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#145411 05/15/06 11:44 AM
Joined: Dec 2001
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At a local flea market I recently grabbed an electric kettle for ?5. It doesn't have any markings, except for the connector, which says "A.E.I. Peterborough Made In England".
As I do with any used appliance I started with opening the plug. To be greeted by the following sight:
[Linked Image]

Direct import obviously...
I corrected it a little...
[Linked Image]

I'm pretty sure this was a homebrew import, since the red wire inside the Schuko plug was considerably shorter than the black and green, suggesting a BS 1363 plug.

{ Edited to move images to ECN server }


[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 05-16-2006).]

#145412 05/15/06 12:29 PM
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 68
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They Must have been, 'coloured blind'.
They were lucky they didn't transpose
as well!!

Trust you finally had a nice cuppa!


All I Wanted Was A Cup Of Tea!!
#145413 05/15/06 03:05 PM
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Posts: 2,498
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My best guess would be somebody tried to "Austrianize" it, and back then red was ground by Austrian standards. Since that still leaves you with a black neutral and green phase (as opposed to black phase and grey neutral) I decided it would be wiser to put everything back to UK standards.

The kettle was a replacement for my most likely equally old orange and white plastic kettle from Germany. The element was scaled badly, so I tried putting in vinegar, sticking to the isntructions still stuck to the bottom of the kettle. Afterwards I had gotten rid of the lime, but apparently the plating of the element started coming off too and it looked rusty... besides I suddenly realized the orange plastic probably contained cadmium, so it retired. For some time I used a new €10 kettle, but it broke after roughly 6 months, and since the entire guts were just a big lump of PVC it was impossible to fix. Glad I got this one now!

#145414 05/16/06 06:44 AM
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 329
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I am someone else who can appreciate the value of a good kettle. I have gone as far as bringing one back to the states with me, the last time I went to Scotland. The 240 volt 3Kw kettles boil much faster than the wimpy 1Ks we get over here [Linked Image] I got a nice Hinari for 10 a Pound note. I am hoping it lasts a while.

[This message has been edited by IanR (edited 05-16-2006).]

#145415 05/16/06 07:55 AM
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Quote
I'm pretty sure this was a homebrew import, since the red wire inside the Schuko plug was considerably shorter than the black and green, suggesting a BS 1363 plug.

Couldn't whoever did this have restripped the wire and just made the red shorter for the Schuko's ground terminal?

The black looks too long to have been just taken from a BS1363 plug and reconnected "as is." Mind you, I've seen some people wire BS1363 with the neutral looped halfway up the side toward the earth and then back down again, all jammed in tightly so the cover fits!

A.E.I. is Associated Electrical Industries. They've been around a long time:

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/freshwater/histaei.htm



[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 05-16-2006).]

#145416 05/16/06 09:28 AM
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Posts: 2,498
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That's one of the tiniest Schuko plugs I've ever seen, so the black and green aren't really long. They're both the same length, maybe 2.5cm max, probably shorter.
Cutting the red would have been real hack work, the ground is supposed to be the same length as phase and neutral or even longer. Possible though.
Restripping is unlikely, there is a rubber collar on the cloth cord which looks original and non-removable. I think there are even indents from a different strain relief.

The plug definitely didn't look like professional work at all.

Yesterday I thoroughly cleaned the kettle and today we had several cups of tea from it at school.
I have no idea about the wattage since there is no nameplate.

That kettle was built to last!
I assume it's 1960ies, judging by the old cord.
Inside there's hardly anything that could break... that entire thing consists of plug, cord, connector and heating element.
The "old" kettle was a "Made in China" crap with automatic shutoff when the water boiled, dry-run protection, indicator light and whatever rubbish. Pretty soon the flimsy switch failed...

#145417 05/16/06 11:46 AM
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Quote
They're both the same length, maybe 2.5cm max, probably shorter.

Ah, O.K. I couldn't make out that it still had the original rubber binding on the end; I thought that might just have been taped. It looks as though he may have just shortened the green a little then?

You're dead right about these old kettles versus the new ones. It's not long ago that I finally retired an old Russell-Hobbs kettle which had been in just about continuous use for almost 40 years, albeit with a couple of replacement elements (it had finally started to leak at the seams). These days you're lucky if the cheap plastic "jug kettle" for £9.95 lasts a month past the 1-year warranty, and you can forget about replacing the element, because it can't be done. [Linked Image]

Any chance of pic of the actual kettle, by the way?

Here's a 1966 ad for British kettles:

[Linked Image]


[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 05-16-2006).]

#145418 05/16/06 03:02 PM
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 2,498
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Quote
It looks as though he may have just shortened the green a little then?
Yes, that's possible.

If I remember to drag a camera to school, I can take a picture, right now the kettle is in my locker.

In the meantime I can say it looks exactly like the 4 pint model on the bottom right. From a Continental point of view I'd say mine holds around 1 litre, maybe a little more. Stainless steel kettle with black handles. Apart from one little scratch it still looks like brand new after I wiped it with a wet cloth.

Well, I'm not sure whether the cheap kettle even survived six months. I guess the girl who bought it was just too lazy to return it... wasn't much of her own money in it... we had split the €10 over 16 people when we bought it.

#145419 05/17/06 09:01 AM
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 1,253
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djk Offline
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Strange --- Perhaps someone replaced the cord and didn't follow old UK colour codes.

#145420 05/18/06 03:05 AM
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 8,443
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Oddly enough Ragnar,
There is a whole Code of Practice here in New Zealand for the Sale of Second-hand Electrical Appliances.
The name of which escapes me (ECP 53??).
If I ever go to a junk sale here, I take test gear with me. [Linked Image]
I even tested out a range for a guy locally here at a clearing sale, it gave the lowest Insulation Resistance test I've ever seen.
I might be on the Black-list of Garage Sale vendors.
I think they've all been warned, "Just look out if anyone brings that idiot Trump here, if he turns up, close down your Garage sale and Run!!!.
Don't let him ask you any questions, it just helps him".
[Linked Image]

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