ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Non-US Electrical Systems & Trades US plug in Aussie powerpoint

Here's some examples to show that the present 'earth pin at the bottom' configuration has not always been so.

This HPM power point is the first of the flush mounting post war designs, ca. 1948. This particular one is fitted to a 6VDC-240VAC shaver inverter. You can just see the BC socket beneath the GPO to accomodate shavers not fitted with the three pin plug.

Here we have a GPO from 1956,(the age of the building it came from)which is now in my garage. It's based on the American wallbox dimensions which became standard here. Most such GPO's were like the one above, but this one requires a double width wallbox as the switch and socket are quite separate items.

Here we have yet another HPM powerpoint; this one being from 1967...the house I grew up in was fitted with these throughout.

As we can see here the above was intended for horizontal or vertical mounting. 99% of the time it was horizontal with the switch in the correct position and the socket 90 degrees out. Certain things like plugpack transformers or time switches always looked awkward plugged into these and depending on the weight distribution of the internals, didn't always stay in properly.

You just use a couple of old matchsticks for 2 amp!

Looks like your switches have the "down is on, up is off" configuration, as in the UK (opposite of ours).

Are Aussie devices still made to fit in American type boxes or have you moved on to using European or British type boxes now?

I bet the screw threads are metric, right?

That's a problem we get here with a combination of old and new fittings. The original 4BA (British Association) threads were changed to metric around 1970. The screws look almost the same, but the threads are just different enough to result in either a half turn and then jamming or going in but then not tightening due to the threads just pulling out.