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[YouTube]: American is impressed by sensible British mains plug design

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james_s:

--- Quote from: tom66 on December 22, 2022, 03:44:31 pm ---Polarisation is a real issue.  Most table lamps are single pole switched, and we do not have the concept of split phase like the Americans do with their 240V appliances.   The same applies to other appliances too.

--- End quote ---

The split phase thing isn't an issue here for that, you'd never see a 240V table lamp. Our 240V circuits are limited to large stationary appliances like electric clothes dryers, cook stoves, electric hot water heaters, built in electric heat, central air conditioning and stuff like that. These things are either hardwired or connected via a special receptacle on a dedicated circuit.

TimFox:
I'm surprised that expensive floor lamps from reputable vendors here in the US still rely on two-prong polarized plugs, even with large brass structures.

james_s:

--- Quote from: TimFox on December 22, 2022, 06:47:48 pm ---I'm surprised that expensive floor lamps from reputable vendors here in the US still rely on two-prong polarized plugs, even with large brass structures.

--- End quote ---

I am too actually, I'm not sure how they get away with that. About 20 years ago I had one of those 300W halogen torchier lamps in my office at work. I thought I could feel a slight tingle a few times when I touched it, then one day I was moving a PC and I unplugged the VGA cable, it swung and the end of the cable brushed the lamp. There was a bang and a bright flash and the breaker feeding the office I was in tripped. After that I disassembled the lamp and found the top had been twisted around to tighten it up and the end of the threaded tube up the middle had cut through the insulation on the wires to the lampholder. The entire body of the floor lamp had been floating at 120V for who knows how long. Precisely the sort of dangerous fault condition that protective earth ground prevents.

vk6zgo:

--- Quote from: james_s on December 22, 2022, 06:45:21 pm ---
--- Quote from: tom66 on December 22, 2022, 03:44:31 pm ---Polarisation is a real issue.  Most table lamps are single pole switched, and we do not have the concept of split phase like the Americans do with their 240V appliances.   The same applies to other appliances too.

--- End quote ---

The split phase thing isn't an issue here for that, you'd never see a 240V table lamp. Our 240V circuits are limited to large stationary appliances like electric clothes dryers, cook stoves, electric hot water heaters, built in electric heat, central air conditioning and stuff like that. These things are either hardwired or connected via a special receptacle on a dedicated circuit.

--- End quote ---

Amateur Radio Linear Amplifiers are a case where they use a special receptacle in the USA.

Not directly on topic, but a trap with some devices designed for such service is where they use capacitors between each "hot" connection & ground.
They will work OK "out of the box" in 240v "Active & Neutral" systems, but the capacitors are usually specified to be well inside their ratings only in the designed service, where they have 120v across them.

Unfortunately, if used in Australia, NZ, UK, EU, China, etc, one cap has zero volts across it, & the other, the whole 240V.
Caps, being more rugged than we often allege, survive for years, but will eventually succumb.

Brumby:

--- Quote from: tom66 on December 22, 2022, 03:44:31 pm ---The biggest failing (IMO) of the British plug is there's no accommodation for anything other than 13A plugs.  It would be nice to see something like a 32A plug built on a similar style (perhaps with backwards compatibility for 13A plugs?)  Such plugs could be used for higher power appliances (ovens, for instance) or portable EV charging.  I believe Australia allows this, it's common to find 20 and 25A sockets in kitchens.  Imagine a 32A kettle!

--- End quote ---

Australian sockets:


In truth, however, you don't see much more than 10A sockets everywhere, with the rare appearance of a 15A that's been installed for a specific reason.

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