ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Non-US Electrical Systems & Trades Multi-Boxes

Kiwi,
Good points about the Declared Articles.
But have you seen with the latest round of drivel from the ESS that the Declared Articles list is now null and void.
Which more or less gives importers a free reign to import whatever rubbish they like.
As an Electrician I won't be installing any of it.
That may be why we are going over to Licencing, instead of having our own Registration, maybe they don't want us to be in a situation where we can argue.
Free Trade eh?

Mike... it is great (well not really ) to hear that you actually substantiated a basic premise about these things... they are unpredictable at best.

Is that report you referenced in your original post available on-line? Although I'm in the US, I've been very interested in the "multi-box" issue. They really "burn" me up!

I suppose you've seen the similar thread that's been running in the "violation photo" forum. https://www.electrical-contractor.net/ubb/Forum4/HTML/000183.html

One of the points that I made in that thread about these devices in the US is that although not inherently unsafe... they are just too prone to abuse. It seems that there is universal disdain for these around the world.

But... C-H wrote:
That may change my mind about some of these devices being inherently unsafe.

Mike... You didn't happen to take of photo of the device that "exploded"...did you? Now that would make for a great training illustration when I'm doing general electrical safety training for unqualified people.

Glenn,
No I didn't happen to get a picture of the "broken" one, in the end.
But, I can just as easily do it again!.

Mike...
No... that's OK, let's skip another trial run of this "experiment"!

We want to keep you in one piece.

A point to ponder,how safe is a US $2.99 powerstrip?


P.S. I do not like them,but have 2 of them behind behind the TV,one is an older model using Hubbell components,and the other model is a Wiremold product,certainly a case of saying 1 thing and doing another on my part.

No, as far as I've seen most Italian wall sockets take both 10 and 16A plugs. I only saw a 16A only socket once and that was a rather industrial looking IP44 surface mount one.

It is indeed true Schuko is really catching on in Italy.

At home I have a 1200W hair dryer with a Euro plug stamped 250V 2.5A...

Most ungrounded sockets were designed for 4mm pins and the ones I've seen almost always take 4.8mm pins too. It's quite easy to jam a Schuko or contour plug into one of these (and not even a problem with a contour plug, always do that with the vac in our living room.
Germany had 10A ungrounded plugs with full metal 4.8mm pins, as opposed to the older 6A ones with slitted 4mm pins. Never saw them in Austria though, and our ungrounded trailing sockets never take more than 4mm pins.

Rewireable plugs are readily available, though the quality has dropped noticeable.
One of our first jobs at my new school was to build a 5m extension cord. looking back I can say it was the most professionally built extension cord with the nastiest and cheapest components I've ever done.

Still love the ancient bakelite Schuko plugs with porcelaine guts... if you don't smash them they're indestructible.