ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Non-US Electrical Systems & Trades When there's no room for a double adaptor.

While travelling interstate, the clock radio in one of the hotel rooms was inoperative. I simply assumed it to be turned off at the power point so went looking and found this behind the bed:



The bedside light shares the same plug! You can see two seperate lots of double insulated two core flex going into the one plug. In case you're wondering why the vacant socket wasn't made use of instead, there was apparently an electric blanket plugged into it in the past.
It would surely not be compliant with any standard but despite the element of bodge, I have to say I can't really fault it from a safety point of view. The plug can easily accomodate a heavy three core flex and strain relief is by mouldings in the plug which clamp down when the cover is screwed shut.
Anyone care to share interesting examples of hotel wiring?

Some hotels in europe that cater to americans will have dual-voltage outlets, where every receptacle has a 230V european and 120V american (50Hz) socket. Makes it convenient

I've yet to find a 60Hz appliance that won't work fine at 50Hz. I'm sure there are some clocks or whatever out there, but it hasn't been an issue for me.

I know that trick... the only arguments against it are a) listing violation and b) improper strain relief, at least that's what I heard.

Hotel wiring... the Greek hotel where I stayed in 2003 had mostly Schuko receptacles (as is the norm in Greece) but the bedside lamps were plugged into Swiss receptacles for some weird reason.

Maybe, so people would be less likely to steal the lamps?
I have seen a lot of hotels that hard wire the lamps, for the same reason, despite it being a code violation.

aussie240,
When I first went out on Faults calls with the local Power Board, there was a very similar thing happened that caused a few problems.
Young fella in the house had rigged up some lights in his aquarium.
Long story short, every time the water pump gave out (it was under-sized for the tank size), it would meet the 230V lamp wires that had been paralleled up with his computer supply and would blow the circuit breaker, no earth either.
2 flexes into a lamp-holder, indeed.
I told his mother to watch that boy, he'll kill himself.