Britain and Ireland became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from 1922 on.

If you use the term Great Britain you are usually only refering to England Scotland and Wales. If you use the term UK / United Kingdom you are including Northern Ireland too.

If you use the term British Isles you're refering to the Geographical Entity that includes the Republic of Ireland as well as the Isle of Mann and the Channel Island States.
...

Ireland:
Legally and in international politics the Republic of Ireland is usually simply refered to as Ireland or alternatively by it's Gaelic translation Éire. (Northern Ireland's part of the UK and thus refered to as the UK). E.g. my passport says "IRELAND and ÉIRE and European Union / Cophobal Europach (Irish Translation) This use of the word Ireland doesn't cause any confusion abroad but it can cause confusion in the UK where Ireland to some people tends to mean Northern Ireland and Éire tends to mean the Republic of Ireland.. Some UK companies tend to print ROI on the end of addresses which can actually cause delays in delivery where an order is being shipped by a company in a country that has no idea what ROI means. The same companies have been known to send my phone number as +44 (00353) 21XXXXXXX instead of +353 21 XXXXXXX. Which would be like printing +49/0043/1XXX XXXX for a number in Vienna.

...
Confused yet?! I almost am!


[This message has been edited by djk (edited 11-09-2003).]

Djk, I knew all that. My point is that it's only the British who can have the term UK on their passports, which means United Kingdom WITHOUT saying which kingdom-- i.e. ...of Great Britain. Even the USA have the A after the US which means United States of America. It's not just US.

There is (or should that be are?) the Estados Unidos Mexicanos (United States of Mexico) so that 'A' is very necessary to avoid confusion . On the other hand, I cannot think of any other unified Monarchies that rule three geographically concentrated yet sovereign nations (England, Scotland and Wales). Is there any other nation that can send more than one team to The World Cup? - and we all know which one I mean by this!


[This message has been edited by Hutch (edited 11-09-2003).]

Eli,
Haven't seen you here for a while!

British passports don't just say "United Kingdom" on them. They use the full, official name of the country: "United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland."

You might like to look at this thread, which would also be a suitable place to continue the discussion:

https://www.electrical-contractor.net/ubb/Forum9/HTML/000176.html


[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 11-09-2003).]

From the debate in the Dail Eireann:


Misinformed indeed.

I can't help wondering what sort of notice Mr. Tully had in mind.

I have absoultely no idea. He's credited with many gaffs over the years. Thankfully electrical regulations were drawn up by experts and not by politicians!

Mr. O'Hara seems to have a very good grasp of physics too :P

On the issue of repairing fuses.. repairing a diazed fuse is not exactly an easy task with wire! Although people managed it! I've seen wire wrapped around the fuse (top to bottom). the caps removed and wire poked through the middle etc etc. The UK style ones were a lot easier to accidently over fuse. It would be about as easy as rewiring a BS1362 fuse.

[This message has been edited by djk (edited 11-09-2003).]

Most common way of "reparing" a diazed fuse is just to wrap a strand taken from an old cord around the outside of the fuse. Have seen my uncle do that. The more professional way is to open the fuse and run the strand inside. Still this turns a 10A fuse into a 20 or maybe 30A one. Worst idiots are the guys who stick a solid nail inside the fuse. That's really no blow! My dad tells the story how he sometimes fixed Diazed fuses by buying the appropriate size of fuse wire and opening the fuse. That's really a safe but pretty laborous repair! Wrapping kitchen foil around the entire fuse is another trick.