I've got a question. As I'll travel to Dublin next summer I thought about ways to use my hairdryer and stuff there. When searching our appartment I found an old BS 1343 to Euro adaptor. It's labeled: SHAVER ONLY! FITTED WITH 1A FUSE TO BS 646. But then it reads: 13A 250V. I opened it and the guts don't show reasonable reasons for this thing being fused only 1A. Do you think it's reasonably safe to put in a 13A fuse and run continental appliances designed to run on a 16A circuit on that?
The only other way would be to buy a 13A plug and wire it to a Schuko extension cord, but I don't think I'll have much time to go shopping there and buy plugs and stuff. Also this would require me to take tools (maybe a problem at the airport having pliers, screwdrivers and a utility knife in my suitcase ).
The current fuse is 1A and bypassed with aluminum kitchen foil. (Back then my dad had no idea that British rings are fused 32A, so he thought there was nothing wrong with connecting the hairdryer unfused to the assumed 10A supply)

After the BS1363 13A outlets become widely established, these adapters were quite common, because shaver outlets remainded as the 2-pin 5A type.

The contacts in many of these adapters are the same as those found in the regular 13A to 5A types, although it can't be guaranteed that this is the case with all of them.

A normal (BS1362) 13A cartridge fuse is physically larger than the 1A type you see in this adapter, and won't properly fit into the fuse clips. This smaller size fuse was is available in ratings only up to 5A.

Ragnar,

When you get to Dublin, get your butt over to a B&Q (I think they must also have them in Eire).

Pick up the one that looks like this:

[img]http://www.diy.com/images/products/image_l/5018486417897_H_1_l.jpg?prodid=MainImgLrg[/img]

With this one you can plug in American and German contour plugs and Schuko (bypassing ground - dangerous for long term use).

instead of the more expensive MK-brand that looks like this:

[img]http://www.diy.com/images/products/image_l/5017490330390_FI_1_l.jpg?prodid=MainImgLrg[/img]

which will restrict you to Europlugs and two-pin American plugs only.

I've also seen this MUCH safer option:



on http://www.maplin.co.uk (MAPLIN). Look in Electrical for the code # TZ55K. Maplin does deliver outside the UK so you could probably order one of those before your trip. It is fused with a 13-amp BS1363 plug fuse.

Toss that relic with the aluminium foil in the trash!

[This message has been edited by SvenNYC (edited 01-13-2003).]

Hmmmm. 5A isn't quite enough for a 1200W hairdryer. And buying something just for using a hairdryer twice is a little expensive. As I'll have committee work starting at 9 and closing at something like 6 'o clock, probably with afternoon activities I probably won't have much chance to get to a B&Q (although I'd really like to, buy some stuff for my collection). My adaptor looks _exactly_ like the one on the top pic. Best way would probably be to get a simple 13A plug (sometimes lurk around at flea markets here) and just fit it to an extension cord. Then it's properly grounded and everything (though as I already mentioned I only need it for an ungrounded hairdryer with contour plug). Anyway, thanks for your replies, and there is still a lot of time left until july.

Shhhh... Bypass the fuse. The risk of something going wrong in the short time you are using the dryer is very very small. And if it does, it's no disaster. The reason for this is simply that the cord is rather short which means that the prospective short circuit current is high. It'll probably kick out the 30A breaker.

Those adaptors are for shavers/toothbrushes only and are used here in Ireland as those appliences are designed to connect to special ultra-safe bathroom shaver outlets. You can't fit a bigger fuse and don't attempt to bypass it.

Also DON'T connect a hairdrier to a 2-pin bathroom outlet marked shaver only it'll blow the fuse / cause a trip within a second and you'll have to explain it to the hotel!

You can pick up Schuko - Irish adaptors in nearly every department store (Roches Stores etc) in the centre of Dublin a lot of supermarkets Dunnes Stores, Tesco etc will stock them too. Dublin Airport will certainly have some in stock as will most electrical shops and even computer stores. They're quite a common accessory. shouldn't cost more than about ?2.99 MAX. They're fitted with a 13A fuse so you're protected on a ring circuit.

You can pick up rewirable plugs in any supermarket for around ?1.99 ish. They come with 13A fuses fitted as standard. One sollution is just bring a 4-socket power strip from home, cut the schuko plug off and pre-prepare the cable (leave the earth about 2cm, live about 1 cm and neutral about 1.5 cm) when you arrive all you'll need is a plug and a screw driver!

the plugs wire like this:
http://www.esb.ie/main/energy_home/safety_plug.jsp

"?" should have come out as the Euro symbol!

