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Joined: May 2015
Posts: 80
L
Member
Originally Posted by Texas_Ranger
Maybe time to ask the Australians how they managed to sleeve the prongs of their plugs without weakening them too much?

Some would dispute the last bit of that sentence, but there's nothing too fancy to it; simply a matter of making the plastic layer just as thick as necessary (and perhaps choosing a plastic with high dielectric strength so it doesn't need to be too thick).
AS/NZS 3112 was revised in 2004 to upgrade the strength test requirements (it was the 2000 issue that mandated the insulation, effective 2005), so I suspect some manufacturers may have initially tried thicker plastic than necessary to save a bit of money on the (more expensive) brass.

Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 2,498
T
Member
I don't have any personal experience with current AS/NZ plugs but I definitely remember reading here that they're sturdier than at least some NEMA plugs despite the sheathed prongs. IMO sheathing the prongs would be by far the most sensible safety upgrade to the NEMA x-15, x-20 and 6-15/20 plugs!

Joined: May 2015
Posts: 80
L
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Many NEMA plugs also rely on the overmolded PVC alone to hold the pins in place (even when the pins themselves are solid enough), which is definitely not good for reliability (especially of the wire-to-pin terminations under mechanical stress, and when the PVC is hot and therefore soft). At least every remotely modern molded AS/NZS plug I've seen has a rigid plastic frame inside.

Joined: Jul 2004
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G
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This is mostly what I saw in NZ and it really looked like a good design to me. There was a good grip to pull them out for one thing. They also had the angled wall hugger cord exit with a good strain relief. As for the NEMA plugs, they range from lousy Asian imports to very sturdy commercial designs all being the same form factor.

[Linked Image from gfretwell.com]


Greg Fretwell
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 7,381
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There should be more of the angled wall hugger cord caps on electrical utilization devices here.

I love the ones on the upgraded power strips!!


John
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