ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Non-US Electrical Systems & Trades French 20A plug

People might be tempted to just fit 2x16A plugs and pop it into a socket

It's pretty much the same in Britain as for Ireland. Any fixed appliance which draws over 13A is hardwired via a flex outlet plate, either with or without switch as appropriate.

Even low-power fixed devices such as alarm panels, TV preamps, etc. are quite likely to be hardwired to a fused-spur unit rather than plug-&-socket connected.

We have a lot of 12V halogen recessed lighting in this house. The lights are wired radially to 500W transformers all of which are connected to the lighting circuits via swiched fused connectors fused at 3A neatly mounted on the attic joists. All of the LV cabling is yellow to avoid confusion.

don't know if this is standard practice..

I see a lot of the LV lighting wired in a very haphazard manner. Quite a few DIY types don't realize that for the same amount of power a 12V light draws much more current than a 240V version, and think they can use any old thin wire for the secondary side.

Classicsat and Djk gave me an idea:

How about a European 50A cooker connector using the American range plug as basis? Take the NEMA 14-50 plug and omit the neutral pin and the corresponding slot on the outlet. Add a flange or recess to the outlet. Voila! Now you have a connector that

a) can provide more than enough power
b) prevents accidental contact
c) works with the American outlet

Intended for 30-50A circuits.