PS you'll VERY rarely find anything other than BS1363 known as IS 401 compatable sockets in the Republic of Ireland. Very old installations are getting rarer and rarer and used Schuko or occasionally old style british round pin plugs. Schuko or BS 546 (occasionally) outlets are sometimes used for connecting appliences that have loads larger than 13 amps.

I've noticed that the slightly lower voltage 220V (as opposed to the UK 240V) [I know they're now supposedly 230V but 220V (or slightly less) is what you tend to find at sockets here] can cause a 3KW applience to blow a 13 amp fuse. I think that's why sometimes large tumble dryers etc occasionally are wired with non-fused plugs (Schuko or BS old style) to 16 amp circuits rather than rings.

And one more thing:

You can buy Irish electrical gear (including plugs) here at these links: http://www.peats.ie/
the link below should take you straight to a part of the site where u can order BS1363 plugs http://www.peats.ie/cgi-bin/shop/db.cgi?view=1&id=360&type=5&path=16x168

Thanks DJK, you exactly suggested what I intended to do (cut off the plug of an extension cord/power strip and fit a 13A plug).
However, to get this straight, i was talking about an adaptor with which you can plug an ungrounded round pin or NEMA plug into a BS 1363 receptacle. The adaptor itself is for no obious reason fused 1A and labeled "Shaver only". It wouldn't fit a shaver outlet! It's white, about the size of a normal rewireable BS 1363 plug and has 2 shuttered holes that either take a round-pin plug (bad stuff, Euro plugs fall out and contour plugs have to be crammed in with violent force, haven't yet tried NEMA plugs).

[This message has been edited by Texas_Ranger (edited 01-14-2003).]

Help! The Peats guys charge 6 Euro shipping for international orders! Think that's only a good idea if I order more stuff at once (maybe I can convince my dad that we need more computer cords and have him buy some...)

It's for shaver PLUGS only.

Why not try Maplin UK with the Schuko female to 13-amp British plug?

It's kind of useless to buy computer power cords considering you can get them from a junk pile if you work at a place that uses lots of computers...at least I do.

Well, they don't give any real info on shipping costs to Austria, and I'm afraid I wouldn't want to hear the answer. Remember, I'm going there for 1 week. Considering my short hair I'll probably use my dryer twice. By now it's not clear if I'll really go there (still have to check with 4 classmates of mine + other hassles including dealing with eyp (european youth parliament) uk), and I HAVE that adaptor. (And there are dozens of _unfused_ UK travel adaptors around!), so maybe I'll just stick to C-H's suggestion, i.e leave the foil as is. A short will pretty sure trip a 32A breaker as well, overload is pretty unlikely here. Plus if we stay with host families either they have a hairdryer or I can plug mine into a fused power strip.
Anyway, if I buy anything I'll decide on that later on.
Thanks for your input.

How about simply using a towel?

Those small white adaptors that fit US plugs are designed for people living in the UK/Ireland who want to plug in a shaver / electric toothbrush at a location other than in their bathroom (which has a special protected outlet of a similar shape)

They're specifically designed to protect a shaver with a 1A fuse on a ring circuit. Plugging a shaver straight into a 13Amp socket isn't an option they come with a special 2-pin plug, similar to but not the same as a Europlug. You can't (for obvious safety reasons) fit a larger fuse.

Larger appliences need either to be fitted with a 13Amp plug or you need to use an appropriate schuko to UK/Ireland adaptor.

Just bring your power strip (4-socket etc) and buy a plug here! They're sold EVERYWHERE, supermarkets (small and large), department stores, small shops, hardware stores (try woodies DIY which is a bit like B&Q or Mr. Bricolage), even petrol stations sell them! They're VERY easy to come-by unlike in other parts of europe where re-wirable plugs are discouraged. In Ireland they're as easy to come-by as 100W light bulbs!

Seems to be about the same thing about plugs as in Austria. Every supermarket has an aisle with light bulbs, batteries, power strips, plugs and stuff. Bigger stores even carry bulk cable, rewireable extension strips, light sockets,...
You're right that this is he most professional way, so I'll probably take our other (unfused) adaptor and try to get a plug (at the same thing in turin I never got to something like a supermarket. I just kept running around at the EYP venues).
Towel is the easiest way, but takes more time. (Something really precious at EYP sessions).

Shave your head. Completely.

It dries faster that way.

All you have to do then is give it a brisk rub-down with a towel and you're dry.

I think that either fitting a BS1363 plug to your dryer or making up a short BS1363-to-Schuko adapter lead would probably be by far the easiest solution to this problem.

If you need a 13A (BS1363) plug and aren't likely to have time to go searching for one in the stores, I could mail one to you. (I have boxes full of the things! )