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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 1,253
D
djk Offline OP
Member
[Linked Image]

This is exactly how you don't plug in a UK or Irish laptop while visiting Germany!

Spotted it on the web

[This message has been edited by djk (edited 08-21-2005).]

{ Edited to rescale image and transfer to ECN server - Paul }



[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 08-31-2005).]

Joined: May 2002
Posts: 382
H
Member
You're right - they got the polarity wrong !! [Linked Image] [Linked Image]

Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 1,803
Member
Thats ok, the receptacles don't have any L/ N markings either, (in France anyway), so it's got a 50-50 chance! Whatever happened to the two-matchsticks technique?
In 1990 I came to France with a mate who was wanting to buy a house. We made the mistake of bringing a Brit electrician with us to 'evaluate the electrics'. We rented a little house for a week, it was the middle of a bad winter and he literally took the house electrics apart to "see how they do it over here", jerry-rigging stuff all over with matches in his 'Quest for the Truth' and leaving us blacked out and with no lights, cooker or heating for the weekend after shagging the company fuse! Ah! Happy days! Red wine, good food, frostbite.
Alan.
Bit late for a ps but; As we had no electricity, we decided to eat out on the Sun. evening. On the way out of the village in the morning, on a house hunting expedition, we saw a very squashed, very dead chicken on the road outside the café, and joked it'd be cooked for dinner that night. When the proprietaire dished up poulet that night, he stood aghast as we three Anglais collapsed on the floor in fits of laughter!

[This message has been edited by Alan Belson (edited 08-24-2005).]


Wood work but can't!
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 8,443
Likes: 3
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Hey!,
What's this?.
They haven't trimmed off the excess wire on the Neutral conductor.
Shame on them. [Linked Image]
Someone could get a shock off of them stray strands.

{Message edited to correct spelling error}

[This message has been edited by Trumpy (edited 08-24-2005).]

Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 7,520
P
Member
I hope whoever did this derated the cord for bundling too! [Linked Image]

Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 47
G
Member
I just read that the BS1363 standard makes for one of the safest designed plugs in the world, but I guess that does not mean "foolproof."

<shudders at the picture>

Joined: May 2004
Posts: 364
G
Member
As far as I know it is a different plug, cause Germany uses 220 V, not 110.


The world is full of beauty if the heart is full of love
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 329
I
Member
Actually BS1363 is 240V

Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 456
C
Member
And with EC harmonisation, 230V nominalfor both, not to mention the wide tolerance laptop PSUs often have.

Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 1,253
D
djk Offline OP
Member
Actually, BS1363, Schuko, French plugs etc are all rated for 250V.

Power's nominally 230V thorughout Europe thesedays.

As for BS1363 .... I donno I wouldn't particuarly rate it as all that safe it's got a lot of problems and isn't a fundementally safe design.

A schuko socket is recessed and the plug/socket system is designed to prevent you from getting your fingers anywhere near the live pins on the way in (on the 10/16A plugs). This means that the socket itself can be designed to make contact with a larger surface area of the pins. This gives you good contact and no "hot spots".

BS1363 on the otherhand has no recessed sockets so, the pins have to be sheathed to prevent shocks. The socket also only really makes contact with the tips of the pins. If the socket's worn / loose you can end up with pretty seriously hot pins.

Also, when used with ring circuits, the BS1363 system isn't necessarily all that safe as pauluk and others have discussed on this forum many times before.

And, many BS1363 plugs have the fuse holders rivited to the live pin. This riviting isn't always perfect, particularly on some cheap imports, and can result in hot plugs.

And, the fuse holder itself is prone to loosening up on older plugs if the fuse has been changed several times. This too can result in very hot plugs.

Overall, I would argue that schuko (the proper earthed variety of sockets) is a fundementally far superior design and doesn't rely on added-on safety features like its British counterpart.

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