ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Non-US Electrical Systems & Trades Unfused 13 Amp plugs?

Hi, I am new to the forum but here goes - does anyone know about these unfused 13 amp moulded plugs that are fitted on some water purifiers?

Have not come across anything like that other than pipefitters useing a bolt for a fuse for the welding set, seriously though do you mean its actually manufactured with the flex hard wired to the live pin?

Sorry about that Steve should have said welcome aboard!

Steve,

It is quite possible that some manufacturer somewhere is making unfused plugs that are compatable with a BS1363 socket. Many people who are unfamilar with the reason for the fuse seem to think it's just an obcessive British safety regulation that has no purpose.

However, when an applience is used on a 32A ring circuit the fuse in the plug is an important fire protection device, protecting the cable.

Any plug made to BS1363 or IS401 (Irish equivilant) MUST contain a fuse.

I would suggest that you report the manufacturer to the relevant authorities, make the retailer aware of it and fit a rewirable plug with a fuse as that applience could be a fire hazard and should be recalled.


[This message has been edited by djk (edited 06-08-2004).]

Thankyou for your interest, I failed to mention that the plug does not bear the BS1363; the only number is B003/AC.
I will cut the plug open to see what is inside and report my findings!

Welcome aboard Steve. I can only confirm what Alan and Dave have already said: The whole idea of the BS1363 standard is that every plug has a fuse to provide appliance/cord protection.

I've not come across any non-BS approved plugs such as you described, but there were concerns a while ago about the "wall wart" power packs, where in some cases the xfmr primary was wired directly to the pins.

Steve, Just as a matter of interest whats the country of origin for this kit?

Unsure of country of origin, will have some more info on Tuesday!

I have no further info on the unfused square pin plugs.
The consensus of opinion seems to be that they exist in countries that have different rules, possibly similar to our old 5Amp and 15 Amp round pin circuits, whereby our concerns relating to their use backed up by 30/32 Amp ring circuits are not their problem.

They are a problem to us if they sneak into the UK - so watch out for 'em and keep cutting those plugs off eh!

Regards

Interesting comment Steve. Botswana for example uses BS1363 plugs but I suspect that the wiring conforms to South African standards that comprise 20A radials on 2.5mm2 cable. I don’t recall seeing any unfused BS1363 plugs there but then I have to confess to not looking too hard at the time which was many years ago.

Still, a variation on the Standard seems very dodgy. Has anyone got any information on other G Type countries’ fusing standards?